Microsoft Releases March 2026 Patch Tuesday Updates

Microsoft has released today the March 2026 Patch Tuesday for all supported versions of Windows 11. As usual, today’s KB5079473 update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 includes the new features that were previously made available via the optional update released in the last week of February, but most of them will be rolling out gradually to Windows 11 users.

Here are the main changes you should know about:

Network speed test tool in Taskbar: This new tool can be accessed from the Wi‑Fi or Cellular Quick Settings, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray. It opens in the default browser and measures Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and cellular connections.

Camera Settings: The Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras page now offers new pan and tilt settings for supported cameras.

Built-in System Monitor (Sysmon): The popular tool for monitoring and logging system activity is now available as an optional Windows 11 feature. You can enable it by Settings > System > Optional features, but Microsoft recommends users who have already installed the tool from Microsoft’s website to uninstall it before enabling the new built-in version.

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) improvements: This update adds support for Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on Windows 11 Arm64 devices.

Quick Machine Recovery: The new tool for recovering Windows 11 PCs when they encounter critical errors is now enabled automatically for Windows Professional devices that are not domain‑joined and not enrolled in enterprise endpoint management.

Desktop Background: You can now set .webp images as your desktop background.

New Emoji: The Emoji 16.0 release introduces a couple of new emoji, including face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, and splatter.

BitLocker improvements: Your device no longer stops responding after you enter your recovery key.

File Explorer improvements: This update improves File Explorer search reliability when searching across multiple drives or “This PC”.

I mentioned it in my previous post about the optional February updates for Windows 11, but Microsoft has started publishing patch notes for the version 26H1 of the OS. This new version of Windows 11 isn’t available to the public yet, as it will only ship on upcoming devices powered by new ARM silicon.

Microsoft has been shipping 26H1 builds to Windows Insiders on the Canary Channel, but these builds are usually missing features already available on other Channels. The just-released KB5079466 patch for Windows 11 version 26H1 is no different, as it only brings several features that Microsoft already made available on older versions of Windows 11.