Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 10 as they roll out from Microsoft. Now updated for Insider Preview Build 19041.264 for the Slow and Release Preview rings, released on May 12, 2020.
Microsoft never sleeps. Even before the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909) started to roll out, the company began working on upcoming feature updates to Windows 10. As it did with version 1909, Microsoft has been releasing a series of public preview builds to members of Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program.
After years of using “Redstone” in its code names for upcoming releases, Microsoft switched to a new format with version 1903, released in May 2019. The code names now use a YYH1/YYH2 format, with the YY standing for the last two numbers of the year and H1 or H2 referring to the first or second half of the year. So Windows 10 version 1909, which was released in November 2019, was code-named “19H2” (for second half of 2019). The next feature update, due in the spring of 2020, is code-named 20H1.
In December 2019, Microsoft also changed how its Insider rings work: Now the Fast ring is where new features are introduced for testing, regardless of which Windows 10 release they’ll eventually end up in. The Slow ring is where you’ll get more polished features that will be deployed in the next Windows 10 feature update; at the moment that’s Windows 10 20H1. And the Release Preview ring usually doesn’t see action until shortly before a new feature update is rolled out; it’s meant for final testing of an upcoming release.
Below you’ll find information about preview builds that have been released to the Fast ring, followed by preview builds specifically for 20H1. For each build, we’ve included the date of its release, which Insider ring it was released to, a summary of what’s in the build, and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it. After that you’ll find summaries of all the preview builds that led up to prior feature updates, from the November 2019 Update (version 1909, code-named 19H2) on back to the Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703, code-named Redstone 2).
This minor build offers a variety of small changes and bug fixes, including fixing an issue that caused unexpected flickering across Windows shell surfaces and apps in the last two builds, and another that resulted in certain Bluetooth mice being very slow to reconnect to devices after they have been asleep.
There are several known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users who seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content, and another in which Windows Security’s Core Isolation doesn’t work on some devices.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19624.)
This minor build lets you control your music and audio from inside the Your Phone app and makes it easy to keep up with the latest news about the coronavirus pandemic using Windows Search. To do keep updated, select “View interactive map” or “See headlines” to get local, national and international news about the pandemic.
The build also offers a variety of fixes, including for a bug that had caused Insiders to have bug checks with the error DPC WATCHDOG VIOLATION, and another that resulted in some unexpected characters showing up in the text strings of intl.cpl’s Additional Settings > Currency.
There are six known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content, and another in which the Documents and Downloads sections under Privacy show a broken icon next to their page name.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19619.)
This minor build turns on Bing Answers in Cortana for a wide variety of regions and languages. It also has nine fixes, including for a bug that caused app icons in the taskbar to display incorrectly, including defaulting to the.exe icon. This issue also caused some Insiders to have more reliability issues with explorer.exe.
There are six known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content, and another in which Settings crashes when installing a font.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19613.)
This build includes a new feature for the Your Phone app that lets your drag and drop files between a PC and a phone. For now, it only works on certain Samsung smartphones.
In addition, when you’re setting default apps for your PC, you can now search by file types, protocols, and apps.
There are half a dozen bug fixes in the build, including for one in which Sticky Notes windows couldn’t be moved, and another that caused the Snip & Sketch App to launch in the background instead of the foreground (and be on top of all windows) when the app was invoked via pen click.
There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content, and another in which the Documents and Downloads sections under Privacy show a broken icon next to their page name.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19608.)
This build integrates File Explorer with the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). When you launch File Explorer, you’ll see a Linux folder, which you can browse. There’s also a new feature in Storage Settings that displays your unused files and apps, so you can more easily clean your hard disk.
The build also introduces the beta of a new Windows 10 app, Microsoft News Bar, which displays the latest news and stock information. Eventually, weather and sports information will be added as well.
A wide variety of bugs were fixed, including one in which some devices experienced a bug check (GSOD) during the reboot to install an update, and another in which files could not be dragged and dropped onto the root of a network share folder.
There are nine known issue in this build, including one in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon and another in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19603.)
The primary improvement in this build gives people with 2-in-1 convertibles a tweaked desktop interface, primarily designed for touch. It includes these changes:
There are also eight bug fixes in the release, including for one that could have resulted in the Optional Features page in Settings appearing blank, and another in which the corruption repair (DISM) process stopped at 84.9%.
