Insider KB5120996 Windows 11 Insider Release Preview build 28000.2796 (26H1) - Aug. 14

These release notes are for Windows 11 Build 28000.2796 (KB5120996) in the Release Preview Channel on Windows 11, version 26H1.

This update is available through two release phases: gradual rollout and normal rollout. A gradual rollout delivers an update in phases, so features reach devices over time instead of all at once, meaning availability varies by device. A normal rollout is the broad release to all eligible devices at the same time, usually when it reaches general availability (GA).

Gradual rollout​

This section highlights some new features and enhancements for Windows 11 PCs, including AI-powered capabilities, continuous innovation, and performance improvements.

• [File Explorer]
  • File sizes in Details view now display using appropriate units (KB, MB, and GB) instead of KB-only, making them easier to understand at a glance.
  • Middle-click to open a folder in a new tab is now supported in the address bar and Home page for a more consistent and efficient tabbed navigation experience across File Explorer.
  • This update eliminates a gray flash on load and unexpected scrolling to the top on the Home page in certain cases.
  • This update improves the appearance of file thumbnails in the Recommended section on the Home page so they're crisper and easier to read.
• [Windows Search]
  • This update improves app search to better handle typos and partial app names when finding installed apps.
  • This update improves Settings relevance to surface more useful settings higher in search results.
• [Voice access]
  • New! This update adds Voice Isolation to Voice access, helping it better recognize your voice by reducing interference from other speakers and background noise. Voice access now offers three speech recognition modes under Voice access settings > Improve speech recognition:
    • Voice Isolation: Filters out other speakers and background noise. A one-time voice setup is required.
    • Remove background noise only: Filters out non-speech sounds like typing or door slams. No additional setup is required.
    • No filtering: Uses the default microphone input with no additional processing.
  • To set up Voice Isolation, go to Voice access settings > Improve speech recognition and select Voice Isolation.
    
    
    

    Set Up Voice Isolation in Voice Access on Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to set up Voice isolation in Voice Access for your account in Windows 11. Voice access in Windows 11 enables everyone, including people with mobility disabilities, to control their PC and author text using their voice. For example, you can open and switch between...

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  • New! This update adds Korean language support for Voice access.
  • This update improves the reliability of starting Voice access.
• [Widgets]
  • New! Taskbar notification badges now use your Windows accent color instead of appearing red, helping reduce unnecessary attention-grabbing alerts.
    
    
    

    Enable or Disable Notification Badges for Widgets on Taskbar in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off whether Widgets will show notification badging on the Widgets taskbar icon for your account in Windows 11. Widgets in Windows are interactive elements that display dynamic content and provide quick access to various apps and features. You can...

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  • New! This update also simplifies the Lock screen Widgets experience. For new users, Weather is now the only widget shown on the Lock screen by default.
    
    
    

    Add and Remove Widgets on Lock Screen in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to add and remove widgets on the lock screen for your account in Windows 11. You can stay informed and efficient with dynamic updates that bring weather, finance, sports, traffic, and app notifications right to your lock screen. Starting with Windows 11 build...

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• [Touchpad] New! New gesture controls for precision touchpads are available in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad:
  • Scroll and zoom speed: Adjust the baseline speed for scroll and zoom gestures.
    
    
    

    Change Touchpad Scroll Speed in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change touchpad scroll speed for your account in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8973 (24H2) and build 26200.8973 (25H2), Microsoft is adding new gesturing-related functionality to precision touchpads in Settings. The new features should be...

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    Change Touchpad Zoom Speed in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change touchpad zoom speed for your account in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8973 (24H2) and build 26200.8973 (25H2), Microsoft is adding new gesturing-related functionality to precision touchpads in Settings. The new features should be...

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  • Accelerated scrolling: Scroll faster the more you repeat the gesture, so you can move quickly through long documents.
    
    
    

    Turn On or Off Accelerated Scrolling on Touchpad in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off accelerated scrolling on the touchpad for your account in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8973 (24H2) and build 26200.8973 (25H2), Microsoft is adding new gesturing-related functionality to precision touchpads in Settings. The...

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• [Start menu]
  • This update improves the reliability of Start menu view preferences, ensuring your selected view is retained.
  • This update improves keyboard navigation when keyboard focus is set to the apps list within Start menu.
• [Voice typing] Fluid dictation is now off by default for new users. A teaching tip is also available when the feature is used for the first time.
  
  
  

  Enable or Disable Fluid Dictation in Voice Typing on Windows 11

  This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off the fluid dictation feature in voice typing for your account on Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs. Voice typing allows you to enter text on your PC by speaking. You can use voice typing commands to manually insert punctuation marks. Starting with...

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• [Input] This update improves persistence of the mouse cursor size.
• [Windowing] This update ensures system dialogs open at the appropriate size on small tablets.
• [Accessibility] This update improves the Magnifier experience on touch-enabled devices. The horizontal and vertical touch bars used to pan the magnified view are now off by default, so they no longer obstruct magnified content. If you use touch to pan, you can turn the bars back on in Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.
  
