Windows 11 Build 25169 Released With App Lockdown

Windows 11 has received the Insider Preview Build 25169 on the Dev channel. Insiders on this channel can now install this update which allows IT administrators to only allow a set of applications to run on the Windows 11 computer whilst blocking all other operations.

This update also includes other fixes and improvements for the operating system but comes with a few issues as well.

Let us discuss these features and improvements in detail before learning to upgrade to this build.

New in Windows 11 Build 25169

Multi-App Kiosk Mode

This feature allows administrators to allow only certain applications to run on a Windows 11 computer while blocking all other operations. This enables the user to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user types, all on a single device.

This Kiosk mode is ideal for situations where multiple users use the same computer.

Right now, this feature is disabled by default. However, it can be enabled using Windows PowerShell. Refer to this Microsoft post to learn how to enable it.

Other Improvements and Fixes

Other changes and fixes have also been made with this flight:

• [General]

  • The changes for IT admins which were announced in Build 25140 on how they enroll devices in the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration option are now included in this flight.

• [Windows Spotlight]

  • You can now enable Windows Spotlight on the desktop via a brand-new Windows Spotlight theme from the following location:

    Settings app >> Personalization

    Additionally, you can make your custom themes with Windows Spotlight’s rotating images as well.

    

• [Input]

  • The U.S. English (EN-US) handwriting model has been updated to be faster and more accurate.
  • A small tweak has been made to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive. Now it has a rate of 20 keys per second.

• [Settings]

  • The Settings app now supports managing apps that were earlier only supported from Control Panel. This includes uninstallation of apps that have inter-dependencies, and repair and modifying of Win32 apps.
  • An issue where after using the reveal password button in the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, the text field might unexpectedly lose focus, has been addressed

• [Windows Security]

  • The Windows Security app version is now displayed in Windows Security settings under About.

• [File Explorer]

  • An issue leading to the Azure Information Protection context menu entry unexpectedly showing with the name Microsoft.Azip.RightClick after an upgrade has been fixed.

• [Taskbar]

  • An explorer.exe crash that was preventing the taskbar from loading when launching Microsoft Teams meetings sometimes has been fixed.
  • A couple of explorer.exe crashes some Insiders were experiencing related to taskbar overflow have been addressed.

• [Start Menu]

  • An issue that was removing the “More” button in Start’s Recommended section has been fixed.

• [Others]

  • An issue believed to be the root cause of some Insiders experiencing bug checks when opening and copying files from network locations has been addressed.
  • An issue that could cause desynced audio when recording gameplay with the Xbox Game Bar has been fixed.
  • An issue leading to error code 0x80004005 when using the network troubleshooter has been addressed.
  • Some adjustments have been made to fix an issue where the scrollbar in certain places (like File Explorer) was unexpectedly wide when using high DPI scaling.
  • An issue believed to be the root cause of Windows Security saying standard hardware security wasn’t supported on devices where it was actually supported, as well as showing a warning in the taskbar but not showing any issues when Windows Security was launched, has been addressed.

With these new features, improvements, and fixes, there is also a known issue with this flight.

Known Issues

• [General]
  • There are reports that the SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
• [File Explorer]
  • The up arrow is misaligned in the File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • There are reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
• [Widgets]
  • The notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
  • In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear on the widgets board.
  • There is an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

How to Install Windows 11 Build 25163

To install this update, you need to be running Windows 11 and subscribed to the Dev channel. If you have enabled Windows updates, you will automatically get a “New features are ready to install” prompt.

If not, follow these steps to install the update:

1. Navigate to the Settings app and then click Windows Update on the left.

2. Here, click Check for updates on the right side of the window.

   

3. You will then see either of the following update available under Updates available to download:

   Windows 11 Insider Preview 25169.1000 (rs_prerelease)
   

   Click Download and install in front of it.

   

4. Once the update downloads and installs, click Restart Now to finalize the installation.

   

Once the computer restarts, you can verify that the OS has been updated to the build specified by typing in winver in the Run Command box.

Rollback/Remove Windows 11 Insider Preview Update

If you do not wish to keep the installed preview update for some reason, you can always roll back to the previous build of the OS. However, this can only be performed within the next 10 days after installing the new update.

To roll back after 10 days, you will need to apply this trick.

Cleanup After Installing Windows Updates

If you want to save space after installing Windows updates, you can run the following commands one after the other in Command Prompt with administrative privileges:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup