Windows 11 Insider build 23506 released to the Dev Channel with lots of new stuff!

Kip Kniskern

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Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider build 23506 to the Dev Channel, and there’s a lot do digest here. Let’s dive right in:

Windows Hello for Business passwordless experience

Enterprise customers can now enable a EnablePasswordlessExperience policy to allow users in AAD joined machines to log in with a passwordless experience. The setting removes passwords from the user experience, athough “(i)f the user fails to sign in, recovery mechanisms such as PIN reset or web sign-in can be used to help the user recover their credentials without IT helpdesk engagement.”

Warnings on unsafe password copy and paste

We are trying out a change starting with this build where users who have enabled warning options for Windows Security under App & browser control > Reputation-based protection > Phishing protection will see a UI warning on unsafe password copy and paste, just as they currently see when they type in their password.

Example warning dialog on unsafe password copy and paste.

Local File Sharing gets improvements

These include

  • better Windows 11 design principles matching
  • email files through Outlook directly through the Windows share window
  • a search box has been added to the Windows share window to search for contacts
  • the dropdown for nearby sharing has been replaced with a button
  • your own PCs have been moved to the top of the nearby sharing list
  • speed improvements for WiFi Direct sharing
  • a “Share” link has been added to the context menu

The new Outlook for Windows is now an inbox app

New post-Out of the Box (OOBE) experiences

  • If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, Dev Home will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup.
  • If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn more about Dev Home and give you the opportunity to open Dev Home.
  • If you choose to ‘Restore’ your device during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after you log into your device for the second time after completing OOBE. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn about key apps and settings, tell you that Windows has restored on your device and show you how to access your restored apps on Start menu or taskbar.

Windows Copilot Preview is now rolled out to all Dev Channel Windows 11 Insiders

You may have to reboot to get Windows Copilot

Along with these new features, there are a number of changes, improvements, fixes, and known issues, be sure to check out the blog post for all the details