There are several known issue in this build, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, another in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon, and another in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19592.)
This build has a small number of minor bug fixes and changes. Your PC’s volume now won’t unmute when using the hardware keyboard volume keys until you raise the volume (or manually unmute). Among the bugs fixed are one in which the new icon next to “Scan with Microsoft Defender” in File Explorer’s context menu didn’t have a transparent background, and another that could result in the search box being missing from some apps.
There are several known issue in this build, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19587.)
This build has new settings pages for Eye Control, which lets you control Windows with eye movements. In addition, a variety of features have been added to the Your Phone app for Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip, including Rich Communication Service messaging and copying and pasting text and images between devices.
There are also a variety of fixes, including for an issue caused some attempts to update to a build to result in error 0x8007042, and another that caused Task Manager to show “Unavailable” DPI Awareness for all processes.
There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users who use the Chromium version Microsoft Edge may experience difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19582.)
This build makes a minor change to how commercial customers can customize any diagnostic Windows data they opt to send Microsoft. They now have more granular controls over the data they can choose to share. The build also includes an updated version of PowerToys with minor changes, including almost 300 additional unit tests to increase stability and prevent regressions.
There are also a wide variety of fixes, including for an issue in which input stopped working in some places if clipboard history was dismissed without pasting anything, and another in which when using Storage Sense to clean up Windows.old, not all of the data was removed.
There are 10 known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users that use the Chromium version Microsoft Edge may experience difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content, and another in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19577.)
This build updates the icons for built-in apps including Alarms & Clock, Calculator, Mail, and Calendar, an initial step toward updating all Windows icons. For more details, see this post from the Microsoft Design Team.
The build also fixes several issues and bugs, including one that affected Start menu reliability, and another that stopped OneDrive from working and also using an unexpectedly high amount of CPU for some users.
There are a number of known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator and NVDA users may experience difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content in the new Chromium version of Microsoft Edge, and another in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19569.)
This build offers a preview of a new version of the Windows 10 Calendar app. The app has more than 30 new themes; adds an agenda pane to the month view, letting you see a day’s events at a glance; a simpler way to create a new event; and a smaller account navigation pane, so there’s more room to see a day’s events. To see the new app preview, go to the Calendar app and toggle it on. You can toggle it off when you want to go back to the old version of the app.
The build also has an updated Graphics settings page, giving you more control over which GPU apps run on.
There are also nearly two dozen bug fixes, including for one that caused some devices to not sleep on idle and another that could result in a deadlock (in which everything freezes) when using your PC.
There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon (just a rectangle), and another in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19564.)
This minor build has only small bug fixes, including for one that resulted in explorer.exe crashing when backing out of folders containing .heic or RAW files, and another that caused some people to get a green screen with the error message KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED.
There are 10 known issues in this build, including one in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon (just a rectangle), and another in which some devices are no longer sleeping on idle.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19559.)
This minor build has only small bug fixes, including for one in which when certain external USB 3.0 drives are attached, they stopped responding with Start Code 10, and another that resulted in the Start menu and apps not opening until explorer.exe had been restarted after locking and then unlocking a computer while listening to music.
There are eight known issues in this build, including one in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon and another in which some devices are no longer sleeping on idle.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19555.)
This minor build has only small bug fixes, including for one in which snipping was not working on secondary monitors, one in which Remote Desktop Connection was crashing when attempting to connect to multiple sessions, and another in which the Optimize Drives Control Panel was incorrectly showing that optimization hadn’t run on some devices.
There are nine known issues in this build, including one in which when certain external USB 3.0 drives are attached, they stop responding with Start Code 10, and another in which the Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon (just a rectangle).
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19551.)
This build introduces graphing mode for Windows Calculator. Previously, the calculator didn’t have the ability to create graphs. Graphing mode allows one or more equations to be plotted on a graph, lets you add equations with secondary variables, and allows you to analyze graphs.
There are also four minor bug fixes in the build, including for a bug that had resulted in Timeline not showing any activities, and another in which Outlook wasn’t working for some people.
There are nearly a dozen known issues in this build, including one in which when certain external USB 3.0 drives are attached, they stop responding with Start Code 10, and another in which Remote Desktop Connection crashes when attempting to connect to multiple sessions.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19546.)
