Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610

Hello Windows Insiders,

Today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610 to the Dev and Beta Channels.

TL;DR

• This build introduces some new group policies for IT administrators and an update to the Family Safety Widget.
• This build also includes another good set of fixes that will improve your overall experience.
• This build includes two new known issues that will impact Windows Insiders – please read the known issues list below. We have marked the new known issues as [NEW]. One of these known issues impacts the hidden icons flyout in the system tray.
• [UPDATE] There will be no matching SDK published for this build.

What’s new in Build 22610

Additional new MDM and group policies for IT administrators

We are introducing new policies so that IT administrators can simplify their Windows 11 experience across Start, taskbar, and the system tray. The following policies are available today:

• Disable Quick Settings flyout
• Disable Notification Center and calendar flyouts
• Disable all taskbar settings
• Disable search (across Start & taskbar)
• Hide Task View from taskbar
• Block customization of ‘Pinned’ in Start
• Hide ‘Recommended’ in Start
• Disable Start context menus
• Hide ‘All apps’ in Start

To configure these new group policies locally, open the group policy editor and navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar. You can also deploy these policies via Microsoft Endpoint Manager as well.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under:

• Desktop Environment > Start menu for policies relating to Start.
• Desktop Environment > Taskbar for policies relating to the Taskbar.
• Desktop Environment > Quick Settings for policies relating to the Quick Settings.
• Desktop Environment > Notification Center for policies relating to the Notification Center.

Family Safety Widget Update

To help you and your loved ones stay safe and protected, we are rolling out an update to the Family Safety widget with improvements for all family members with a new location sharing view that shows where your family members are using the Family Safety app.

There’s also a new update for people in a member role, which includes an improved view of your screen time use across apps and devices.

To learn more about Microsoft Family Safety and to get the mobile app, visit https://aka.ms/microsoftfamilysafety. Be sure to also check out the Microsoft Family app too.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Windows 11 Home edition Dev and Beta Channel builds no longer enable the SMB1 client by default. If you have installed SMB1 manually or upgraded from a previous version of Windows where SMB1 was installed, upgrading to the latest Dev and Beta Channel build will not remove SMB1. For more information, check out this blog post here.
• We have updated the design of the battery icon on the Lock screen to be consistent with the one in the taskbar.
• If your PC supports it, we will now show estimated battery life timing in the tooltip for the battery icon in the system tray with the most recent Insider Preview builds.
• The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build. This doesn’t mean we’re done, and the watermark will return to Insiders in a future build.

[Taskbar]

• As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the tablet-optimized taskbar feature that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in Build 22563 for now. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we’ve mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.

[Widgets]

• The changes in Widgets that bring more dynamic content to your Widgets board announced with Build 22563 is rolling out to more Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels.

[Task Manager]

• We’ve updated the Processes page in Task Manager so that the colors used in the heatmap are now based on your accent color. Please note in certain cases we will use the default blue accent color to ensure readability. We did a demo of this during this month’s Windows Insider webcast featuring Claton Hendricks from the Task Manager Team – watch the webcast on-demand here.

[File Explorer]

• We have updated the rename, properties, and optimize icons used in the context menu and command bar to help with discoverability and consistency.

[Settings]

• Your Phone now shows as Phone Link under Settings > Bluetooth & devices. Your Phone is now Phone Link – read the announcement here.

[Other]

• Based on feedback from Windows Insiders, we are rolling back the change originally documented with Build 22557 where TKIP and WEP connections were no longer allowed. These connections are allowed again starting with this build as we go back to the previous behavior where a warning is given notifying you that these are not secured connections. As a reminder, TKIP and WEP are deprecated security standards and are planned for removal in a future release. We recommend updating your router or other devices to one that supports at least WPA2 (WPA3 is the current standard).

About the Dev & Beta Channels [Updated!]

As a reminder, we are evolving the way we develop and release to Insiders with the Dev and Beta Channels now representing parallel development paths from our engineers. The Dev Channel will be a place where we will try out different concepts, incubate new ideas, and work on long lead items that may not get released to general customers. The Beta Channel will be the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post from last month that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels.

Now that the Dev and Beta Channels are receiving the same builds, the limited window has opened for Insiders to switch channels if you wish to do so by following these simple steps:

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program.
2. Select Choose your Insider settings.
3. Select Beta Channel.
4. The next time you receive an update, it will be for your new channel.

IMPORTANT: This window will close once we release builds with higher build numbers to the Dev Channel. If your device stays on the Dev Channel and receives a build that is a higher build number than what is in the Beta Channel, you will have to do a clean installation of the released version of Windows 11 on your device to switch to the Beta Channel.

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.

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

Important Insider Links

• Want to learn how we made Windows 11? Check out our Inside Windows 11 website to hear and meet our makers from Engineering, Design and Research to share their insights and unique perspectives throughout this journey.
• 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 22610 | Windows Insider Blog today to view full details on new features, general changes, improvements, known issues and much more!