July 28, 2026—KB5101681 (OS Build 28000.2608) Preview

This section highlights some new features and enhancements for Windows 11 PCs, including AI-powered capabilities, continuous innovation, and performance improvements.

Windows Update

• New! A calendar experience in Windows Update Settings (Settings > Windows Update) lets you pause updates by choosing an end date, for up to 35 days. You can extend the pause by selecting a different end date and re‑pause updates as needed. For more information, see Pause updates in Windows.

Widgets

• New! A quieter, more focused Widgets experience helps reduce interruptions and improves default settings and notification controls:

  • Reduce distractions: Widgets no longer open on hover. Notifications and taskbar badges are minimized by default.

  • Simpler: Open to the Widgets dashboard by default on first use.

  • Customize: Configure Widgets how you want by selecting Settings in the navigation bar, then changing any of the default settings.

  • Stay informed: Dashboard icons show the number of alerts, and badges clear automatically when you leave a dashboard.

  • Adjusted defaults: Some default settings are preserved based on usage, while others adjust to reduce interruptions.

  • Performance improvements: This update provides improved reliability, responsiveness, and visual quality across the Widget experience.

Accessibility

• New! This update makes your screen easier to see and customizes your zoom experience:

  • Screen tint: Apply a full-screen color overlay to help reduce eye strain and improve readability. Choose from preset tint options, adjust the intensity, or turn it on automatically. Find this feature in Settings > Accessibility.

  • Magnifier: Enter a zoom percentage directly and change it in increments in the Magnifier window for more precise, flexible control.

  • Magnifier settings menu: You can now also modify zoom increments directly from the magnifier bar instead of navigating to Windows Settings each time.

File Explorer

• New! When you hover over a file in File Explorer Home, commands such as Open file location and Ask Copilot appear as quick actions. This experience is now supported for work and school accounts (Entra ID).¹

  • Improves the speed and performance of File Explorer launch.²

  • This update improves File Explorer responsiveness when mounting disk images.

  • The address bar now supports paths containing double backslashes and quotation marks (for example, C:\Users\user or "C:\Users\user"), improving compatibility with a wider range of inputs.

  • The address bar suggestion dropdown is more reliable and now consistently closes after an item is selected.

  • This update addresses an issue on File Explorer Home where OneDrive files could appear duplicated in the Favorites section.

  • This update includes several refinements to the Rename experience:

    • Addresses an issue where text was repeatedly selected when renaming items in folder views.

    • Addresses an issue where case-only name changes were not immediately reflected in folder views for items stored locally or in the cloud.

Bluetooth

• This update improves reliability and performance when connecting to and using Bluetooth devices:

  • New! Windows now keeps the microphone mute state in sync between the audio mixer and the Hands-Free Profile (HFP) for a more consistent experience with Bluetooth headphones with mute buttons or indicators.

  • Accessory compatibility workarounds: Improves compatibility with specific Bluetooth audio devices, helping AirPods appear faster in pairing mode and improving microphone reliability on Beats Studio Pro headphones.

• Bluetooth audio stability:

  • Improves overall Windows stability with certain PC manufacturer drivers (error code 0x9F).

  • Improves Bluetooth reliability for voice calls when using Classic Audio devices with the Hands-Free Profile (HFP).

  • Reduces time for LE Audio accessories to start playing audio while using the microphone.

• Device management: Windows will no longer show a “Remove failed” message when attempting to remove Bluetooth devices if the Bluetooth radio is unavailable or has changed since pairing.

• Settings experience: Improves stability when using the Bluetooth & devices settings page for a smoother, more consistent experience.

• Connection reliability and responsiveness:

  • Reduces the time it takes for classic Bluetooth audio devices to reconnect after Windows resumes from hibernation.

  • Improves reliability when LE Audio accessories disconnect, such as when another device (for example, a phone) connects.

  • Improves reliability of LE Audio streaming after a connection is lost and restored.

Bluetooth and Phone Link

• This update improves audio routing for calls made through a connected phone:

  • When an outgoing call is dialed from a paired phone, audio remains on the phone while ringing and transfers to the PC only when the call is answered from the PC.

  • When Do Not Disturb is enabled on Windows, incoming call audio from a paired phone no longer rings on the PC.

Voice access and voice typing

• New!⁠ You can now use voice access and voice typing in French, German, and Spanish. As you speak, your PC improves your text in real time. It corrects grammar, punctuation, and recognition errors, and helps improve clarity—even in the presence of background noise. This makes dictation smoother and reduces the need for manual edits.³

Audio

• This update improves the reliability of the inbox HD Audio driver.

