Following the release of Windows 10 19H1 build 18351 for Fast Ring Insiders yesterday, Microsoft is now treating Skip Ahead Insiders with a fresh new 20H1 build. Until now, these first builds from this new development branch haven’t brought any new features to play with, and the same can be said about this new build 18850.
The release notes do mention an update for the Snip & Sketch app that is currently rolling out to Insiders, but this new version is not tied to the installation of build 18850. The version 10.1901.10521.0 of Snip and Sketch will now use .png as default save format, and you’ll also notice Narrator (screen reader) confirmations when a snip is copied to clipboard.
Other than that, this new build brings improvements for Microsoft Edge, Windows Sandbox, and more, but Microsoft still hasn’t fixed the issues related to anti-cheat software and Creative X-Fi sound cards. The full release notes are available below:
General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC
- We fixed an issue where Narrator continuous reading in Edge did not keep the text cursor at the position where reading was started from.
- We fixed an issue where Narrator Scan mode down arrow navigation might get stuck when reading in Chrome.
- In Windows Sandbox, Settings app no longer crashes when you navigate to the Narrator settings.
- We fixed an issue where the time shown on the clock in Windows Sandbox might not match the clock outside of Windows Sandbox.
- We fixed an issue resulting in some devices unexpectedly experiencing a 30 second wait before pin re-entry was available after a pin was incorrectly entered on the lock screen.
- We fixed an issue resulting in Emoji 12 emoji showing up as boxes in certain XAML text fields.
- We’ve made some adjustments to improve WIN+(period) reliability.
- We fixed an issue that could result in the Start menu not launching if the GPO to turn off the all apps list in Start was enabled.
- We fixed an issue where the default Microsoft Word web tile pinned to Start (in the case where Office wasn’t installed) was unexpectedly launching Microsoft Edge in inPrivate mode.
- We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge sometimes crashing when editing or tabbing through PDFs.
- We’ve made a change to improve cloud clipboard (if enabled) sync reliability.
- We fixed an issue that could result in the lock screen unexpectedly not dismissing until Ctrl+Alt+Del was pressed.
- We fixed an issue where if high contrast mode was enabled during Windows setup, that state wouldn’t persist first logon.
Known issues
- Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
- If you use third party apps to adjust the color of your screen, we’ve made a fix with this build to address feedback that certain apps were no longer working. We’re continuing to investigate feedback in this space.
- For display calibration scenarios, monitors may be missing in the built-in Color Management application. As a work around, please use the Settings app to select color profile instead, under the Display Settings page.
- When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled, the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly.
- Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue.
- Mouse pointer color might be incorrectly switched to white after signing out and signing back in.
- Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.
- We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you.
Known issues for Developers
- If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.
According to a recent report from ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, this early testing of 20H1 builds is the result of Microsoft wanting to get Azure and Windows releases aligned. However, the Windows Insider team will still plans to release 19H2 builds to Insiders later this Spring once the 19H1 is nearly finished.
