New optional updates are available for Windows 10 versions 21H1, 20H2, and 2004

Laurent Giret

News And Interests In The Windows 10 Taskbar

Microsoft has released today new optional updates for Windows 10 version 21H1 and older. If you’re running Windows 10 version 21H1, 20H2, or 2004, the optional KB5003214 patch is now available and it will enable news and interests in the taskbar for everyone.

This patch also fixes some issues with the Your Phone app, spatial audio, multiple monitor configurations, and more. Here’s everything Microsoft highlighted in the release notes today:

  • News and interests on the taskbar is now available to anyone who installs this update!
  • Improves the news and interests hover experience to prevent accidental openings.
  • Adds the Open on hover option (checked by default) to the News and interests menu. To access it, right-click a blank space on the Windows taskbar and open the News and interests menu.
  • Updates an issue that might prevent users from opening phone apps that are pinned to the taskbar. This issue occurs after they update to Windows 10, version 2004 and then use the Your Phone app.
  • Updates an issue that prevents a touch device from working as a serial mouse in multiple monitor situations.
  • Updates an issue that might display items on the desktop after you have deleted them from the desktop.
  • Updates an error that might cause video playback to fail when you switch from an external high-dynamic-range (HDR) display to a built-in non-HDR display.
  • Updates an issue that fails to apply the spatial audio effect to sounds when you enable spatial audio.
  • Updates an issue with noise when you enable spatial audio and use Bluetooth USB headphones.
  • Updates an issue that prevents users from receiving geographic location information.
  • sdsd

As usual, all the fixes included in the optional KB5003214 patch will eventually roll out to all Windows 10 users with next month’s Patch Tuesday update. You can install this new optional patch today via Windows Update, which is where you may also download Windows 10 version 21H1 if the update is already available for your PC.

The latest Windows release only started rolling out last week and it’s a minor update that shares a common core with Windows 10 versions 20H2 and 2004. As Microsoft kicked off its annual Build developer conference this morning, CEO Satya Nadella teased “the next generation of Windows” during the opening keynote and promised that more details will be revealed soon.