Windows 11’s latest Patch Tuesday updates have arrived, bringing with them a series of enhancements that, while not groundbreaking, offer some notable improvements to the user experience. This month’s update follows the familiar pattern of prioritizing security, but it also introduces features that may catch the eye of users seeking a more refined interface.
Improvements
- [Taskbar] New! The update enhances the visual experience by improving the previews that appear when hovering over taskbar applications, along with smoother animations.
- [Windows Studio Effects] New! Users will now see an icon in the system tray when utilizing applications that support Windows Studio Effects, provided their device is equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU). Clicking this icon opens the Studio Effects page in Quick Settings, while hovering over it reveals which app is currently accessing the camera.
- [Fonts] New! The update introduces Simsun-ExtG, a new simplified Chinese font that includes the character for Biangbiang noodles. This font encompasses 9,753 ideographs supporting Unicode Extensions G, H, and I, though some applications may not yet display these new characters correctly.
- Unicode range G 30000-3134A (4,939 chars)
- Unicode range H 31350-323AF (4,192 chars)
- Unicode range I 2EBF0-2EE5D (622 chars)
- [File Explorer]
- New! The context menu now includes a “New Folder” option when right-clicking items in the left pane.
- New! Windows will restore all previously open tabs in each File Explorer window upon enabling “Restore previous folder windows at logon.”
- New! Specific File Explorer settings will be activated automatically when “Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in” is enabled. Users can find this in Settings > Accounts > Sign in options.
- Fixed: Addressed an issue where searches could repeat unexpectedly.
- Fixed: Resolved a problem where file date and time properties might incorrectly update after copying.
- Fixed: Icons on the details pane now update correctly when changing themes, enhancing visibility when switching between light and dark modes.
- Fixed: The search box will no longer lose focus while typing.
- [Settings] New! Users can now change their time zones directly in Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time, without needing administrative privileges.
- [Mouse]
- Fixed: Resolved an issue where the mouse cursor could disappear when hovering over text fields in certain applications.
- Fixed: Addressed transparency issues with the mouse cursor when pointer trails are enabled.
- Fixed: Improved cursor performance to eliminate stuttering during movement, even under low resource usage.
- [Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME)] Fixed: Corrected a bug that caused the IME language to switch from Chinese to English when changing app windows.
- [Snipping Tool] Fixed: Resolved distortion issues with screenshots taken across multiple monitors with differing display scaling.
- [Microsoft Excel 2016] Fixed: Addressed a problem where certain files would cause Excel to remain stuck on the loading screen.
- [Game bar] Fixed: Resolved an issue where recording would fail with error code 0x82323673.
Fixes
- [High dynamic range (HDR)] Fixed: Corrected oversaturation issues in some games when using Auto HDR.
- [Digital/Analog converter (DAC) (known issue)] Fixed: Addressed problems with USB audio devices, particularly those using USB 1.0 DAC audio drivers, which could lead to playback issues.
- [USB audio device drivers] Fixed: Resolved the code 10 error message, which indicated that certain external audio management devices could not start.
- [Chinese Pinyin input method editor (IME)] Bing will no longer provide automatic suggestions in the search box for search engine sites like Baidu; users can access manual suggestions using Ctrl+Tab or the chevron button (>).
- [USB cameras] Fixed: Resolved recognition issues with cameras following the installation of the January 2025 security update.
- [Passkey] Fixed: The update eliminates the one-minute timeout when using a passkey on a mobile device.
- [Power] Fixed: Improved shutdown times on devices with connected controllers.
- [Wi-Fi] Fixed: Resolved issues with the Windows Security dialog becoming unresponsive when signing into certain Wi-Fi networks, which also affected other options in Settings.
