Windows Latest has already reported an issue where some people come across “Get a newer version of Windows” error in Windows 11 23H2 after KB5046633. While that issue was limited to Windows 11 23H2, Windows 11 24H2 has its own share of problems after KB5046617.

Windows 11 KB5046617 installation fails most of the time due to 0x800f0991 and 0x800f0922 errors, which do not tell us what went wrong. But that’s not all. In addition to installation errors, Windows updates could stop going beyond 37% or 40% and fail with one of the errors.

“I am unable to install the update KB5046617 for Windows 11 24H2. The installation consistently fails at 35% with the error code 0x800f0922. I have tried multiple troubleshooting step,” one of the users told Windows Latest.

Other users told Windows Latest that they’re running into 0x80070003 and purging Windows Update cache, running DISM or SFC does not work.

“Have tried stopping the services and renaming the Windows Update folders and restarting the services and retrying, also tired and failed again after running the Windows Update Automated Diagnostic which found a problem and tried to fix but it failed again. The update progresses to 35% and then fails with the error 0x800f0922,” another user noted.

According to Feedback Hub reports, some users also noticed that the updates do install, but when they go to settings, the Windows Update page says the updates have failed.

As I mentioned above, what’s particularly annoying with these errors is that it’s impossible to figure out what went wrong and what you can be done to install the November 2024 Patch Tuesday, which is mandatory for everyone.

Windows Update will continue to attempt the installation whether you like it or not. While you do have the option to pause updates, it’s not recommended.

In our tests, we have observed that updates do install manually when we use .msu from Microsoft Update Catalog. Here’s what you can do:

1. Go to Microsoft Update Catalog and search for KB5046617.
2. From there, click Download next to the listed update.
3. Open the .msu link in a new tab, and download the file.
4. Double-tap the .msu file to install the patch.

If nothing works, we recommend using the Media Creation Tool to perform an in-place upgrade, or you can use the built-in recovery method to reinstall the operating system. This will work for everyone, but it takes longer than usual.

Issues in Windows 11 KB5046617

KB5046617 was supposed to fix the long-standing Alt-Tab issue in Windows 11 24H2? That doesn’t appear to be the case, at least for some users.

In our tests, Windows Latest observed that Alt-Tab no longer shows a black or blank screen when switching between apps or games, but in some cases, you might still run into the issue.

Then there are also reports of issues with HDR in games, where colours appear overly bright or have a reddish tint. Another notable but isolated issue in Windows 11’s 24H2 November Patch is that some systems crash randomly, especially when playing games.

Here’s the full list of issues flagged in Windows 11 KB5046617 by some users, but remember that these are some isolated cases only, and we don’t think they’re widespread:

• Random performance issues and BSODs.
• Taskbar icons disappearing after waking the system from sleep or restart. Windows Latest was able to confirm this issue, and another bug where File Explorer menu opens in a opposite direction is still not patched.
• USB devices connected via hubs suddenly stop working after updates.
• Some Lenovo laptops had issues with keyboards and touchpads after updates, fixed by disabling Fast Startup.
• Icons in File Explorer and desktop are resized incorrectly.

There are other bugs, too, but Windows Latest understands that the ones in the above list affect more users than other problems.

How is Windows 11’s November patch doing for you? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Windows 11 24H2 KB5046617 is causing new issues, including installation errors appeared first on Windows Latest

When you press the Win + Z key to open Snap Layouts, you see multiple layout suggestions. But there is no label to describe its purpose. In the latest Beta build 22635.4510 (KB5046716), Microsoft is trying new label ideas for the feature.

As noticed by Phantomofearth and confirmed by Windows Latest, this hidden change is available with KB5046716 and Microsoft is experimenting with hidden label ideas. Windows Latest was able to test the feature, and we can confirm that Microsoft has four label ideas for the snap assist flyout:

• Choose where to move this window
• Choose where to arrange this window
• Choose where to snap this window
• Choose an app layout for your screen

Windows Latest force turned on the feature and we tested all the variants one by one.

