Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313 Replaces Legacy Edge Browser

• Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313 released on February 12, 2021 on Dev channel.
• Support for legacy Edge browser is completely gone. It will be replaced by new Edge Chromium browser.
• More languages supported in News and Interests taskbar app.
• Redesigned IME candidate.
• Plethora of fixes and improgements.

Microsoft has recently released a new Preview Build 21313 for all Insiders on the Dev channel which brings some significant and noticeable changes to the Windows operating system. This is a big update with massive fixes and improvements.

Microsoft claims that all insiders on this channel will now be receiving the same builds moving forward. Although that is the case, they also mention that all the features within the same build might not be released to all insiders in the same build.

Therefore, here is a heads-up: You might not receive some of the features just yet that this new release offers. But do not worry, Microsoft assures us, as in the past, you will receive them gradually with the future releases.

Insider Preview Build 21313 is not offered for ARM64 devices right now. Microsoft explained that there is an app compatibility issue with ARM64 devices right now, which they plan on fixing as soon as possible. Hopefully, this issue will be fixed before the next release where it will be released for ARM64 devices as well.

Now let us continue to see what this new update has brought to the table.

What’s new in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313

Insider Preview Build 21313 not only focuses on one domain but multiples. The most significant change this update brings is to replace the legacy Edge browser with the new, modern Chromium Edge browser.

Not only that, it takes the news and interest in the Taskbar to new levels by expanding and supporting it to more languages, which means more spread geographically.

Let us dig into the details:

News and interests support more languages

Previously, the news and interests flyover was only introduced in the following regions due to the language barrier:

• United States
• Canada
• Great Britain
• Australia
• India

Now, Microsoft has broadened its support for more languages, which means that the news content, weather forecast, etc. will now be displayed in any language at any place in the world.

News and interests will now automatically detect your location and language preferences and adjust the content accordingly.

However, Microsoft explicitly adds that the feature is not available in China yet, but will be released there soon as well.

The experience is not yet available in China. We hope to bring this experience to customers soon.

Microsoft

Chromium Edge replaces Microsoft Legacy Edge Browser

That’s it! It’s time to say the old legacy Edge browser goodbye and welcome the new Chromium Edge with an open heart. Insider Preview Build 21313 will permanently replace the old browser with the new, modern, and advanced Edge browser that is based on the Chromium OS.

Microsoft says that it is now time to expect the best results and output from a web browser, and this is where the Chromium-based Edge browser comes in.

If you want to try the upcoming features on Edge before they are released publicly, we advise that you join the Edge Insider Program. You can get a good idea of where the browser is heading, what Microsoft is working on, and whether or not it will support your customized applications or not (In case you are a developer).

Redesigned and modernized IME candidate window

An Input Method Editor (IME) is a utility for users to create their own characters when they are not natively available in their own languages. With Microsoft working on IMEs in the recent past, they have introduced more design changes as well as other changes to the IME candidate window with this release. However, these might only be available to a limited number of insiders but will be rolled out to everyone soon.

Here is what has changed with this update:

• A modernized look – Dark-theme support has been added along with an acrylic background and a more fluent design.
  
• Optimized font size – While considering both visible comfort and less intrusion, the Candidate Window font has been resized.
• Easy access to emojis – A direct access button to emojis has been added to the candidate window user interface to increase its discoverability. Microsoft adds that the performance of the button is still in progress for an optimized result.
• Overall improved performance – General improvements have been made to ensure that users have the best possible experience.

Also, the following languages are now supported for the IME interface:

• Japanese
• Chinese (Simplified) – Microsoft Pinyin
• Chinese (Simplified) – Microsoft Wubi
• Chinese (Traditional) – Microsoft Bopomofo
• Chinese (Traditional) – Microsoft ChangJie
• Chinese (Traditional) – Microsoft Quick
• Korean
• Hindi
• Bangla
• Marathi
• Telugu
• Tamil
• Kannada
• Malayalam
• Gujarati
• Odia
• Punjabi

Improvements and fixes in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313

Apart from the new features stated above, Microsoft has also fixed a bunch of other features that needed improvements. Here is a list of other improvements and fixes this build brings to Windows 10:

• Since the updates and builds in the Dev channel are not aligned with specific Windows 10 versions, the version name will now be displayed as “Dev.”
  