Taskbar

• This update improves the reliability of opening the Start menu when selecting the left edge of the taskbar when the icons in the taskbar are left-aligned.

Networking

• This update includes networking improvements for virtualized environments. Confidential Virtual Machines (CVMs) now use SR-IOV hardware acceleration by default for improved network throughput, and a configuration issue in nested Hyper-V virtualization network setup has been corrected to ensure reliable VM network provisioning.

• This update improves the reliability of the Windows networking stack. It reduces bug checks (blue screen errors) related to Wi-Fi power and improves cellular (WWAN) connectivity, including support for IPv6 VPNs. Compatibility with third-party VPN software and SR-IOV configurations on server hardware is also improved. Network adapter settings and bindings are now preserved across OS upgrades.

Printing

• New! New printer installations use Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) by default when supported, simplifying setup and improving reliability. For details about third-party driver deprecation, see End of Servicing Plan for Third-Party Printer Drivers on Windows. To control this behavior, use the toggle in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Default install printers using Windows Ready Print. For more information, see Introducing Windows Ready Print and modernized driver selection. For more information, see Introducing Windows Ready Print and Modernized Driver Selection.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

• The update improves usage of WSL in mirrored networking mode with VPNs.

Display and graphics

• Improves the reliability of rendering content while scrolling for certain apps spanning across multiple monitors.

• Improves the reliability and persistence of applying color profiles.

Location services

• This update changes how some location settings are displayed in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location to help with clarity. When location services are turned off, settings like Default location and Allow location override don't immediately apply, since location information is not given to apps or services. These settings will now be greyed out when location services are off to reduce confusion over when they take effect.

Search

• This update improves the reliability of setting Search related group policies.

Input

• New! You can now customize the size of the right-click zone in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad. Choose from default, small, medium, or large to control how much of the bottom-right corner responds to a single-finger right-click. This setting is only available on touchpads with a pressable surface. If your device manufacturer provides customization through their own app, a Custom option will appear to reflect those settings.

• This update improves recognition of English characters when using Japanese handwriting.

General performance

• Improves the time to shut down Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) when you turn off your PC.

General reliability

• This update improves the reliability of explorer.exe. It addresses issues on the login and lock screens related to third-party credential providers, reduces the probability of taskbar icons appearing as blank gray placeholders, and improves navigation to Home in File Explorer during OneDrive sync. It also improves explorer.exe reliability when switching between desktops, enhances app launch with shell extensions, and using acrylic blur effects in the Start menu, Settings, and the lock screen.

Apps

• Resolves an issue where some installers and applications could show unexpected elevation (UAC) prompts after installing KB5089549.

Remote Desktop

• This update refreshes the dialog design when you enable Remote Desktop in Settings > System > Remote Desktop.

Graphics Kernel

• Improves memory-management policy that allows PCs with more than 32GB of installed memory to run larger local AI models.

¹Feature availability varies by device and market.

Before you install this update, the standalone package(s) for this update is available from the Microsoft Update Catalog website. This KB contains one or more MSU files that require installation in a specific order.

You can install this update using Method 1 (install all MSU files together) or Method 2 (install each MSU file individually, in order).

Method 1: Install all MSU files together

Download all MSU files for KB5101681 from Microsoft Update Catalog and place them in the same folder (for example, C:/Packages). Use Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe) to install the target update. DISM will use the folder specified in PackagePath to discover and install one or more prerequisite MSU files as needed.

Updating Windows PC

To apply this update to a running Windows PC, run the following command from an elevated Command Prompt:

DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:c:\\packages\\windows11.0-KB5101681-arm64 - Download link will be available soon.

Or, run the following command from an elevated Windows PowerShell prompt:

Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath "c:\\packages\\windows11.0-KB5101681-arm64 - Download link will be available soon.

Or use Windows Update Standalone Installer to install the target update.

Updating Windows Installation media

To apply this update to Windows Installation media, see Update Windows installation media with Dynamic Update.

To add this update to a mounted image, run the following command from an elevated Command Prompt:

DISM /Image:mountdir /Add-Package /PackagePath:Windows11.0-KB5101681-arm64 - Download link will be available soon.

Or, run the following command from an elevated Windows PowerShell prompt:

Add-WindowsPackage -Path "c:\\offline" -PackagePath "Windows11.0-KB5101681-arm64 - Download link will be available soon.

Method 2: Install each MSU file individually, in order

Download and install each MSU file individually either using DISM or Windows Update Standalone Installer in the following order:

1. windows11.0-KB5101681-arm64 - Download link will be available soon.