Applies ToWindows 11 Enterprise and Education, version 22H2 Windows 11 version 23H2, all editions

Release Date:

21/11/2024

Version:

OS Builds 22621.4541 and 22631.4541

11/12/24

IMPORTANT Because of minimal operations during the Western holidays and the upcoming new year, there won’t be a non-security preview release for the month of December 2024. There will be a monthly security release for December 2024. Normal monthly servicing for both security and non-security preview releases will resume in January 2025.

For information about Windows update terminology, see the article about the types of Windows updates and the monthly quality update types. For an overview of Windows 11, version 23H2, see its update history page.  

Note Follow @WindowsUpdate to find out when new content is published to the Windows release health dashboard.      

Highlights 

These might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually.

  • [Settings] New! Tailored Experiences is now Personalized offers in the out of box experience (OOBE). You can find it on the Recommendations and offers page. Go to Settings > Privacy & security. Here, you can turn off the setting that sends data about your device to enhance Windows.

  • [Taskbar]

    • New! The system tray shows a shortened date and time. Also, the notification bell icon might not show if you have set the toggle for “Do not disturb” to on. If the bell icon does not show, click the date and time to view your messages in the notification center. To go back to the long form of the date and time, go to Settings > Date and Time. Then clear the check mark for “Show abbreviated time and date.” To show the bell icon, go to Settings > System > Notifications. To expand the section, click the caret (^) on the right. Select “Show notification bell icon.” You can also get to these settings using the context menu. Just right click the system tray clock or bell icon.

    • Fixed: When you choose "Automatically hide the taskbar," the search box shows as an icon, not as a search box.

  • ​​​​​​​[Input Method Editor (IME)] New! After you install this update, the IME toolbar will hide when apps are in full screen mode. This only occurs when the IME toolbar is active and you type Chinese or Japanese characters.

  • [Start menu] New! When you right-click apps that you have pinned to the Start menu, jump lists will appear for apps that have jump lists.

  • [File Explorer]

    • New! You canshare content to an Android device from the context menu in File Explorer and on the desktop. To use this feature, you must install and configure Phone Link on your PC.

    • Fixed: There might be more space than you expect between the items listed in the left pane.

    • Fixed: The search box is cut off when the File Explorer window is small.

  • [Touchscreen] New! This update adds a new section for touchscreen edge gestures. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touch. There, you can choose if you would like to turn off the left or right screen edge touch gesture.

  • [Mouse] New! This update adds the option to turn off enhanced mouse pointer precision to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Mouse. There is also a new option to change the direction in which the mouse scrolls.

  • ​​​​​​​[Dynamic Lighting Settings page]

    • New! Its page will show a placeholder message when there is no compatible device attached to your computer. Also, the Brightness and Effects controls will be off.

    • New! This update adds the Forward, Backward, Outward, and Inward direction options to the Wave effect. The Gradient effect now has the Forward direction option.

  • [Jump lists] New! If you hold Shift and CTRL and click a jump list item, this opens the item as an admin.

  • [Bluetooth LE Audio] Fixed: Some devices, like hearing aids, do not stream Bluetooth audio.

  • [Mouse and game bar] Fixed: Your mouse might unlock from the game window. This occurs when you have multiple monitors and open and close the game bar.

​​​​​​​Improvements

Note: To view the list of addressed issues, click or tap the OS name to expand the collapsible section.

Important: Use EKB KB5027397 to update to Windows 11, version 23H2.

This non-security update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:

  • This build includes all the improvements in Windows 11, version 22H2.

  • No additional issues are documented for this release.

This non-security update includes quality improvements. Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

These might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually.

  • [IFilters] New! Windows Search runs IFilters in Less Privileged App Containers (LPAC). LPACs are like app containers, but they deny more permissions by default. A process that runs in an LPAC only has access to the resources it needs. The process does not have access to sensitive system components and data. This reduces the potential damage that a compromised process can cause.

  • [Task Manager]

    • New! The Disconnect and Logoff dialogs now support dark mode and text scaling.

    • New! The Performance section now shows the type for each disk.

  • [Motherboard replacement] Fixed: Windows does not activate after you replace a motherboard.

  • [Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA)] Fixed: This update brings profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.

  • [Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) printer] Fixed: Windows stops responding when you use an IPP USB printer.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB5046729) - 22621.4539 and 22631.4539

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates. 

Known issues in this update

Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update.

How to get this update

Before you install this update

Microsoft combines the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your operating system with the latest cumulative update (LCU). For general information about SSUs, see Servicing stack updates and Servicing Stack Updates (SSU): Frequently Asked Questions.

Install this update

To install this update, use one of the following Windows and Microsoft release channels.

Available

Next Step

Yes

Go to Settings Update & Security > Windows Update. In the Optional updates available area, you will find the link to download and install the update.

Available

Next Step

No

None. These changes will be included in the next security update to Windows Update for Business.

Available

Next Step

Yes

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

Available

Next Step

No

You can import this update into Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) manually. See the Microsoft Update Catalog for instructions.

If you want to remove the LCU

To remove the LCU after installing the combined SSU and LCU package, use the DISM/Remove-Package command line option with the LCU package name as the argument. You can find the package name by using this command: DISM /online /get-packages.

Running Windows Update Standalone Installer (wusa.exe) with the /uninstall switch on the combined package will not work because the combined package contains the SSU. You cannot remove the SSU from the system after installation.

File information

For a list of the files that are provided in this update, download the file information for cumulative update 5046732.   

For a list of the files that are provided in the servicing stack update, download the file information for the SSU (KB5046729) - versions 22621.4539 and 22631.4539

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