Windows 11 Preview Build 22557 Released with Massive Updates

Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 for the Dev Channel, which is also the new version that Microsoft finally brought after weeks of delay. As many users expected, the update brings a lot of updates and improvements, and shows that Microsoft is indeed listening to users' opinions.

How to Get Windows 11 Preview Build 22557

Windows Insiders can get this new version through Windows Update.

To switch your Insider Program channel, you can navigate to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program, click Get started and choose Dev Channel. You will be asked to link an account to join the Insider program. Select your Microsoft account and then you can continue to choose your Insider Channel.

After restart, you can then receive Windows 11 updates in corresponding channel.

Windows Insiders will note that the name of the branch where Microsoft releases builds has been changed to NI_RELEASE. The branch where Microsoft releases builds to Insiders in the development channel has nothing to do with the features and improvements contained therein. Going forward, Microsoft will not specifically mention the timing of these branch changes. Also, this release will not be available for ARM64 computers. Microsoft hopes to make a new build available to internal testers of ARM64 computers soon.

What's New in Windows 11 Build 22557

In addition to general improvements and refinements to Windows 11, this update brings a number of useful features and changes, the most notable of which is the Live Caption feature - a feature previously available only on Android devices. There are also new Do Not Disturb and Focus modes, new touch gestures, a better Start menu, a redesigned Task Manager, a battery life management interface, and more. Here are the details.

Start Menu Folder

Based on user feedback, Microsoft has introduced the first version of folders in this release. Folders can be created by simply dragging one application on top of another. You can add more apps to the folder, rearrange apps in the folder, and remove apps from the folder. Watch for further improvements, such as the ability to name and rename folders in Microsoft's upcoming release.

Live Caption

Real-time captioning will help everyone, especially including the hearing impaired, to better understand audio by viewing spoken content with captions. The subtitles are automatically generated on the device from any content with audio, and can be displayed at the top or bottom of the screen, or in a floating window. Microphone audio is also included, which may be helpful in face-to-face conversations.

Currently, live captioning supports English (US) content and can be enabled via the WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut.

No Not Disturb

Notification banners can now be easily silenced with Do Not Disturb mode. When you're ready to see the notifications you may have missed, you can find them in the Notification Center.

You can also control your notifications at any time. Under Settings > System > Notifications, you can set rules to automatically turn on Do Not Disturb.

For example, you can set Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically outside of your work hours. In addition, you can set priority notifications to control that incoming calls, reminders, and specific applications are exceptions when Do Not Disturb is turned on.

Focus

You can choose the amount of time to focus and start Focus directly from the Notification Center. When you start a focus session, the taskbar badge will turn off, the blinking of apps in the taskbar will turn off, a focus timer will appear on the screen, and Do Not Disturb mode will turn on.

Focus is integrated with the focus session in the Clock app, so you can play calming music and see a list of tasks from Microsoft To-Do. When your focus session ends, you'll receive a notification letting you know that your focus time is complete.

Redesigned Task Manager

Microsoft has updated the design of Task Manager with a new navigation bar and a new settings page to match the new Windows 11 design style. Each page now has a new command bar to access frequently used actions. Microsoft has also brought a dark theme to Task Manager and will automatically match the system-wide theme configured in the Settings app.

Microsoft also brings back the Eco mode under a new name Efficiency mode. When you notice that an app is consuming a lot of resources, you can right-click the process and apply efficiency mode to limit its consumption so that the system gives priority to other applications.

If the option is grayed out, this usually means that it is a core Windows process and throttling it may affect system performance. Processes in efficiency mode will be marked with a new green leaf icon, and Microsoft has also introduced a new pause icon for suspended processes.

Your Phone App

Microsoft has announced another feature for the Your Phone app. For those of you with Samsung devices, you can now enjoy more continuity in the process of moving from your phone to your computer. With this latest feature, you can easily access apps on your recently used Android device on your Windows PC.

Improved Quick Access

Microsoft is making updates to the Quick Access view of File Explorer. First, the support for "Pin to Quick access" has been extended from folders to files. Pinned files are displayed above the most recent files in Quick Access. And for users logged into Windows with a Microsoft account, Office.com pinned and recent files will also be displayed in Quick Access.

View OneDrive Storage in File Explorer

To help control storage consumption and ensure file synchronization, Microsoft has added OneDrive integration to File Explorer. When browsing OneDrive folders, you can now see sync status and quota usage.

