KB5041865: rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security

August 27, 2024—KB5041865 (OS Build 26100.1591) Preview

Important: Windows 11, version 24H2 is targeting Copilot+ PCs devices and devices that were previously using Windows Insider 24H2 builds.

Highlights
Gradual rollout
These might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually.

• [Widgets Board] We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.​​​​​​​
• [Windows Share] New! You can now share content to your Android device from the Windows Share window. To do this, you must pair your Android device to your Windows PC. Use the Link to Windows app on your Android device and Phone Link on your PC.
• [File Explorer]
  When you press Windows logo key + E, a screen reader might say a pane has focus, or the focus might not be set at all.
  When you press Ctrl + F, sometimes the search does not start.
  Keyboard focus sometimes might get lost when you press Shift + Tab.

Screen readers do not announce when you open or browse items that are in a breadcrumb of the Open or Save dialog.

Screen readers do not announce when you open or browse items in the column header.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​[Narrator] This update makes scan mode respond quicker. This is especially helpful when you use Microsoft Edge and read large documents. To use scan mode, you must turn on Narrator first (Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter). Then, turn on scan mode by pressing Caps lock + Spacebar during a Narrator session.
• [Battery life] Some GPUs cannot enter the low power state. This leads to high power usage that reduces battery life.

Improvements
This non-security update includes quality improvements. Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

• [FrameShutdownDelay] The browser ignores its value in the “HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\Main” registry key.
• [Domain Name System (DNS)] A deadlock occurs in the domain controller (DC) when it starts up in the DNS client.
• [OpenSSH] This update adds a prompt that asks you to confirm when you turn on OpenSSH using the Server Manager UI.
• [Unified Write Filter (UWF) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)] An SCCM task to re-enable UWF fails because of a deadlock in UWF. This stops the device from restarting when you expect it.
• [vmswitches] They fail to enumerate using Get-VMSwitch command. ​​​​​​​