As shown in the screenshot gallery below, the label appears above the layout suggestions and mentions the keyboard shortcut to use the feature. It’s not a monumental change, but we like it because it clarifies the intent.

Snap layouts labels

1 of 4

Previously, Microsoft improved the suggestions for the snap layout, which now displays the open app icons inside them. So it’s easy to understand which app will open in a specific part of the layout.

File Explorer also included labels for commonly used actions like copy, paste, delete, etc, making it clear that labels cannot be ignored.

Other improvements in Beta build 22635.4510

After adding share support to the Start menu, you can directly share files from the Taskbar jump lists. Whenever you right-click on any icon on the Taskbar, you’ll see a share icon alongside a file. E.g., the screenshot below shows the option to share a previously opened file in the Notepad app jump list.

Other feature upgrades include a new gamepad layout for the on-screen keyboard. After selecting it, you can use your Xbox controller to navigate and type quickly.

There are some new Narrator improvements to skip past links in a text document and directly go to any included list or table of contents section.

Microsoft is also experimenting with small taskbar for Windows 11 and we understand that the bigger changes will begin rolling out to everyone early next year. Some of the new features are planned for the November 2024 optional update.

The post Windows 11 KB5046716 experiments with new Snap Layouts features appeared first on Windows Latest

According to a support document seen by Windows Latest, Microsoft has given some reasons justifying what makes new Outlook better than Mail & Calendar apps.

It starts by describing how the new Outlook is supercharged with AI features that can help you write emails with a few prompts (as if writing emails is a surmounting task for those who do it daily). We don’t see it as a huge selling point, and the option to remind you to follow up on important conversations isn’t something you cannot live without.

Other “great” features include accessing all the emails in one place. The rest are gibberish features promoting Microsoft 365, and some mention the security features built into the app.

A few months back, there was a comparison table for Outlook web, Outlook, and Mail & calendar. I can’t find that now. There’s only a new table with the Outlook web and Outlook.

Why do users hate the new Outlook app?

Microsoft introduced the new app as subtle hints, followed by ads and forcibly migrating users to the new Outlook. It didn’t let anyone decide to stay on the Mail & Calendar app and wanted everyone to like the new app.

If you ask us, we’re happy about the new UI and a few features, but converting the app into a web wrapper is an added burden.

Another pain point is the lack of some features that Microsoft plans to add slowly in the future. Still, the ads are the biggest pain point of the new web Outlook.

The UWP Mail and calendar didn’t have ads, and Microsoft will change that with the new Outlook. We previously reported that the weather app is getting more ads, and Outlook is no exception.

Microsoft isn’t satisfied with making money only through OS licenses and loves to burden its users with app ads. However, there’s no choice for you, and you must migrate to the new app and move your data before the end of the support date.

From January 1, 2025, Mail & calendar will function and only serve as an old mail opening tool. It won’t be able to send or receive new mail.

The post Microsoft explains why Windows 11’s new Outlook is better than Mail & Calendar appeared first on Windows Latest

We covered the roll out of Instant Games in February 2024, and while we liked the idea,  we rightly pointed out that the new feature took longer than usual to begin rolling out to everyone.

1 of 2

Although announced in September 2023, Instant Games feature wasn’t available in the Microsoft Store for anyone until February 2024. Worse, wider roll out began much later.

It turns out that there weren’t too many people interacting with these Instant Games, which were more or less limited to Arcade category. In a statement, Microsoft confirmed “Instant Games” are going away starting November 14, 2024. This means you won’t be able to play these games without downloading them.

“Starting from 14th November, 2024, Arcade will be removed from the Microsoft Store. You can continue to download your games, but instant play will no longer be available,” the company said.

First spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft has now also updated the Windows Store description under the Arcade section to reflect its decision.

