Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272

Hello Windows Insiders,

Today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272 to the Dev Channel.

TL;DR

• For our first Dev Channel flight for 2023, we have a build with a nice set of improvements and fixes for Insiders.

[Changes and Improvements]

[General]

• Moved Quick Assist out of Windows Tools so it displays directly in the Start menu’s All apps list and is easier to find.
• We are removing the suggestion action for searching copied text in Microsoft Edge and showing recommend common websites on the Recommended section in Start – both of which began rolling out with Build 25247. Thanks to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on these two experiences. As a reminder, features and experiences we try out in the Dev Channel may get removed and never released beyond the Dev Channel as we incubate new ideas and get feedback from Insiders.

[WSL]

• Starting with Build 25267, the inbox version of Windows Subsystem for Linux has been removed. When you install a build with this change if you’re a WSL user you will need to update to the latest WSL version outlined here in this GitHub post to ensure WSL continues working on your PC. Once you have done that, WSL will continue working on subsequent build updates. In future builds we’re looking to have this done automatically.

[Printing]

• Added a refresh button to the Windows print queue.

For developers

You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.

SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:

• .NET TFM packages for use in .NET apps as described at ms/windowsinsidersdk
• C++ packages for Win32 headers and libs per architecture
• BuildTools package when you just need tools like MakeAppx.exe, MakePri.exe, and SignTool.exe

These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integration in CI/CD pipelines.

About the Dev Channel

The Dev Channel receives builds that represent long lead work from our engineers with features and experiences that may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. It is important to remember that the builds we release to the Dev Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and the features included may change over time, be removed, or replaced in Insider builds or may never be released beyond Windows Insiders to general customers. For more information, please read this blog post about how we plan to use the Dev Channel to incubate new ideas, work on long lead items, and control the states of individual features.

These aren’t always stable builds, and sometimes you will see issues that block key activities or require workarounds. It is important to make sure you read the known issues listed in our blog posts as we document many of these issues with each flight.

Build numbers are higher in the Dev Channel than the Windows 11 preview builds in the Beta and Release Preview Channels. You will not be able to switch from the Dev Channel to the Beta or Release Preview Channels without doing a clean install back to the released version of Windows 11 currently.

ALSO: Because the Dev and Beta Channels represent parallel development paths from our engineers, there may be cases where features and experiences show up in the Beta Channel first.

The desktop watermark you see at the lower right corner of your desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.

Important Insider Links

• You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here.
• Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.

Before you update your machine, visit the Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272 | Windows Insider Blog today to view full details on new features, general changes, improvements, known issues and much more!