Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 update for Insiders enrolled in the Release Preview channel, adding a few of the improvements that have been available in the Beta and Dev channels in the past. There's also a seemingly brand-new change, which gives users faster access to the new Bing chat experience.

As you may recall, Microsoft added Bing to the Windows Search experience with an update in late February, which is accessible via a button in the search panel. with this build, however, the button that takes you to Bing chat is available directly inside the search bar on the taskbar (provided you've been given access to the Bing preview). Unfortunately, real integration with Windows 11 is still not available, so you'll be taken to Bing inside Microsoft Edge.

There are a few other changes with this update. Now, users may see notifications regarding their Microsoft account in the Start menu, with warnings for things such as creating a backup of their files. This is only available to a small group of Insiders, and those who do see this experience may see a slightly different look for it as Microsoft is still testing it out. Another change regarding the search bar on the taskbar is that it will now appear lighter if you're using a custom color mode for Windows. Specifically, you'll see this change if the Windows mode is set to dark and the app mode is set to light in the Settings app (under Personalization -> Colors). Microsoft also mentions "many new features" for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, but there's no clarification on what new features are new exactly.

Aside from that, there's a lot of smaller fixes in this release for various parts of Windows, including Narrator, USB printers, and more. Here's the full list:

• This update addresses an issue that affects the combo box in Settings. It fails to show all the available options.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft PowerPoint. It stops responding. This occurs when you use accessibility tools.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Narrator. It fails to read items in dropdown lists in Microsoft Excel.
• This update addresses an issue that affects USB printers. The system classifies them as multimedia devices even though they are not.
• This update addresses an issue that affects complexity policy settings for PINs. They are ignored.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) PIN credential icon. It does not appear on the credentials screen of an external monitor. This occurs when that monitor is attached to a closed laptop.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a Clustered Shared Volume (CSV). The CSV fails to come online. This occurs if you enable BitLocker and local CSV managed protectors, and the system recently rotated the BitLocker keys.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Active Directory Users & Computers. It stops responding. This occurs when you use TaskPad view to enable or disable many objects at the same time.
• The update addresses an issue that affects the Remote Procedure Call Service (rpcss.exe). The issue might cause a race condition between the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) and the Microsoft Remote Procedure Call (RPC) endpoint mapper.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft PowerPoint. It stops responding on the Azure Virtual Desktop. This occurs while you are using Think-Cell Features.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Search. Windows Search fails inside of Windows container images.
• This update affects the Group Policy Editor. It adds Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 to the list of protocols that you can set.
• This update affects the Arab Republic of Egypt. The update supports the government’s daylight saving time change order for 2023.
• This update affects jscript9Legacy.dll. It adds ITracker and ITrackingService to stop MHTML from not responding.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft HTML Application Host (HTA). This issue blocks code execution that uses Microsoft HTA. This occurs when you turn on Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) User Mode Code Integrity (UMCI) enforced mode.
• This update affects the Group Policy Management Console. It addresses a scripting error in the Group Policy Preferences window.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) client. The client returns an HTTP server error status (500). This error occurs when it runs a transfer job in the Storage Migration Service.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Desired State Configuration. It loses its previously configured options. This occurs if metaconfig.mof is missing.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) option 119 – Domain Search Option. The issue stops you from using a connection-specific DNS Suffix Search List.
• This update addresses a rare issue that might cause an input destination to be null. This issue might occur when you attempt to convert a physical point to a logical point during hit testing. Because of this, the computer raises a stop error.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) certificate. The system reports some SCEP certificate installations as failed. Instead, the system should report them as pending.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the new Windows Runtime (WinRT) API. This issue stops an application from querying for location information using MBIM2.0+.
• This update addresses a known issue that affects kiosk device profiles. If you have enabled automatic logon, it might not work. After Autopilot completes provisioning, these devices stay on the credential screen. This issue occurs after you install updates dated January 10, 2023, and later.

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If you're a Windows Insider enrolled in the Release Preview channel (and your PC supports Windows 11), you can grab this update through Windows Update, or wait for it to be installed automatically, which should happen sooner rather than later. This is likely an early look at the optional cumulative update releasing later this month, which will then be rolled into the mandatory Patch Tuesday update in April. If you'd rather not take risks with the Insider Program, you can wait a few weeks to get these improvements.

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Source: Microsoft