If you have never tried Instant Games, you can still open the Arcade category in the Microsoft Store and try a few of them. These games would still be available, but you must download them to play. Right now, it’s possible to play Instant Games without downloading.

The idea of Instant games might remind you of old Flash games. They’re not of highest quality, but the games are fun to play, especially if you’re looking for time pass or just want to have fun.

Instant Games were supposed to make the Microsoft Store more engaging. In fact, Microsoft had worked with several game publishers to make Instant Games fun on Windows 11, and the company hoped “users [would] jump in and instantly play favorite casual game directly from the Microsoft Store”.

At the time of writing, Windows Latest noticed that there are up to 69 free-to-play acrade-themed games, including some that are pretty similar to Angry Birds.

I personally liked the idea of Instant Games, but it goes without saying that it had a slow roll out and it failed to gain traction because people do not use the Microsoft Store as frequently as they use Google Play.

Perhaps if some popular games were part of the Microsoft Store’s Instant Play catalogue, things would have been different.

The post Microsoft is killing off Windows 11 Store’s no-download Instant Games (Arcade) appeared first on Windows Latest

Microsoft support representative confirmed to Windows Latest that today’s end of support Windows update notification is a bug.

While Windows 11 24H2 is indeed the newest version, Windows 11 23H2 remains supported until November 11, 2025. Microsoft’s official documentation shows that support for Windows 11 version 23H2 will end on November 11, 2025, for Home and Pro. On the other hand, Enterprise and Education remains supported until Nov 10, 2026.

This means after that date, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, bug fixes, or support for older PCs.

However, after installing Windows 11 23H2 Patch Tuesday KB5046633, which began rolling out on November 12’s morning, many users told Windows Latest that they were seeing alerts saying, “Get the newer version of Windows to stay up to date. Your version of Windows has reached the end of service.”

“I’m on Windows 11 23H2, which is still supported, why do I suddenly see a message saying that this is End of Service,” one of the users noted in a post. “Installed KB5045935, KB5046633 now Windows Update says “Get the newer version of Windows to stay up to date,” another user noted.

This “warning” still has the “Check for updates” button, which is causing confusion for users who already have the latest version of Windows 11.

If you also see the error, you’re not alone. Thousands of users have the problem. Windows Latest was able to confirm this issue in our own tests and saw the same incorrect alerts, even on fully updated systems.

A Microsoft support representative confirmed to Windows Latest that Windows 11 23H2’s “Your version of Windows has reached the end of service” alert is a known issue currently being investigated and will be fixed automatically via a server-side update.

“This is just a reporting bug on our side”, a Microsoft support representative told Windows Latest.

I am told that the Windows Update error/warning will automatically disappear within the next few hours. However, logging out of your account or restarting your system may speed up the process.

KB5046633 is November 2024’s mandatory security update and it has tons of decent fixes, including fix for an issue that causes excessive battery power usage if you device has Modern Standby feature. It also added an option to change the Copilot key to do something else, such as open Windows Search.

It’s unclear how an update like KB5046633 caused Windows Update to incorrectly warn people, but you can safely ignore the alert and check back the Windows Update page later.

The post Windows 11 23H2 bug causes “end of service”, “get the newer version of Windows” alerts appeared first on Windows Latest

KB5046633 is a mandatory security update and as is the case with Patch Tuesday updates, you get all the improvements that were a part of the last month’s optional update. Two features stand out among the long list of improvements, the ability to ditch the Copilot key and a slight change for the Start menu.

If you have a Windows 11 PC with a physical Copilot key, you can map it to another shortcut. We spotted it in a preview build a few months back, and the change is finally here in 23H2. Simply put, you can set it to launch any app of your choice or open the Windows search. The latter is useless because you can easily search for anything in the Start menu.

Adding an extra Copilot key was unnecessary, but it served Microsoft’s Copilot branding and is now useless because we have a vacant shortcut for Cortana. To change the key behavior, go to Personalization > Text input > Customize Copilot key on the keyboard option and pick either Custom or Search option from the list.

