- Windows 11 build 25290 is now rolling out in the Dev Channel.
- The update introduces Phone Link and Spotify widgets.
- The Start menu will now remind you to back up your files to OneDrive.
- The flight also brings various fixes and changes.
Windows 11 build 25290 has been made available by Microsoft to devices that are part of the Windows Insider Program’s Dev Channel. A few intriguing new features, enhancements, and repairs are included in this small update.
According to the published changes, Windows 11 build 25290 adds two new widgets: one for the Phone Link app and one for Spotify. This is on top of the Facebook Messenger widget that was revealed by the business in the last build release. Additionally, the option to backup your files to the cloud will now be more visible on the Start menu’s user menu, beginning with the flight.
Windows 11 build 25290 changes
The Dev Channel’s most recent version of Windows 11 has the following enhancements and new features:
Start menu new backup alert
The option to remind users to backup their files to the cloud is being added to the Start menu user menu as of version 25290. Two versions are presently being tested by the company: one that reads “Back up your files” and another that includes a description along with the choice to either turn off the notification or start the backup.
Spotify and Phone Link widgets
Microsoft is announcing the availability of Spotify and Phone Link widgets for the Widgets dashboard in addition to the Messenger widget, which was previously disclosed. (To access their widgets, you only need to install the apps from the Microsoft Store.)
Fixes and improvements
Numerous updates and enhancements for the Taskbar, Input, Settings, File Explorer, and other areas are also included in this flight.
Taskbar
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could cause the taskbar not to load for some Insiders.
- Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear sometimes when you clicked it.
- Fixed an issue where the search box was shifting to the side slightly when you clicked it.
Task Manager
- Fixed an issue where the data content area of the Processes page might flash once when theme changes were applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
- Fixed an issue where some dialogs did not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
- Fixed an issue where properties in the Memory section of the Performance page were getting truncated even though there was space to display them.
- Reduced the transparency of graph colors in the Performance page, and adjusted the borders, to help make them stand out more.
- Fixed a few issues causing Task Manager crashes.
- Typing F in the search box should work again now.
- You now shouldn t have to make Task Manager be as wide before the navigation pane appears.
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If text scaling has been increased, the search box shouldn t overlap with the title bar text anymore.
Made some tweaks to address cases where text in dialogs was getting cut off when text scaling was increased.
Fixes an issue where certain parts of the title bar couldn t be used to drag the window.
Spotlight
- Fixed the issue causing some people to not get a consistent refresh of images on a daily basis.
Settings
- Fixed an issue where the preview for Sans Serif Collection in Personalization > Fonts was displaying broken glyphs.
Other fixes
- Fixed an issue that was preventing Narrator from announcing dropdown lists in Excel.
- Fixed an underlying issue which could cause Snipping Tool screenshots to become stretched out and distorted in the last few builds if you had multiple monitors.
- Fixed an issue which could cause a bugcheck with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION.
- Fixed an issue which could make the Open With dialog crash on launch.
- Fixed an issue where the Open File dialog would hang if you clicked it while using an IME after having selected Choose an app on your PC from the Open With dialog.
- Fixed an issue which could cause Group Policy Editor to unexpectedly show An error has occurred in the script on this page with an invalid character error when editing a group policy.
- If you have OpenSSH Server set to start at boot (instead of manual), that preference should be remembered across OS upgrades now. Please note, you need to be on a build with this fix before it will take effect with your next upgrade.
- Fixed the issue causing Arm64 devices to fail to resume from sleep/hibernate when running Build 25281 and getting stuck at the OS boot logo.
- Fixed an issue where some Insiders may have issues accessing websites and other resources via VPN connections.
- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience freezes when using the browser and certain other apps in recent Dev Channel builds.
The Taskbar, Start menu, Task Manager, Settings, Widgets, and other areas are also reported to have problems with this update.
Install build 25290
To download and install Windows 11 build 25290, use the Windows Insider Program settings from the Windows Update section to enroll your device in the Dev Channel.
You can get build 25290 from the Windows Update settings by clicking the Check for Updates button after enrolling the computer in the program. If you are new to the Windows Insider Program, however, you will need a device that satisfies the minimal system requirements in order to receive the update.
Update February 7, 2023: Microsoft is sending testers build 25290.1010, which is the update for KB50234461, although it doesn’t contain any new features. Its sole purpose is to test the pipeline for service.