New Touch Gestures

This release includes 5 new touch gestures that make it easier for users to navigate Windows 11 with touch on a PC.

• Swipe your finger from the middle of the taskbar to invoke the Start menu, and swipe down to cancel it.
• Swipe between "Fixed" and "All Apps" interface in Start menu.

• Swipe your finger from the bottom right of the taskbar to invoke Quick Settings, then swipe down to cancel it.
• Microsoft has updated the animation when swiping from the right edge of the screen to invoke and close Notification Center to make it more responsive.
• In full-screen touch apps and games, if you swipe from the edge of the screen, a gripper will appear.

Better Snap Layout

Microsoft has added a new way to snap windows into the Snap multitasking layout that works well on both touch and mouse. Simply drag a window to the top of the screen to display the Snap multitasking layout, place the window on top of an area to Snap multitask to line it up, and then use Snap multitasking assistance to complete the layout. In addition, Microsoft has improved Snap Multitasking Assist so that it works seamlessly between zones in the layout.

Better Power and Battery Options

The default values for the Sleep and Screen off have been updated to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions when the PC is idle. Microsoft will also provide energy-saving recommendations to help reduce carbon emissions for those who set Sleep and Screen off to Never.

Improved Narrator in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has made more improvements to Narrator and Microsoft Edge based on Build 22509.

While browsing a web page, you can have Narrator read the current item, and when you need to sort the tables on the web page, Narrator will announce the sort order you choose. When you encounter a dialog box on a web page, Narrator will help you stay focused in the dialog box and prevent navigation to the content behind it. This improvement is currently available in the Microsoft Edge Canary build.

Finally, Narrator has a few improvements when you are editing text on the Web. First, if you delete text on a form field, Narrator will read the deleted characters, and if you need to cut a large group of text with Control + X, Narrator will confirm that the text has been cut.

Other Updates and Improvements in Windows 11 Build 22557

Taskbar

• The Windows 11 taskbar now supports drag-and-drop functionality. Quickly drag and drop files between application windows by hovering over the application on the taskbar to bring its window to the foreground. Try attaching a file to an Outlook email by dragging it and hovering over the Outlook icon in the taskbar to bring the window to the foreground. Once in the foreground, drop your file into the email to attach it. You can also customize your taskbar with your favorite applications from the "All Applications" list in Start by dragging them on the taskbar to hold them in place. You can also drag and drop to the desktop from the "Show Desktop" in the upper left corner of the taskbar.
• For internal testers using Microsoft Teams at work and school, Microsoft has added a new visual indicator to the taskbar indicating which window is being shared if they are using any of the windows in the taskbar for sharing. This is especially important when you have multiple applications running, or your attention is spread across multiple monitors. When you choose to share a window in a Microsoft Teams call, the shared window will now also be surrounded by a colored border.

• On computers with multiple color profiles, you will be able to add a quick setting to switch between these modes more easily. In a pristine installation, the color profile button should not be pinned down by default, but it may appear on upgrades.
• When casting from your computer (WIN + K), a Cast icon will appear in the lower left corner of your taskbar, showing that you are casting. Clicking on this icon will open Cast Quick Settings, where you can quickly stop casting if needed. And look for more improvements to this experience.
• Microsoft has updated the battery charge indicator to use the lightning bolt icon instead of the power cord, addressing the issue of the lower battery level display being obscured. This also aligns with other consumer electronic devices and reflects developments in the charging space, including USB charging devices.

File Explorer

• File Explorer will now display a preview of items within a folder.

• When sharing local files to Outlook in File Explorer, you can now compose emails directly in the Share window without having to go directly to Outlook. you will need to install the Outlook desktop integration through the store, this feature does not apply to files stored in OneDrive folders as OneDrive has its own sharing experience. In addition, the sharing window will now suggest sharing files from Microsoft 365 contacts, via Outlook.

Search

• Searching for applications and settings in the Windows search box on the taskbar is now faster and more accurate than ever before. Try searching for your favorite apps or settings you use often to see faster results. Microsoft has also fixed an issue that prevented Windows users from searching for an app within the first few seconds after it was installed.

Windows

• Microsoft has updated the visuals for Snap groups, including the desktop wallpaper, to make it easier to distinguish your group from regular windows. This will appear when using ALT + TAB, Task View and Taskbar Preview. In addition, ALT + TAB now shows as windowed for all Insiders running Build 22554 and above.

