Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 (Canary Channel)

[Guest Brandon LeBlanc]

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 to the Canary Channel. We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here. REMINDER: As builds released to the Canary Channel are “hot off the presses,” we will offer limited documentation for builds flighted to the Canary Channel including documenting only the most significant and highly impactful known issues. Please note that we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build.

[HEADING=1]Changes and Improvements[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2][Windows Share][/HEADING]

• If you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts will appear in the Windows share window to quickly share to.
  

[HEADING=2][settings][/HEADING]

• We are beginning to roll out a new option under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link to disable Phone Link all together in Windows 11. This setting will prevent Phone Link from communicating with your mobile devices.
  

[HEADING=1]Fixes for known issues[/HEADING]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see the latest builds unexpectedly fail to install with 0x80004005.
  
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see an increase in bugchecks after upgrading to the previous build.
  
• Fixed an issue where the context menu in File Explorer, as well as the command bar dropdowns, might go transparent sometimes.
  

[HEADING=1]Known issues[/HEADING]

• [REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
  
• We’re working on a fix for an issue where attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
  
• Attempting to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad on this build will crash Settings.
  

[HEADING=1]For developers[/HEADING]

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 aka.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. SDK flights are now published for both the Canary and Dev Channels, so be sure to choose the right version for your Insider Channel. Remember to use adaptive code when targeting new APIs to make sure your app runs on all customer machines, particularly when building against the Dev Channel SDK. Feature detection is recommended over OS version checks, as OS version checks are unreliable and will not work as expected in all cases.

[HEADING=1]About the Canary Channel[/HEADING]

The Canary Channel is the place to preview platform changes that require longer-lead time before getting released to customers. Some examples of this include major changes to the Windows kernel, new APIs, etc. Builds that we release to the Canary Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and some of the changes we try out in the Canary Channel will never ship, and others could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready. The builds that will be flighted to the Canary Channel are “hot off the presses,” flighting very soon after they are built, which means very little validation and documentation will be done before they are offered to Insiders. These builds could include major issues that could result in not being able to use your PC correctly or even in some rare cases require you to reinstall Windows. We will offer limited documentation for the Canary Channel, but we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build. Our Canary Channel won’t receive daily builds; however, we may ramp up releasing builds more frequently in the future. The desktop watermark you see at the lower right corner of your desktop is normal for these pre-release builds. *Availability of Copilot in Windows: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

[HEADING=1]Important Insider Links[/HEADING]

• 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.
  

Thanks, Amanda & Brandon

 

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