For now, the setting appears on Windows 11 PC without a Copilot key. Tweaking it doesn’t have an impact because the PC doesn’t have a physical key.

This November security update changes the naming of the All Apps section to All. We don’t like the change because it’s more confusing. Also, we are still waiting for the Grid and Category layouts for the Start menu.

Download Links for Windows 11 KB5046633

Windows 11 KB5046633 Direct Download Links: 64-bit and ARM | Microsoft Update Catalog.

Since Windows 11 KB5046633 is a mandatory security update, it’ll automatically install on your 23H2 PC. If the update fails to install or isn’t available, you can use the above direct download link to update your PC manually.

What’s new in Windows 11 Build 22631.4460

KB5046633 will bump up your PC’s build to Windows 11 Build 22631.4460. There are some improvements that are a part of the gradual rollout phase and will arrive a little late on your PC.

It includes a new Narrator shortcut key to help you copy its speech to the clipboard. Press the Narrator key + Ctrl + X combination to use the copy feature. Moreover, you can read emails in the new Outlook app, which wasn’t possible before.

This update patches a Microsoft Teams bug that stopped you from joining a meeting via Outlook reminders. It also fixes a Modern Standby bug that dranied more battery instead of conserving it.

Here’s a list of some problems patched in Windows 11 KB5046633:

• The “I forgot my PIN” option didn’t work in Windows Hello mode.
• The Xbox 360 and Bluetooth controller weren’t detected in the webview2 apps.
• Bluetooth apps stopped working due to memory leaks.
• Using vmswitch in a virtual machine triggered BSODs.

While the Patch Tuesday updates aim to fix bugs, they often introduce new ones, like the dual-boot bug for Linux. We’ll keep testing the build for any new troubles.

The post Windows 11 KB5046633 23H2 out with features (direct download .msu) links appeared first on Windows Latest

KB5046617 is a mandatory security (Patch Tuesday) release, which means it’s supposed to download and install automatically in the coming hours. This is the second Patch Tuesday release for Windows 11 24H2 and the fourth if you own a Copilot+ PC. Since it’s still a new operating system version, there are tons of bug fixes.

My personal favourite change in Windows 11 24H2’s November 2024 Patch is a new setting that finally lets you block the “suggestions” to turn off notifications. With Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft added a feature that shows a notification suggesting you block alerts from apps you haven’t interacted with in a while.

Were you also seeing too many of these “Notification Suggestions”? Starting with November 12 update, you can click on (…) button, and turn it off. This can also be turned off with Settings > System > Notifications > “Notification Suggestions”.

Remember that you need to be on Windows 11 Build 26100.2314 or newer to see this toggle. If you’re on Windows 11 24H2, you’ll automatically see the following patch when you check for updates:

2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5046617)

This will advance 24H2 to Windows 11 Build 26100.2314.

Microsoft has also published an update for the .NET framework 3.5 and 4.8.1. For those unaware, these .NET frameworks are updated every month on Patch Tuesday because they power popular Windows apps, and security patches are necessary.

Download Links for Windows 11 KB5046617

Windows 11 KB5046617 Direct Download Links: 64-bit and ARM-64 | Microsoft Update Catalog.

In addition to Windows Update, these updates are available via the Microsoft Update Catalog, so you can open the above link and get the .msu files. To do this, you need to click on “Download” next to the listed patch for your PC (check for system details from Settings > System > About).

Finally, it will open a pop-up dialog with the link to the .msu file. Click on the link to save the .msu of November 12 Patch, and double-click it to begin installing the update without using Windows Update.

(A bug causes the Update Catalog to appear with incorrect language. Microsoft is investigating it).

What’s new in Windows 11 Build 26100.2314?

Windows 11 24H2 KB5046617 is at the forefront of improvements, which is supposed to make this year’s biggest update more usable. Microsoft has finally fixed an issue where Alt+Tab causes a black screen when you switch between app windows, particularly games.