 

• Microsoft is updating the transition animation to show the transition from one grabbed window state to another. Grab some windows using the Grab Assist tool, move the window from one configuration to another, and observe the smoothness of the transition with the new animation.
• Rotate your device faster and more responsively between portrait and landscape.
• Microsoft has reduced the number of notification sounds that play when you connect and disconnect docks and monitors.
• It's now easier to move the cursor and windows between monitors, allowing your cursor to skip over places where it would previously get stuck. This behavior can be controlled in Settings via System > Display > Multiple Monitors > Move Cursor Easily Between Monitors.
• Microsoft has made some minor changes to the preemption options under System > Multitasking to help simplify them and make them easier to understand.

Narrator

• Narrator now offers a new male natural voice called Guy, which Microsoft introduced in Build 22543 for Narrator.

Voice input

• If you have multiple microphones connected to your computer, Microsoft will add the ability for you to choose which microphone to use in voice input. Microsoft is starting to roll out this change, so it's not yet available to all insiders, as Microsoft plans to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.
• Microsoft is starting to roll out your ability to use the following new commands in voice input. Microsoft is starting to roll out this change, so it is not yet available to all insider testers because Microsoft plans to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.

Voice Access

• A new setting has been added to automatically add punctuation to text as it is dictated. You can turn it on by clicking the Settings icon on the Voice Access screen and selecting Automatic Punctuation from the Manage Options.
• Microsoft has added a new setting to filter out profanity. This is turned on by default, and any profanity or sensitive words will be masked with an asterisk (*) when dictating text or commands. You can turn it off by clicking the Settings icon on the Voice Access UI and selecting Filter profanity from the Manage options.
• Using the Show Numbers command is now easier because Microsoft has reduced the number of cases where the number label hides controls on the windows user interface, making it difficult to understand the controls under the numbers.
• Microsoft has improved feedback for unsupported languages.
• Microsoft also improved feedback for using voice access when you have multiple monitors set up.
• Microsoft improved the discoverability of using the touch keyboard with voice to enter passwords or PINs, correct errors, and spell out words using the "correct that" and "spell that" commands.

Graphics

• Microsoft is expanding the dynamic refresh rate (DRR) experience on laptops with 120Hz displays beyond the smooth scrolling and low-latency inking in Office. The system now boosts to 120Hz when you move your cursor, making your computer feel more responsive. Touch and pen interaction are integrated into the smooth animations of the Windows UI and application UI. Smooth scrolling is now supported not only in Office, but also in Microsoft Edge Canary and the Windows UI, such as the Settings app. To enable smooth scrolling on Edge Canary, you need to enter the following in the address bar of a new tab. "edge://flags/#edge-refresh-rate-boost-on-scroll", set the highlighted Flag to "Enabled", and restart Edge.
• The Windows HDR calibration application will soon be available on Windows PCs -- you will be able to improve the color accuracy and consistency of your HDR display. To make it easier to access, you will be able to access the app through Windows Settings under System > Display > HDR. You may see an earlier access point for HDR settings in this build, but since the app is not yet live, it will simply lead you here.
• This release introduces a feature called "Windowed Game Optimization" designed to significantly improve latency and unlock other exciting gaming features, including Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). Latency improvements can benefit all gamers -- from improving your input latency to creating a competitive edge in your gaming experience. Go to System > Display > Graphics > Change Default Graphics Settings to enable this feature. Note that this feature may already be turned on by default and is required to use other graphics features such as Auto HDR.

Input

• Microsoft is working on adding an IME on/off key to the small layout of the touch keyboard for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese Traditional IME. For Insiders with only one keyboard, this will be a separate key located to the left of the spacebar. If you have multiple keyboards, the on/key is combined with voice input -- to access voice input, simply press and hold the key. In addition, Microsoft is adding support for small layouts for Chinese Simplified Microsoft Pinyin and Microsoft Wubi IME. These changes are currently rolling out to a subset of Windows Insiders first, and Microsoft will expand them over time based on feedback.
• A number of emoji have been updated based on feedback, including tearful smiles, cherry blossoms, and colored hearts.

• Based on feedback, the kaomoji section in the WIN + Period (.) 's kaomoji section has been added with a number of new items, including UwU.
• Starting with this version, Windows 11 now supports handwriting input in Hungarian. Pick up your pen, write in Hungarian in the handwriting input panel or handwriting keyboard and convert your handwriting to text.

