Microsoft Issues Last-Second Release Preview Builds for Windows 11 23H2 and 24H2

On the eve of September’s Week D preview update, Microsoft has issued Release Preview builds that trigger new questions about the schedule: As you may know, we expected the software giant to issue a preview version of the update that will upgrade users to Windows 11 version 24H2 tomorrow. And though we hadn’t discussed this, also a related preview version of the October cumulative update for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. So these releases are curious: Microsoft could now delay the Week D updates by a few days (as it’s done at least twice this past summer) or, in a more far-fetched possibility, delay the release of 24H2 until November.

That latter option would be A-OK with me: It would give me more time to work on the core 24H2 updates for the Windows 11 Field Guide. But it’s much more likely that what we’re seeing here is a bit of update theater in which Microsoft gives the impression of testing the final build before foisting it on the broader user base in stable. So that’s where my money is.

In any event, if you have a PC enrolled in the Release Preview channel of the Windows Insider Program and are testing 24H2, you will receive KB5043178 today and see the OS version number jump to 26100.1876. The new features are on the slim side, as one would expect this late in the game. They include:

“Sign out” reshuffling in the Start-based account manager. Microsoft hid “Sign out” and some other options in the so-called account manager in Start under a “More options” (“…”) link. But thanks to a lot of disgruntled users, it’s moved it back out to the window that appears (the account manager) when you click your profile picture in Start, where it was before.

Share local files in Search results. Now, when you search for a file using system Search–still called “Start search” by many–a “Share” option will appear next to local files in the results.

Media controls on the Lock screen. A new media control card will appear on the Lock screen under the four MSN tiles when media is playing.

And yes, these features were just pushed into the Dev channel for the first time, along with some other changes, just three days ago.

Those with a PC enrolled in the Release Preview channel but testing new features for 22H2 or 23H2 will receive KB5043145 today, upping the OS version number to 22631.4247. (22H2 and 23H2 are on the same code base.) This build includes the same features as above, plus a few others and some bug fixes to ensure that 22H2, 23H2, and 24H2 will be fully aligned from a functional standpoint in October. After that, 22H2 will be retired, anyone still using 22H2 will be force-upgraded to 23H2, and 23H2 and 24H2 will push forward as the only two supported versions of Windows 11.

Normally, I’d decry this last-second spaz attack, but this is SOP for the Windows team this year. Everything is normal, nothing to see here. The only question now is when we’ll see the Week D updates (assuming I’m right about the schedule). My guess is Thursday (September 26).