• Since users were unable to identify the “Hidden” button in the context menu of news and interests, it has now been changed to display “Turn off.”
• Some adjustments have been made to the animation when launching a new app to make it smoother and improve its speed.
• Improvements to the candidate bar on the touch keyboard that was announced in the last update for the Dev channel are now being rolled out with this release.
• The new voice-typing feature is also rolling out with this release. To check out this new feature, use the Windows Key + H shortcut keys.
• Another feature rolling out is being able to pin items in the updated clipboard history design.
• The following changes have been made to the emoji search results:
  • “Programming” will now return 3 technologist emojis.
  • “RIP” will return the tombstone emoji.
• Emoji search has also been updated for the Russian language.
• This update removes the capability to copy and paste a screen snip directly within a folder from File Explorer. This was also done on the insider Beta channel with the recently-released Windows 10 Feature Experience Pack. Microsoft plans to restore this feature soon after fixing an issue that was recently discovered.
• This update also changes the icon for the Narrator.
  
• An issue resulting in some insiders experiencing an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bugcheck when trying to upgrade to a new Windows build.
• The problem that resulted in Miracast users receiving very low frame rates has been fixed.
• News and interests:
  • The issue with the highlighted area when hovering over the Taskbar button and clicking on it was larger than the content being shown has been resolved.
  • The problem with the text looking too pixelated on a high-resolution display has been fixed.
  • The problem with the flyout displaying content in a single column before quickly switching to 2 columns has been fixed.
  • The issue of the flyout occasionally not being able to dismiss unless clicking it has been addressed.
  • Various issues impacting its reliability and performance have been fixed.
  • The issue with the taskbar displaying stale weather information when signing into your Windows account has been addressed.
  • The occasional occurrence of the Taskbar displaying “Offline” even when the device is online has been fixed.
  • The issue of the flyout being dismissed when attempting to share content has been addressed.
  • The problem with the size and alignment of the button when attempting to resize the flyout has been addressed.
  • The problem with the flyout not being dismissed when pressing the Esc button has been fixed.
  • The issue with the Taskbar not appearing when set to auto-hide unless the news and interests flyout had opened has been fixed.
• The problem of the computer not restarting even after clicking “Restart” in the notification prompt after enabling or disabling core isolation has been fixed.
• The issue of a notification occasionally not appearing has been fixed.
• An issue with the Alt + Tab shortcut keys that resulted in switching to an unexpected window has been fixed.
• An issue resulting in acrylic disappearing on secondary monitors when the UI with the acrylic was spanned across multiple monitors.
• A problem that could result in the Taskbar disappearing after minimizing certain applications has been addressed.
• The issue with the unexpectedly blacked-out area appearing at the bottom of Outlook has been fixed.
• The problem with the /remoteguard function for the Remote Desktop Connection not working has been fixed.
• An issue where changing the VPN profile authentication method to “certificate” in the VPN settings would not change it.
• The handle leak in MsSense.exe has been fixed which is resulting in unexpected system resource usage.
• An occasional problem resulting in a prompt “That time is in the past” when scheduling a restart, even though it wasn’t, has been addressed.
• The problem with the OS still retaining some files even after deleting the Windows.old folder has been fixed.
• The issue with the mouse not working on the dual-boot menu has been fixed.
• The issue with the Settings application occasionally hanging when navigating to Settings -> Ease of Access -> Narrator has been fixed, along with some other factors impacting the app’s reliability.
• An issue resulting in some users not being able to see the search box appear in the Set Defaults by App, Set Defaults by Protocol, and Set Defaults by File Type Settings pages have been addressed.
• Some applications failing to launch after resetting them from the Settings app have been fixed.
• The issue of the option not returning to turn the system icons on or off when searching for “Meet now” in the search box has been fixed.
• The problem of unexpected screen flickering when playing a game and using the Xbox Game Bar has been fixed.
• An issue that could result in ctfmon.exe unexpectedly crashing while typing in certain applications has been addressed.
• The problem of the text flickering when inputting text using the handwriting panel has been fixed.
• An issue resulting in the following items not launching well on East Asian language systems has been fixed:
  • IME Candidate window
  • IME toolbar
  • Touch keyboard
  • Voice typing
  • Emoji panel
  • Clipboard history
• An issue with the Japanese IME where pressing Caps Lock (Eisu) key wouldn’t switch modes according to what you’d previously used for alphanumeric conversion has been addressed.
• A problem with the Japanese IME not working when pressing the Alt + Shift keys to switch to the active input method has been fixed.
• An issue with the touch keyboard where when using the Bopomofo IME, the candidate window wouldn’t be shown if you started typing right after switching between English and Chinese modes has been addressed.
• A problem with the touch keyboard hanging or crashing when using the Japanese IME has been addressed.
• The problem of the screen unexpectedly going black when typing with the touch keyboard has been fixed.
• A problem with the Narrator reading each key in the touch keyboard twice has been fixed.
• An unexpected flashing of the screen while selecting GIFs via the touch keyboard has been fixed.
• An issue while using the touch keyboard gesture to move the text cursor in a table in OneNote resulting in exiting out of this mode has been fixed.
• A problem with the mic button on the touch keyboard not working has been addressed.
• An issue where the consent dialog for enabling voice typing from the touch keyboard showing up behind the touch keyboard has been fixed.
• An issue where using the Windows Key + H shortcut keys to pause voice typing while it was running would result in an infinite loading state or could result in voice typing immediately un-pausing has been addressed.
• The issue with the voice typing ending, even though you were still speaking, has been fixed.
• The problem with the new emoji panel not working with the Xbox Game Bar has been fixed.
• The problem resulting in the keyboard focus not on the first emoji in the list after closing and re-opening has been addressed.
• The issue with the Esc action passing through the emoji panel onto the app under it has been fixed.
• An issue impacting clipboard history and emoji panel launch reliability has been addressed.
• An issue where the “couple with heart” emojis unexpectedly had flesh-colored hearts instead of red has been addressed.