This build lets you set timers with Cortana and adds Bing’s Instant Answers capabilities to Cortana; for instance, you can ask when Seattle’s Space Needle was built and receive an answer instantly in Cortana without being taken to a web search. In addition, an icon now appears in the Notification Area when an app is using your location.
The build also fixes a number of problems, including one that made Systems Settings less reliable and another that could cause the update speed in Task Manager to unexpectedly be set to Paused.
There are nine known issues in this build, including one in which when certain external USB 3.0 drives are attached, they stop responding with Start Code 10, and another that doesn’t allow Timeline to show any activities.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19541.)
This build lets those with Android phones see all of their phone’s pictures on their Windows 10 PCs. You can now also more easily find new hardware drivers and update them. Instead of having to go the Device Manager, you can ask Windows Update to keep your drivers up to date.
The build also introduces a consumer-oriented feature called “People in my family” that makes it easier to set up devices that can be used by multiple family members. Not everyone who gets the build will have the feature enabled.
The build also offers a variety of bug fixes, changes and improvements. It fixed an issue that resulted in Task Manager’s icon not appearing in the notification area of the taskbar even though if it had been enabled in Settings. In addition, an issue was fixed that caused the Bluetooth battery level displayed in Settings to get stuck, reducing its accuracy.
There are five known issues in this build, including one in which when certain external USB 3.0 drives are attached, they stop responding with Start Code 10.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19536.)
This cumulative update fixes several minor bugs and includes many security updates. It fixes a performance issue in Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) that prevented it from working correctly for many users, and another issue that prevented cleaning tools, such as Disk Cleanup, from removing previously installed updates.
The security updates are for Internet Explorer, the Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Input and Composition, Windows Media, Windows Shell, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Edge, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Cryptography, Windows Authentication, Windows Kernel, Windows Virtualization, Windows Update Stack, Windows Core Networking, Internet Information Services, Windows Network Security and Containers, Windows Active Directory, Windows Server, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine. For details, see the Release Notes for May 2020 Security Updates.
There is one known issue in this build, in which Narrator and NVDA users who seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.264.)
This is the same build that Microsoft released to the Slow ring last week; the company expects it will be the final build of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Previously, Microsoft had thought that 10 Insider Preview Build 19041.207 would be the final, but it decided to make one more fix. The only change from the previous build is the fix of an issue that failed to send NPLogonNotify API notifications from the credential provider framework.
There are several known issue in this build, including one in which Windows Mixed Reality may not work correctly for many users. Because of that, Microsoft recommends that people who regularly use Mixed Reality should hold off installing this build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.208.)
This cumulative update includes all the fixes from Build 19041.207, plus one additional fix, an issue that failed to send NPLogonNotify API notifications from the credential provider framework.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.208.)
This build is likely the final one for the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. The cumulative update includes all the new features in that update, as well as a variety of small fixes and security updates, including fixing an issue that caused the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service (rpcss.exe) to close unexpectedly and stop the device from working, and an issue that might prevent the rear camera flash from functioning as expected on devices that have a rear camera.
There are also security updates for the Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Kernel, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Media, Windows Shell, Windows Management, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Authentication, Windows Virtualization, Windows Core Networking, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Update Stack, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine. For details, see the Release Notes for April 2020 Security Updates.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.20.)
This cumulative update includes several small bug fixes and security updates, including for a bug that caused the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service (rpcss.exe) to close unexpectedly and stopped your device from working, and another that could prevent the rear camera flash from functioning as expected.
The security updates are for the Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Kernel, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Media, Windows Shell, Windows Management, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Authentication, Windows Virtualization, Windows Core Networking, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Update Stack, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine. For more details, see the April 2020 Security Updates Release Notes.
There is one known issue in this build, in which Narrator and NVDA users who seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.207.)
This build includes the fix previously released in Build 19041.172 (see below) plus several other fixes, including for a bug that failed to allocate resources during device initialization, which caused some USB mass storage devices to stop working, and another that prevented the mute button from working on certain devices with the Your Phone app.
There is one known issue in this build, in which Narrator and NVDA users who seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 19041.173.)
This build fixes a single issue that prevented the Windows logo key + J keyboard shortcut from giving focus to certain Windows tips.
There is one known issue in this build, in which Narrator and NVDA users who seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content.
