One of the features includes the reintroduction of the newly-designed taskbar overflow – an entry point on the taskbar from where you can access all of your open apps if the icons exceed the usual limit. Moreover, Microsoft has also enhanced file sharing capabilities for the OS with an improved sharing UI. Let us discuss these features and improvements in detail before learning to upgrade to this build.
New in Windows 11 Build 25163
Redesigned Taskbar Overflow
Now you can promptly multitask with the new and improved taskbar overflow experience. If you have multiple applications open simultaneously, the icons in the taskbar may exceed the allowed limit on your screen. If this happens, the taskbar will automatically transition into the new overflow state, allowing you to access other apps. As you can see in the image above, you can click on the ellipses in the taskbar to expand other app icons and access them easily. The overflow menu will adapt to the taskbar behaviors, such as having an extended UI of the taskbar, pinned applications, etc.
Improved OneDrive and Nearby Sharing
Previously, nearby sharing was only allowed through Bluetooth. However, users can now share data with UDP as well. Users will now be able to discover and share to more devices nearby using the improved sharing dialog box. If you try sharing a file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window, you will now be able to share to nearby devices more conveniently. To use this new feature, you must enable network discovery and set the network type to “Private.” Moreover, you can now also share/upload items directly to OneDrive from the built-in “Nearby sharing” window. This can be done from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window. The new and improved sharing dialog box was also recently added to Windows 11 on the Beta channel with Windows 11 Build 22622.436.
Other Improvements and Fixes
Other changes and fixes have also been made with this flight:
[File Explorer]An explorer.exe crash when dragging tabs around has been mitigated.A memory leak has been fixed which occurred when using tabs with File Explorer.An issue where the preview thumbnail for File Explorer in the taskbar, ALT + Tab, and Task View might show the title of an adjacent tab and not the currently selected one has been fixed.If “Show all folders” is enabled, the dividers in File Explorer’s navigation pane should no longer show. With this change, it should also address the issues where dividers were unexpectedly showing in some other folder pickers.An issue where the Narrator wasn’t reading out the titles of tabs as the focus moved through them has been fixed.An issue where a closed tab might appear again in File Explorer after you dragged File Explorer across your monitors has been addressed.An issue where the tab row might unexpectedly expand vertically, covering the command bar contents, has been fixed.Removable drives should no longer unexpectedly be displayed in a section by themselves in the navigation pane, which was breaking up the section with This PC and Network.An issue where the add new tab button wasn’t clearly visible when using Aquatic or Desert contrast themes has been fixed.The add new tab button shouldn’t overlap with the minimize button in the title bar when using text scaling with a lot of tabs open anymore.[Taskbar]A rare explorer.exe crash has been fixed that could happen while on a Microsoft Teams call, related to sharing windows from the taskbar.[Settings]An issue where using Windows Spotlight on the desktop might revert to a solid color background has been addressed.The padding around the uninstall button when using Apps » Installed Apps in grid view has been improved.A couple of issues that could lead to Quick Settings crashing on launch have been addressed.[Input]An issue that was leading to certain apps freezing after a copy action if Suggested Actions was enabled has been fixed.[Other]A high-hitting crash impacting Suggested Actions reliability has been addressed.
With these new features, improvements, and fixes, there is also a known issue with this flight.
Known Issues
[General]There are reports that the SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.[File Explorer]The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.There are reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.[Widgets]The notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear on the widgets board.There is an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.[Live captions]Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent Live Captions from being visible.Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before Live Captions is run will re-launch behind the Live Captions window positioned at the top. Microsoft suggests using the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.
How to Install Windows 11 Build 25163
To install this update, you need to be running Windows 11 and subscribed to the Dev channel. If you have enabled Windows updates, you will automatically get a “New features are ready to install” prompt. If not, follow these steps to install either update: Once the computer restarts, you can verify that the OS has been updated to the build specified by typing in winver in the Run Command box.Update successfully installed Click Download and install in front of it.
Rollback/Remove Windows 11 Insider Preview Update
If you do not wish to keep the installed preview update for some reason, you can always roll back to the previous build of the OS. However, this can only be performed within the next 10 days after installing the new update. To roll back after 10 days, you will need to apply this trick.
Cleanup After Installing Windows Updates
If you want to save space after installing Windows updates, you can run the following commands one after the other in Command Prompt with administrative privileges: Also see:
Windows 11 Preview Builds 22622.440 & 22621.440 (KB5015890) Brings Taskbar Overflow To Beta ChannelWindows 11 Build 25151 With Redesigned “Open With” Dialog BoxWindows 11 Build 25169 Released With App LockdownWindows 11 Build 25182 Updates Camera And Store App In Dev ChannelWindows 11 Build 25197 Brings Taskbar Changes & Animated Icons