Known issues

Even after a long list of fixes, there are still quite a few issues with the insider Preview Build 21313.

Failing to connect to ADD via RDP

Users are failing to access Azure Active Directory (AAD) via Remote Desktop (RDP) after updating to this build. Microsoft has suggested a fix for this by manually adding a registry using the Registry Editor:

Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IdentityStore\LoadParameters\{B16898C6-A148-4967-9171-64D755DA8520}]
Value: “Enabled”=dword:00000001

We recommend that you create a system restore point as manipulating the system registries could be fatal for your operating system.

If you are experiencing this issue, manually create this registry by performing the following:

1. Launch the Registry Editor by typing in regedit in Run, then navigate to the following path from the left pane:
   HKEY_Local_Machine -> Software -> Microsoft -> IdentityStore -> LoadParameters
2. Now double-click the DWORD on the right named “Enabled” and set its Value Data to 1.
   
   

Other known issues

Some other known issues are:

• Users are failing to “Reset my PC” while selecting the “Keep My Files” option. There is currently no fix for this issue.
• The update process may hang for extended periods of time while installing this Preview Build 21313.
• The reliability of the Start Menu and other apps may be impacted. Users may experience frequent resetting of the Start Menu.
• Live previews for pinned sites in the Taskbar have not yet been published for all insiders. Hence, users might see a blank or grey image when they hover their mouse over the Taskbar’s thumbnails.
• Microsoft is currently working on enabling a new taskbar experience for insiders. However, users can unpin the pinned sites from the taskbar, remove them from Microsoft Edge by going to the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the sites.
• News and interests:
  • Often the news and interests window cannot be closed using a pen.
  • The flyout uses more space on the left on the Taskbar than expected.
• Users may experience Domain networking appearing under the wrong firewall profile. Microsoft says that this issue will be fixed in future releases. However, as a workaround, users should configure the network as “Private” to allow local network traffic.
• The Chinese text for the lunar calendar in the Clock and Calendar flyout is not displaying properly since the last release.
• Users may no longer be able to unpin apps from the Start Menu after installing this build. Microsoft says that they are working on resolving this problem.

How to install Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313

If you are subscribed to the Dev channel of the Windows Insider Program, then you shall automatically receive the new update through Windows Updates. However, if you are anxious to receive the update without waiting, here is what you can do.

1. Navigate to the following location:
   Start Menu -> Settings -> Update & Security -> <a href="https://www.itechtics.com/limit-windows-update-bandwidth/">Windows Update</a>
2. Now click on Check for updates on the right side and the computer will start scanning for any newly available updates.
   
3. Once scanned, the download and installation should begin automatically.
   
4. Allow ample time for the download and installation to finish. Once done, reboot the computer and your upgrade is done.

Unfortunately, a standalone ISO version for build 21301 has not yet been made available on Microsoft’s page.

Rollback/remove Windows 10 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 rollback 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:

dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

You can learn all about the Microsoft Insider Programs and check out how to join and manage them. You can also join the Windows Insider Program without creating or registering your Microsoft account.