This was one of the major issues with Windows 11 24H2.

Windows 11 24H2’s long standing bug where Disk Cleanup or Storage Settings will incorrectly estimate the storage usage has also been fixed.

This bug caused the Windows Update cache to appear as 8.63GB. In addition, Microsoft is promising that Disk Cleanup is now more accurate after KB5046617 update.

Similarly, SFC should now work correctly when you use sfc/scannow command. Previously, a bug in 24H2 was forcing SFC to repair certain files on every scan.

Windows Latest can confirm this has been fixed.

Another Windows 11 24H2 bug where Task Manager incorrectly reported “zero processes” has been fixed. Last but not least, DirectAccess now works properly if you upgraded to Windows 11 2024 Update using an in-place upgrade. A bug previously caused connection failures.

In terms of new features, the most notable one is that you can configure the Copilot key on your keyboard to open an app or Windows Search.

Microsoft says that custom app mapping only supports signed MSIX packages, which loosely means you cannot set unverified apps as shortcuts.

As already mentioned at the outset, the next best thing we like about Windows 11 KB5046617 is the ability to remove notifications about turning off the notification from a particular app. Earlier, if you missed a notification for, let’s say Chrome, Windows would nag you about it.

Now, you can click the Turn-off button to remove it or visit the Notifications page in the Settings app.

When you view the Wi-Fi password in the Settings app, it opens in Windows 11 UI style rather than the old, eye-gouging look. There’s also a new Narrator shortcut (Narrator key + Ctrl + X) to copy the narrated text to the clipboard. It now works with the new Outlook web app.

Other minor fixes in Windows 11 Build 26100.2314 include adding a detach virtual hard disk option in the Settings app. Previously, you could only do that via the Control Panel, but now the button is available in the Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes section.

The netsh wlan show networks command gets UTF-8 support. So, reading your “ingeniously” crafted SSIDs with emojis is possible. If you use Windows Sandbox, you’ll see a new Audio and video input control option along with the ability to share folders and clipboard data with the host OS.

Windows 11 KB5046617 also fixes the following existing issues:

• Scanning apps failed to detect certain scanners despite no connection issues.
• Some parts of Windows UI became inaccessible while using apps.
• Shutting down the PC generated a BSOD stop code error.

The post Windows 11 KB5046617 (24H2) out with fixes (direct download .msu) appeared first on Windows Latest

Windows 11 24H2 has been under development for about a year and began rolling out to some PCs on October 1. Microsoft also made the update available via the Media Creation Tool and Update Assistant. Later, Microsoft published the ISO images of Windows 11 24H2 and promised files for ARM PCs in the coming weeks.

At the same time, Microsoft told us that it won’t let everyone go to Windows Update Settings, check for updates and grab Windows 11 24H2. The upgrade blocks were applied on some PCs due to potential issues with Windows 11 24H2 on specific configurations, such as older models from Asus.

Windows 11 24H2 has as many as nine officially listed “upgrade blocks,” and two have been quietly lifted in early November.

Upgrade block lifted for devices with fingerprint senors

As spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft says it has fixed an issue where certain devices might experience problems with fingerprint sensors.

Fingerprint sensors are quite common in modern 2-in-1s, and it’s likely that a bug affected a particular manufacturer or vendor, but Microsoft won’t tell us how many devices were affected.

While we don’t know how many devices with fingerprint sensors were affected due to Windows 11 24H2 upgrade blocks, we think it was one of the widely applied upgrade blocks compared to other issues.

Windows Latest noticed that Microsoft updated its support document to lift the upgrade block on November 8, 2024. According to the company, a bug in Windows 11 24H2 was causing the sensors to become unresponsive after the PC was locked. As a result, the Windows Hello fingerprint did not work, and authentication failed.

