That being said, just know that the tech giant keeps putting in the work to improve the OS, and they’ve already tackled many of the issues, including the TLS/SLS network problem. Now, builds 22621.870 and 22623.870 (KB5018499) come with some of the features that early adopters have been waiting on for quite some time now. Join us as we take a closer look and examine these recent Insider Beta builds and let’s find out what changes, improvements, fixes, or known issues come with them.

What changes after installing KB5018499?

Well, not a lot is going to change, considering that this is the Beta Channel after all. If you are a fan of more dramatic changes, you should switch to the Dev Channel. However, please keep in mind that, just as in the case of the recent Release Preview Channel build, Microsoft added a new consent form for those of you enrolled in Windows Hello Face and Fingerprint. SPONSORED You now have new choices for your biometric data and you can keep storing your biometric data or open Settings to delete the data if you have not used your face or fingerprint for authentication in over 365 days. Let’s move on to the rest of the changelog pinpoint the most important and impactful changes or issues that come with KB5018499.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22623.870

[Taskbar]

Based on your feedback, we’ve added Task Manager to the context menu when right-clicking on the taskbar. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet.

Fixes in Build 22623.870

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

Improved how touch gestures and their animations with the tablet-optimized taskbar work with the touch keyboard.

[System Tray Updates]

Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when dragging icons in the system tray.

Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.870 & Build 22623.870

Added improvements to the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For instance, you can manage your Microsoft One Drive subscription and related storage alerts. Added a new consent form for those of you enrolled in Windows Hello Face and Fingerprint. You have new choices for your biometric data. You can keep storing your biometric data or open Settings to delete the data if you have not used your face or fingerprint for authentication in over 365 days. You also have these options if you upgraded to Windows 11 and have not yet seen the new Hello Learn More Privacy text. Enhanced search visual treatments on the taskbar to improve discoverability. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow. Some devices might notice different visual treatments as we gather feedback. To learn more about why you might be seeing these changes, see Search for anything, anywhere. Updated DriverSiPolicy.p7b for the Windows kernel vulnerable driver blocklist. This update includes drivers that are vulnerable to Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks. Extended original equipment manufacturer (OEM) control of Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) enforcement for targeted hardware configurations. Fixed an issue that affects the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy connector. It cannot retrieve a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. The error message is, The handle specified is invalid (0x80090301). Fixed an issue that affects cached credentials for security keys and Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) On hybrid domain-joined devices, the system removes these cached credentials. Fixed an issue that might cause vertical and horizontal line artifacts to appear on the screen. Fixed an issue that affects title bars when you use third-party tools to customize them. The title bars did not render. This update ensures that title bars render; however, we cannot guarantee all text customizations will work as before. Fixed an issue that might fail to sync the audio when you record game play using the Xbox Game Bar.

Known issues

[General]

Looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture. The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture. When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.

What can I do if I can’t install KB5018499?

Don’t forget to report any other issues you might come across, in order for Microsoft to address and improve the overall OS experience for us all. This is everything you can expect if you are a Windows 11 Beta Preview Channel Insider. Leave a comment below if you found any issues since installing this cumulative update.

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