Windows 11 Build 25977 (Canary) improves accessibility and location privacy

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 is now available in the Canary channel with improvements made to location privacy, accessibility options that allow using Bluetooth LE Audio, and SMB over QUIC Client Access Control. Microsoft has published ISO images for this build that you can download from here.

What's new in Windows 11 Build 25977 (Canary)

Enhancing Accessibility with Bluetooth LE Audio

Added support for hearing aids with the latest Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) technology. Users of these hearing aids can now directly connect the device to a PC and stream audio and take calls on their LE Audio-enabled Windows PC.

This feature is only available on Windows devices that support Bluetooth LE Audio. In the coming months, many more devices supporting this technology will appear on the market. In the future, Microsoft will add additional features for hearing aids in Windows, such as managing audio presets through Windows Settings.

Improved location privacy

You can specify which apps may have access to a list of detected Wi-Fi networks, which can be used to determine location. You can manage your settings in the “Settings” > “Privacy and Security” > “Location” section.

To make it easier to share location information with trusted apps, a new dialog box has been added. It will appear the first time an app tries to access location or Wi-Fi information. If you agree, location services will be enabled on the system and the application will have access to them. Access to a location may be necessary to plot a route on maps or check the weather forecast.

This window will also notify you if an app unexpectedly requests access to location data, so you can allow or deny. If you don't want apps to access your location, you can turn off the Notify when apps request location option to hide the dialog box if location is disabled on the system.

Once permission is granted, apps that use location information or Wi-Fi will appear in the Recent Activity section of the Location page, and a location icon will appear on the taskbar while the app is running. This will allow you to better track when applications use this information.

Application developers can find out details about changes to the API on the official website: https://aka.ms/WifiAccessChange.

SMB over QUIC Client Access Control

SMB over QUIC now supports additional access control options for clients. This enhances the existing SMB over QUIC feature, which is an alternative to the TCP network protocol, providing secure and reliable connections to edge file servers over untrusted networks such as the Internet.

With this option, administrators can restrict client access to SMB over QUIC servers. The option provides organizations with additional security for SMB over QUIC connections, but does not change the Windows authentication used to create the SMB connection or the end user experience.

This new feature requires Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 and Windows Server Insider Preview Build 25967 or higher running in a virtual machine.

More information about configuring SMB over QUIC client access control can be found at https://aka.ms/SmbOverQuicCAC.

Changes and improvements

• The Mail and Calendar application will no longer be pre-installed on Windows 11 after a clean installation of the system from an ISO image. This change only affects builds 25977 and newer. The application will not be removed during a normal operating system update. Detailed information about the future of the Mail and Calendar application has been published on the Microsoft website.
• Xbox Game Bar has been renamed to Game Bar. The change will appear in the Start menu and under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. The name will change after updating the Game Bar through the Microsoft Store.
• In Settings, when you view your Wi-Fi password under Wi-Fi Properties, a QR code is now displayed that you can easily share with others. A QR code is also displayed when setting up a Mobile Hotspot to share a network connection.
• The network icon in the system tray now animates when a connection is in progress. This animation replaces the disconnected globe when a network is taking time to establish internet.

Fixes

• Build 25967 fixes an issue that is believed to be the root cause of problems with games launching (graphics problem notification) or changing resolutions.
• Improved performance when opening the navigation bar in Task Manager.
• Fixed an issue that resulted in some RAR files opening empty or displaying a message indicating that there was insufficient memory to open the file.

Known Issues

• [New] Voice Access may not work properly when typing using this feature.
• Microsoft is working to fix an issue where Print Queue may not be available. When you try to open it, an error appears.
• Some popular games may not work correctly in insider builds for the Canary channel. If you notice any problems, be sure to leave feedback in the Feedback Center app.

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