Windows 11 Dev Channel Build 23550 Adds Voice Access in Out of Box Experience

Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 preview build 23550 for Insiders on the Dev Channel. This new build adds support for the Voice Access accessibility feature during the Windows 11 out-of-box experience (OOBE), and there are also more fixes for File Explorer, Task Manager, and more.

In the previous Dev Channel build 25316, Microsoft made Voice Access available on the Windows 11 Lock Screen. With today’s build 23550, Voice Access can now be used to configure a new Windows PC, and the feature is available from the accessibility flyout in OOBE.

“You can navigate OOBE, insert passwords using the on-screen keyboard, type text using dictation and control your mouse and focus using number and grid overlays once voice access has been enabled,” the Windows Insider team explained. When setting up a new device, be aware that Voice Access will require an Internet connection to enable the feature and download the required language model.

As for bug fixes in this build, Microsoft fixed an issue that was causing thumbnails in Gallery to flash when scrolling. A Task Manager bug causing the app to fail to launch has also been addressed.

If you use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), new updates are also available this week. The WSL update includes networking improvements and some experimental features such as Automatic memory reclaim. The latest WSA update, however, brings various reliability and performance improvements.