Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686 (Canary Channel)

Hello Windows Insiders,

Today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686 to the Canary Channel. If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, please take note of a known issue below.

We are also not planning to release SDKs for 27xxx series builds for the time being.

What’s new with Build 27686

Windows Sandbox Client Preview

This build includes the new Windows Sandbox Client Preview that is now updated via the Microsoft Store. As part of this preview, we’re introducing runtime clipboard redirection, audio/video input control, and the ability to share folders with the host at runtime. You can access these via the new “…” icon at the upper right on the app.  Additionally, this preview includes a super early version of command line support (commands may change over time). You can use ‘wsb.exe –help’ command for more information.

FEEDBACK: Send us feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security & Privacy > Windows Sandbox.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Some features that were previously rolled out to Insiders in the Canary Channel may disappear as we flight newer 27xxx series builds. These features should begin rolling out again to Insiders over time.

  • We’ve made optimizations to improve battery life for PCs running Build 27686+ in the Canary Channel. Let us know what you think and if you are not seeing the battery life on your PC you are expecting, let us know via Feedback Hub. When filing feedback in Feedback Hub on any battery life issues you experience, be sure to use the “Start recording” button to capture additional logs.

[Settings]

  • In response to feedback, we have added a detach virtual hard disk (VHD/`VHDx) button to Settings making it much simpler to detach your VHD/VHDx as needed. This option is available under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes, in the properties for your VHD/VHDx.

[Networking]

  • To help us evaluate future improvements in network performance, your device may periodically run network tests in the background to collect diagnostic data. These tests will use a small amount of data (up to 10MB/day) and will only run on Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections that are not marked as metered. This will only occur on PCs in the Canary Channel running Build 27686 and higher.

[Storage]

  • When formatting disks from the command line using the format command, we’ve increased the FAT32 size limit from 32GB to 2TB.

[UPDATED!] Reminders for Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel

  • The builds we release to the Canary Channel represent the latest platform changes early in the development cycle and should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and features and experiences included in these builds may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features may change over time, be removed, or replaced and never get released beyond Windows Insiders. Some of these features and experiences could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready.

  • Many features in the Canary Channel are rolled out using Control Feature Rollout technology, starting with a subset of Insiders and ramping up over time as we monitor feedback to see how they land before pushing them out to everyone in this channel.

  • Some features in active development we preview with Windows Insiders may not be fully localized and localization will happen over time as features are finalized. As you see issues with localization in your language, please report those issues to us via Feedback Hub.

  • Some features may show up in the Dev and Beta Channels first before showing up in the Canary Channel.

  • To get off the Canary Channel, a clean install of Windows 11 will be required. As a reminder – Insiders can’t switch to a channel that is receiving builds with lower build numbers without doing a clean installation of Windows 11 due to technical setup requirements.

  • The desktop watermark shown at the lower right corner of the desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.

  • 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 27686 (Canary Channel) | Windows Insider Blog today to view full details on new features, general changes, improvements, known issues and much more!