Microsoft Releases February Patch Tuesday Updates for Windows 11 and 10

Microsoft has just released the February 2024 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10. On Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2, the biggest change in today’s KB5034765 patch is that the Copilot shortcut in the taskbar will be moved to the right side of the system tray area.

This is how Microsoft’s Copilot assistant appeared on Windows 10 last fall, so this change should improve consistency across the two versions of Windows. However, Microsoft noted that this new Copilot shortcut will roll out to Windows 11 gradually. With today’s update, Windows 11 will also stop displaying by default the ‘Show desktop’ option at the rightmost corner of the taskbar, though this can be changed in Taskbar settings.

There are also some notable bug fixes in today’s update: Microsoft fixed a File Explorer issue causing the app to stop responding when you restart or shut down a PC that has a controller accessory attached to it. If you use the new Natural Voices in Narrator, announcements should also no longer be slowed down.

For the original version of Windows 11 (21H2), today’s KB5034766 patch only includes bug fixes and no user-facing changes. The KB5034763 update for Windows 10 version 22H2, however, brings a richer experience for the lock screen that was first introduced in last month’s optional update (KB5034203).

Microsoft said at the time that this richer weather experience will roll out over the coming weeks. Windows 10 users will see a bigger weather card on their lock screens displaying interactive weather updates, and tapping or clicking the card will open the full MSN weather forecast in Microsoft Edge once the PC is unlocked.

If you’re on Windows 11, a similar weather card on the lock screen started rolling out last month after a short period of testing with Insiders. After Copilot, this seems to be another example of Microsoft backporting a new Windows 11 feature to Windows 10.