Settings

• Microsoft has done some work to generally improve results when searching in Settings, including more relevant results, and now has some flexibility in returning results when search terms have common typos.
• Microsoft increased the size of the icons in the Settings navigation pane to make them easier to see.
• To help customers give their computers a second life, or recycle their computers, Microsoft has added links in Settings to help customers find available programs. Some articles may not have been localized.
• Storage Awareness will now be enabled by default for PCs through OOBE. Your current settings will remain the same when you upgrade. You can configure your Storage Awareness settings under System > Storage.
• Updated the Settings Time and Language category and the Date and Time page to now include a real-time digital clock and information about the currently selected option.
• Updated the design of Network and Internet > Dial-up when you set up a connection, consistent with the overall design of the settings in Windows 11.
• Microsoft made some tweaks to Personalization > Fonts to improve the design of the page, including the drag-and-drop area for installing fonts is now larger.

Windows Sandbox

• Consistent with Hyper-V behavior, modifier keys and shortcuts (such as the Windows key shortcut) will now be blocked by Windows Sandbox if the window has focus, even when you are not in full screen mode.
• Windows Sandbox now supports the use of base environment variables (e.g. % USERPROFILE%) in mapped folder paths.

Others

• Microsoft has updated the accessibility pop-ups on the login screen to comply with Windows 11 design principles.
• Insiders will notice more mica material on the title bar surface. For example, the "Run" dialog now uses mica.
• TKIP and WEP are deprecated security standards, and starting with this release, Windows 11 will no longer allow connections to these types. Please contact your network administrator or update your router to one that supports at least WPA2 (WPA3 is the current standard).
• Similar to Windows 11 Home Edition, Windows 11 Professional Edition now requires an Internet connection. If you choose to set up the device for personal use, an MSA will also be required for setup. you can expect to require a Microsoft account in subsequent versions of WIP.

Fixes in Windows 11 Build 22557

General

• Fixed a recurring backgroundTaskHost.exe issue encountered by some insider testers.
• Fixed an issue that caused Auto HDR to not activate as expected in some games.
• Mitigated an issue with lsass.exe crashing that caused some Insiders to see a crash on the login screen in recent releases.
• Addressed an issue that caused apparent distortion on audio devices connected using the Xbox Wireless Adapter in recent releases.

Taskbar

• The task view should no longer crash if you hold down CTRL while hovering over the taskbar.
• Dragging a file across the taskbar on a secondary display should no longer cause explorer.exe to crash.

File Explorer

• Updated the Storage Usage button in the Properties dialog for disks to now be called Details and to be wider to accommodate language where the button text is truncated.
• Improved the performance of deleting files in the Recycle Bin.
• Fixed the Blu-ray icon to be consistent with the icons of other drives and volumes.

Input

• Resolved an issue where IME candidate windows unexpectedly did not follow the user's light or dark mode preferences.
• Fixed an issue that caused some elements of the voice input settings pop-up to not be visible in dark mode.
• The IME candidate window should now appear as expected in the user name area of the UAC prompt.
• Updated the term "half alphanumeric/direct input" in the Japanese IME context menu to say only "half alphanumeric".
• Fixed an issue where if there was a half-width alphabetic character before a hiragana after entering a hiragana in kana input mode, it would accidentally become full width.
• Fixed a rare issue that caused the input switcher to accidentally list the same entry twice.
• Mitigated an issue that caused the input switcher to sometimes appear as an unexpected black box.
• Updated the input switcher so that it now becomes a bit taller for users with more than 4 keyboards.
• Fixed a memory leak in the input switcher that caused explorer.exe to crash after repeated fast use.
• Fixed an issue in the input switcher where explorer.exe crashed when clicking on the More keyboards setting.
• Fixed an issue where the emoji panel might show "You are offline" even if you have an Internet connection.
• Fixed an issue where multiplication emoji and counter-clockwise arrow button emoji showed wrong emoji design.
• Updated the preview in the Personalization > Text Input settings page to reflect your desktop wallpaper instead of the default.
• Did some work to improve the reliability of the Stop Media button when media is playing.

Voice Access

• Fixed a Visual C++ Runtime mismatch that caused Voice Access to not work on some PCs.

