Microsoft Releases Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25131

Microsoft on Thursday announced that it has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25131 to the Dev Channel, which includes a list of bug fixes, and a few known issues but no new features. The company also announced an update to the Microsoft Store for the Dev Channel testers.

What’s New In Windows 11 Build 25131?

The latest Windows 11 build 25131 fixes a few issues in the Windows 11 operating system but also adds two new known issues. Let’s have a look at the changes and fixes that have been made with this build. 

[General]

  • Fixed an issue causing some Insider PCs with certain AMD processors to bug check and roll back when attempting to upgrade to last week’s flight. This issue is also believed to be the cause of some Insiders experiencing a bug check after enabling SVM in the bios on their PCs in the last build.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing some Insiders with secondary accounts on their PC to not be able to upgrade to the latest builds.

[File Explorer]

  • The new folder icon used in the command bar should be consistent with the one used in the context menu now.
  • Fixed an issue that could lead to File Explorer hanging when browsing folders with lots of .mkv files.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing searching from Home to not return any results sometimes from the Open or Save dialog (when doing it from File Explorer returned results). 

[Search]

  • Searching for something like %appdata% should now show a proper folder icon and not just a blank square.
  • When selecting “Open file location” for a search result, it should now select the file in the folder again now, and not just open the folder.

[Settings]

  • Searching for “default” will now return the default apps Settings page as the first result, and not require you to click “show all results” in order to see it.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Listen to this device” audio option would stop working after a reboot until being unchecked and rechecked.
  • Narrator will now read out the position of the radio buttons in the Settings > Accessibility > Color filters page to make it easier to navigate.

[Other]

  • Hovering over “Do you like what you see?” when using Windows Spotlight on the lock screen should no longer display a shadow which extends to the bottom of the screen.
  • Fixed an issue which was leading to certain frame rate monitoring applications impacting game performance.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause rounded corners to unexpectedly become pixelated at certain scale factors.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Besides the above fixes, there are also a few known issues that come along with the latest Windows 11 Build 25131:

Known Issues

[General]

  • [NEW] Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices will hit a black screen attempting to resume from hibernate on this build. You will need to power cycle (long power button shutdown) to get back into the device. It is recommended Insiders on these devices pause flighting until we release a build with this fix.
  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[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. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

Microsoft Store Update (Version 22205.1401.3.0)

The company has started rolling out a Microsoft Store update to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with the following changes and improvements:

  • The Microsoft Store app experience has been considerably improved with Native Arm64 support. You will see faster and better performance when you use the app.
  • Application updates have been improved when clicking the Update buttons in the Microsoft Store. It will now skip over updates for apps that you have already opened, so you don’t lose any important work. You can manually update the apps later.
  • The update adds support for a new pop-up store experience for Android apps on the Microsoft Store. When you are browsing the web, you might discover a new app. If it’s available in the Microsoft Store, the Store app will show you a pop-up experience to help you install it. This experience now supports free Android apps (depending on device compatibility and age rating).
  • The browsing experience has been enhanced for faster navigation.
  • The viewing options UX for movies and TV shows has been improved. Once you have selected a TV show or movie, it will show all the different viewing options available for you in a single list.

Microsoft has asked testers of the new Microsoft Store experience to file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

Besides the bug fixes and updates to the Microsoft Store app, the company has also released the SDKs for new Dev Channel builds. You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.

If you are a Windows 11 Insider in the  Dev Channel, you can download the latest update by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and selecting the Check for updates button to download the latest Insider Preview build.