“Only a limited set of devices are affected by this issue,” Microsoft originally stated in the support document, and warned people against manually updating “to version 24H2 using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant or the media creation tool until this issue has been resolved.”

With Windows 11 KB5044284 (released on October 8), Microsoft said it fixed the fingerprint issue.

After briefly testing the patch for another month, Microsoft confirmed that the Windows 11 24H2 upgrade block has been lifted on PCs with a fingerprint sensor. You’ll see this on Windows Update when you check for updates.

Voicemeeter BSOD safeguard lifted to allow Windows 11 24H2

While going through the documentation, Windows Latest also noticed that Microsoft has lifted the update block on devices running the audio software Voicemeeter.

After releasing Windows 11, version 24H2, some users flagged a sudden blue screen errors when using Voicemeeter, displaying a “MEMORY MANAGEMENT” error.

As soon as it received the reports from early testers, Microsoft applied a temporary “safeguard hold,” blocking Windows 11 24H2 for people with Voicemeeter app.

A new update for Voicemeeter (1.1.1.8, 2.1.1.8, or 3.1.1.8) is now available and it allows Windows 11 24H2 to go through smoothly.

This upgrade block was lifted on November 5, 2024.

However, Windows 11 24H2 is still not available for some configurations due to the following safeguard holds:

• ASUS devices (models X415KA and X515KA) are still blocked due to blue screen errors.
• Camera issues on devices using object or face recognition can cause apps to become unresponsive.
• Safe Exam Browser versions 3.7 and below are incompatible with Windows 11, version 24H2, leading to launch failures.
• Easy Anti-Cheat with outdated drivers is causing blue screen errors during gameplay.
• Wallpaper customization apps may not work as expected, leading to crashes or incomplete functionality.
• Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers are causing blue screens due to compatibility issues.
• Asphalt 8 may periodically freeze, leading to game crashes on affected systems.

We’re only talking about the upgrade blocks here, not the issues.

Windows 11 24H2 issues are longer than the above list as they cause the mouse cursor to disappear, Windows Update 8.63GB cache, Task Manager zero processes count, BSODs for certain SSDs, network (Wi-Fi) failure, and even a bug where the File Explorer menu appears outside the screen.

The post Microsoft makes Windows 11 24H2 available for more PCs, as two upgrade blocks lift appeared first on Windows Latest

But what’s going on? With Chrome 130, when you copy a link or text in Chrome, you now see a small pop-up that says “Link copied.” This is one of the examples as you might come across similar pop-ups like “Image Copied”.

Google has turned on these alerts for the following actions:

• When you copy a link in Chrome, it shows “Link Copied”.
• Or when you select a text, right-click and Copy link to highlight, it also says “Link Copied”.
  
• When you right-click and copy an image, it shows “Image Copied”.
  
• When you right-click add a tab to the reading list, Chrome shows “Page added to reading list”

Call them pop-up, alert, toast or anything, but they’re annoying.

I don’t think Google has documented the “feature” anywhere, but based on references seen and the proposal read by Windows Latest, it looks like Google believes this an important change to help you realize what you’re doing.

Google says the feature is supposed to confirm an “action”, so you don’t have to wonder if the link was copied or not.

According to documents seen by Windows Latest, Toast UI idea was part of a bigger plan to make these notifications standard across websites, so developers wouldn’t need to build their own versions. The goal was to make web pages easier to build and use, but the plan didn’t fully take off.

However, Google still plans to use the toast UI for built-in features in Chrome.

It depends on how you see Google’s idea, but my problem with “Link copied”, “Image Copied” pop-up is that they stay on the screen for 10 seconds. Worse, Google has even experimented with longer pop-ups.

Do you really need “Link Copied” or other pop-ups to stay on the screen for 10 seconds? Obviously not.

