Windows 10 Insider build 17686: Changes, fixes, and known issues

Kareem Anderson

Wednesday is becoming a staple for Windows 10 Insider releases as of late, and true to form, the Windows 10 development team just dropped the latest preview build 17686 to testers.

Here’s what’s been addressed, changed, fixed and improved upon in Windows 10 Insider preview 17686.

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed an issue resulting in frequent bugchecks on the previous build with CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error.
  • Settings > Gaming > Game DVR has been renamed “Captures”.
  • We fixed an issue where Paint and WordPad settings and recent files weren’t migrated during upgrades.
  • While we still have some work to do, you’ll find that when you update to this build, File Explorer will look a lot more complete in dark theme.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the “Replace or skip files” dialog having some unexpected dark elements in recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue where the Japanese IME’s big mode indicator would appear in the center of the screen when bringing up UAC even if the mode indicator had been disabled in Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where the taskbar flyouts (network, volume, etc) didn’t have a shadow.
  • We fixed an issue where clicking on the plus button in the Clock and
  • Calendar flyout from the taskbar didn’t do anything in recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Command Prompt’s cursor appearing invisible in the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in a high number of reliability issues when switching to the Microsoft Pinyin IME in recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue where the Emoji Panel might not dismiss if you clicked somewhere else on the screen.

There are also a number of outstanding issues that may give some testers a bit of pause when downloading this latest preview release such as Start Menu reliability and performance issues for starters. Here is the full list of known issues.

Known issues

  • We’re working on adding dark theme in File Explorer and the Common File Dialog, but we still have some things to do. You may see some unexpectedly light colors in these surfaces when in dark mode.
  • After update, Mixed Reality Portal will reinstall the Mixed Reality Software and environment settings will not be preserved. If you need your Mixed
  • Reality home experience to persist, we recommend skipping this build until these issues are fixed.
  • Some Insiders may find increased reliability and performance issues when launching Start on this build. We’re investigating.
  • Fonts acquired from Microsoft Store may not work in some apps.
  • When you upgrade to this build you’ll find that the taskbar flyouts (network, volume, etc) no longer have an acrylic background.
  • There is a bug in this build (and in Build 17682) that will impact driver testing scenarios. When executing HLK Component/Device driver tests, you may experience a bug check that blocks test execution. We are aware of the issue and actively working on a fix.
  • If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to 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. There has not yet been a RS5 build released to the Slow ring.

While the Start Menu issues may keep some of you from testing this round, I’ll see the rest of you on the other side.

Happy downloading, Insiders!