  
  

  Enable or Disable Touch Bars on Touchscreen for Magnifier in Windows 11

  This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off showing touch bars for Magnifier when using a touchscreen device for your account in Windows 11. Magnifier makes part or all of your screen bigger so you can see words and images better. Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8973 (24H2) and...

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• [Windows Hello] New! Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) now supports peripheral fingerprint sensors. This update extends this secure sign-in option beyond devices with built-in fingerprint sensors to include desktops and other Windows 11 PCs, including Copilot+ PCs. To get started, plug in a supported ESS fingerprint reader, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, and follow the prompts to enroll. This feature was previously disclosed in January 2026 (KB5074105) and is now beginning to roll out.
  
  
  

  Enable or Disable Enhanced Sign-in Security in Windows 11

  This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Enhanced Sign-in Security for all users in Windows 11. Windows Hello enables biometrics or PIN authentication, eliminating the need for a password. Biometric authentication uses facial recognition or fingerprint to prove a user's identity in...

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• [Fonts]
  • This update restores support for Unicode variation sequences in the Myanmar Text font.
  • This update improves character shaping and rendering for Mongolian Baiti font, providing more accurate and consistent text display.
• [Account control] This update refreshes the design of the Start menu account control and adds a badge that displays your subscription status. To view your account control, open the Start menu and select your account picture in the lower-left corner. This experience is available for users signed in with a Microsoft account.
  
  
  

  Enable or Disable Notification Badging for Microsoft Accounts on Start menu in Windows 11

  This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable showing notification badging for Microsoft accounts on the Start menu and Settings for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 22621.1928, Microsoft expands the roll out of notification badging for Microsoft...

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• [Taskbar] This update improves reliability when loading the system tray area of the taskbar while using the taskbar on a touch device in a tablet posture.
• [AI component] This update allows you to remove the Image Generation AI component from supported Copilot+ PCs where the component is installed.
  
  
  

  Uninstall AI Components on Windows 11 PC

  This tutorial will show you how to uninstall AI components on your Windows 11 PC. If your Windows 11 device (ex: Copilot+ PC) has a NPU, you will have a System > AI components page in Settings. AI components are used on Copilot+ PCs and enable AI models to run locally, directly on the device...

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• [Windows Setup] This update adds a parental controls notice during Windows setup that highlights available family safety features.
• [Power and battery]
  • This update improves the reliability of power settings by applying changes made in Settings to all power plans. This includes display, sleep, hibernate, power button, sleep button, and lid-close settings, helping ensure your preferences are consistently maintained.
  • This update restores the ability to set a threshold for when energy saver should enable within Settings > System > Power & battery.
    
    
    

    Change When to Put Computer to Sleep Timeout in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change how long after your computer is inactive (idle) before automatically put to sleep in Windows 11. Sleep uses very little power, your PC starts up faster, and you’re instantly back to where you left off. You don’t have to worry that you'll lose your work...

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    Change Computer Hibernate after Idle Timeout in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change how long after your computer is inactive (idle) before automatically enters hibernation in Windows 11. Hibernate was designed for laptops and might not be available for all PCs. (For example, PCs with Modern Standby may not have the hibernate option.)...

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    Change Power Button Action in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change the default action to take when pressing the power button in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The power button action setting lets users specify the default action to take when the system hardware power button on the PC is pressed. Users can specify one of...

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    Change Sleep Button Action in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change the default action to take when pressing the sleep button in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The sleep button action setting lets users specify the default action to take when the system hardware sleep button (if available) on the PC is pressed. Users can...

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    Change Lid Close Action in Windows 11

    This tutorial will show you how to change the default action to take when closing the lid of your laptop in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The lid switch close action specifies the action to take when the system lid is closed. Users can specify one of the following actions to take: Do Nothing =...

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• [Windows Update]
  • This update improves the calculation of update progress in Windows Update Settings.
  • This update includes changes to update cleanup logic to improve system performance immediately following an update.
• [Sounds] This update improves system sounds when using Windows in dark mode.
• [Date and time]
  • This update improves detection for triggering time zone change notifications.
  • This update improves daylight saving time (DST) data accuracy for Middle East Standard Time (Beirut), Morocco Standard Time (Casablanca), Israel Standard Time (Jerusalem), and Greenland Standard Time (Nuuk).
• [Network] This update improves the reliability of DHCP renewals in a few scenarios, particularly when NACKs are received from the DHCP server and on devices that use Modern Standby.
• [Print] This update improves print time performance (pages per minute) for IPPS (Internet Printing Protocol Secure) printers.
• [Clipboard] This update improves clipboard reliability in some Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) scenarios.
• [General reliability]
  • This update improves explorer.exe reliability, including when opening jump lists and recent files, when sharing files and folders, and when using Task View and multiple desktops.
  • This update improves the reliability of the Windows sign-in and lock screens, especially when system memory is low. It also improves the reliability of the Start menu and taskbar during startup.

Normal rollout​

This non-security update includes quality improvements. The following summary outlines key issues addressed by the KB update after you install it. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change.

• Additional quality improvements are included with this update.

Feature availability varies by device and market.






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