How to disable Chrome pop-ups for copying link, images and more

To turn off pop-ups for “Link copied”, “Image Copied” and others, follow these steps in Google Chrome:

1. Open Chrome, type chrome://flags/#top-chrome-toasts
2. You’ll see a highlighted option labeled “Top Chrome Toasts.”
   
3. Next to it, there’s a drop-down menu with several choices.
   
4. Choose your preferred setting
   • Disabled: Select this to completely turn off the “Link copied” pop-up.
   • Enabled: Select this to turn on the toast feature if it was off.
   • Enabled with 8s, 10s, or 12s: These options allow you to keep the toast feature on but set how long it stays on the screen—8, 10, or 12 seconds.
5. Restart Chrome.

Google plans to show “Text copied” in a future release of Chrome

In a Chromium commit, Windows Latest spotted that Google plans to show toast when text is copied to clipboard. The commit confirms Google will show toast when the “copy text” button is clicked to copy detected text.

We also spotted that Google is testing two Chrome Toast UI Enhanced Safe Browsing (ESB) features in Chrome. This will inform you changes to your Enhanced Protection setting. These.

Toasts are displayed when the setting is turned on or off via sync:

• New Chrome Toasts: Three toasts are created, two for enabling and one
  for disabling Enhanced Protection.
• New Strings: Adds new strings to support the toast messages.
• Chrome Brand Check: Includes a check to ensure ESB sync and toasts are
  only enabled for Chrome branded builds.

Google is convinced these pop-ups are going to help everyone using Chrome, and it doesn’t plan to give up on the idea.

Thankfully, Microsoft Edge doesn’t have these alerts, as it plans to focus on more important features, such as the bottom address bar and extension support for mobile.

The post Turn off Chrome’s annoying “Image copied, “Link copied” on Windows appeared first on Windows Latest

Like every other tech giant, Microsoft wants us to use AI in Windows 11 in one way or another. In fact, most of the promised AI features aren’t even here, including the controversial Windows Recall and the interesting “Click to Do”. They’re all coming and more features are planned, but how is Microsoft planning to market the big update?

Windows Intelligence. This is the answer. According to references in Windows 11, Windows Intelligence could be the new umbrella term for all the AI features. Ahead of the announcement, Microsoft is also preparing a dedicated Settings page for Windows Intelligence AI features.

Microsoft is not killing off Copilot brand, which is a different product and has nothing to do with Windows Intelligence.

As noticed by Albacore on X, new placeholders for the upcoming privacy page confirm that “Windows Intelligence” is a thing. It would be the new name for “Generative AI” settings Microsoft has been testing.

Windows Latest was able to turn on the hidden “Generative AI” page in the Settings. While it shows up as “Generative AI” in our screenshot, it’s getting rebranded to “Windows Intelligence”. That would be the name when the feature goes live in Windows 11.

As shown in the screenshot, the first toggle controls “Windows Intelligence access.” It lets users decide if apps on their device can access generative AI features”. The second setting, “Let apps use generative AI,” is for managing permissions, allowing you to control which specific apps can utilize AI capabilities.

The “Recent activity” section shows a history of AI requests within the last 7 days, providing transparency into which apps have accessed AI features. This could allow you to review past actions, such as when an app tried to access NPU or apps that might have access to AI-related features.

It’s supposed to give more transparency over how AI is being used on Windows 11. We think it looks like the existing recent activity log for apps that might have accessed the mic and camera in Windows 11.

Last but not least, Microsoft will also let you turn on or off Windows Intelligence system-wide or user-wide (if you’ve multiple accounts).

In addition, Microsoft previously explored a dedicated page in Settings for managing “AI Components“, including managing updates for “AI Components” on Windows Update. This is according to references to “AI component updates” in musupdatehandlers2.dll.mui.

When is it coming to Windows 11? A release date is uncertain, but Microsoft could still announce “Windows Intelligence” or tease it in some way by the end of the year, or we might learn more about it in early 2025.

The post Leak confirms Windows 11 AI “Windows Intelligence” brand, privacy features appeared first on Windows Latest