Search

• Fixed a high hit rate search crash.
• Clicking the search box in Start will now immediately switch to search without displaying an animation of the search window going up, as if you pressed the Windows key and started typing.

Settings

• Resolved an issue where the Narrator was not correctly reading the elements stored in System > Storage.
• Fixed broken "Size and Theme" link under Time and Language > Typing > Touch Keyboard.
• Did some work to help improve performance when updating focus colors or modes.
• Microsoft made a change to help reduce clipping of combo boxes in certain language and text size settings.
• Fixed an issue that caused icons on the IME settings page to sometimes be white on white.
• Mitigated an issue that caused the Install button to appear as truncated text in some languages when previewing fonts.
• Fixed a potential issue that caused the preview video on System > Display > HDR to sometimes be distorted.
• Addressed a potential issue that could crash the settings when you scrolled the window.
• Adjusted the Wi-Fi icon in the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings so that the lock displayed for secure networks now has a small separation from the Wi-Fi strength, making it easier to distinguish.

Windows Spotlight

• Updated the name of the Spotlight collection to Windows Spotlight to match the name of the lock screen.
• Made a change to help make Windows Spotlight more reliable for updating images.
• If for some reason there is no new Windows Spotlight image on the desktop, it will now fall back to showing the default Windows Spotlight background image (Whitehaven Beach) instead of showing a solid color background.
• Right-clicking on "Learn more about this picture" in Windows Spotlight on the desktop will now always show all options, just grayed out if it is currently unavailable.
• Tooltips should now align more consistently with the current image when hovering over "Learn more about this picture".
• Windowing
• Resolved an issue that caused the minimize, maximize, and close buttons in File Explorer and some other applications to be invisible in some cases.
• Mitigated an issue that caused performance to be affected when dragging windows with acrylic and other situations where acrylic was used.
• You should no longer see a brief visible yellow border when taking screenshots.
• Made some improvements to address feedback that windows were being repositioned unexpectedly.

Network

• Did some work to address an issue that could cause some Virtual Private Network connections to fail. If you continue to experience problems, please submit feedback under Network and Internet > Connect with a Virtual Private Network client and include a screenshot of the problem.
• Fixed an issue that caused Wi-Fi speeds to drop after waking your computer from sleep in a previous release.

Narrator

• Narrator now more consistently announces that you are deleting characters with a fallback when backtracking.
• Fixed an issue that caused Narrator to not read selected text in the Feedback Center.

Known Issues of Windows 11 Preview Build 22557

General

• When doing the Device Setup Experience (OOBE) on Enterprise Edition, the Network Add screen was skipped on the first attempt. As a workaround, when users see the "Name your computer" option, please restart and relaunch OBE. the Network Add screen will now appear as expected.

Start

• When opening a folder in Start, the application name in the folder may appear blurred for a short time.

Taskbar

• When switching input methods, the taskbar sometimes appears to flicker.

File Explorer

• Searching from Quick Access may not work.
• Microsoft is working to fix issues with icon size, visual errors, and displaying pop-up text clippings for OneDrive storage.

Focus

• Taskbar icons and tooltips may not match the focus state.
• The Clock app integration requires an app update that is available starting today. Most users should get this update automatically, but you can manually check for application updates by navigating to Microsoft Store > Library and clicking Get Updates.
• When configuring a focus session within an application, the Clock application has not yet updated the Windows focus status. This will be addressed in a future application update.

Search

• The search panel may not open after clicking the search icon on the taskbar. If this happens, restart the "Windows Explorer" process and open the search panel again.

Widgets

• In the case of left-aligned taskbar, information such as temperature is not displayed. This will be fixed in a future update.

Live captions

• Live captions are not visible in some applications (such as video player) in full screen.
• Certain applications located near the top of the screen that are closed before running live captions will restart behind the live caption window located at the top. When the application has focus, use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) to move the application's window further down.
• When the live caption is at the top, the topmost part of the maximized application (for example, the window management button in the title bar) is not reachable by touch.

Task Manager

• Microsoft is aware of missing efficiency mode icons in some sub-processes.
• Some setting options are not retained.
• Microsoft is working to fix issues regarding icon size and visual errors, in most cases the solution is to resize Task Manager or lower the resolution setting in Settings > Display > Display Resolution.
• Task Manager has limited keyboard support for navigation and command bars. Due to limited support, users may not be able to use the keyboard to navigate the user interface.