Summary
- Windows 10 hits EOL; final update only offers minor fixes; future updates are security-only.
- Windows 11 receives a major update: AI-powered File Explorer actions, 'Click to Do' Summarize, and movable hardware indicators.
- Update fixes many bugs (Hyper-V, SMBv1, gaming, Windows Hello) and adds a passkey manager and a Braille viewer.
Well, here we are. This month's Patch Tuesday is also the end-of-life date for Windows 10. While people who are signed up for the Windows 10 extended support scheme will still receive security updates for at least another year, we'll see no more patches that address anything other than threats to the operating system.
Still, before Microsoft cuts the cord on Windows 10's feature updates, it has one more patch to release to the public. And, of course, because it's Patch Tuesday, Windows 11 gets an update too.
Windows 10 goes out with a whimper
For Windows 10, its final update isn't much to get excited over. The final patch introduces some security fixes and adds the following patches from the preview build:
- [SMBv1 protocol connectivity (known issue)] Fixed: An issue where you might not be able to connect to shared files and folders if you're using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP NetBIOS (NetBT). This can happen after installing update KB5065429.
- [Autopilot Enrollment Status Page (ESP) (known issue)] Fixed: An issue when using Windows Autopilot to deploy Windows 10, version 22H2 to devices with the Enrollment Status Page (ESP) configured might find that the ESP doesn't load during the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE).
From now on, Microsoft will only publish security-related updates for those who are enrolled for them.
Windows 11's Patch Tuesday is a lot more interesting
On the flipside, Windows 11 users are getting some nice tweaks this Patch Tuesday. First, it incorporates all the changes made in the September 29th preview build, which is already quite substantial. This includes a new Summarize action for Click to Do, movable hardware indicators, and tweaks to the File Explorer UI. Here are all the details:
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[Click to Do]
- New! New and popular action tags in the Click to Do context menu help you discover the latest and most widely used AI-powered actions.
- New! Click to Do provides more concise summaries with Summarize action. The output for text entities is shorter and more focused. Ongoing improvements continue to enhance clarity and precision.
- [Agents in Settings] New! A direct navigation link to the corresponding settings page is available from agent search results. This improvement is currently rolling out to agents in Settings on Copilot+ PCs.
- [Desktop] New! You can now move the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops to different positions on your screen. To change their position, go to Settings > System > Notifications, and then pick from the options in the Position of the onscreen pop-up in the dropdown list.
- [Taskbar] New! IT administrators no longer need to restart explorer.exe to apply the pinning policy. After applying the policy, users might see a pin on their taskbar within approximately 8 hours, depending on the refresh interval.
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[File Explorer]
- New! Use AI actions in File Explorer to edit images or summarize documents. Just right click (or press Shift+F10) on the file and select AI actions. This experience is not yet available for customers in the EEA (European Economic Area). Image actions: You can now use four AI-powered image actions with .jpg, .jpeg, and .png files. Visual Search searches the web using an image instead of text. Blur Background opens the Photos app to highlight the subject and blur the background. Erase Objects removes unwanted elements from your photo. Remove Background uses Paint to change any image leaving a smooth cut out of the subject. AI actions in Microsoft 365 make it easier to work with your documents. With the Summarize action in Copilot, you can quickly generate summaries of files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint—no need to open each one. This AI action requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription and a Copilot license (Microsoft account and Microsoft Entra ID supported).
- Improved: The File Explorer context menu has been updated to remove the accent colored backplate behind packaged app icons in the Open With list when right clicking a file (for example, Snipping Tool). This change makes icons easier to see.
- Improved: Made underlying changes to help improve the performance of launching cloud files from File Explorer and loading context menus.
- Fixed: Icons and text might become overlapping on the desktop when using increased text scaling.
- Fixed: Icons in the details, preview, and navigation panes of File Explorer aren’t properly mirrored when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
- [Windows Share] New! You can pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window to quickly access them when you need them.
- [Advanced Settings] New! The redesigned Advanced settings page (Settings > System > Advanced) is an update of the For Developers page and makes it easier to find key options. Settings include File Explorer + version control, which shows Git details such as branch, diff count, and last commit message directly in File Explorer when you select a repository folder.
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[Input]
- New! Insert dashes with new keyboard shortcuts. You can quickly insert an en dash (–) or em dash (—) while typing. Press Windows logo key+Minus (-) to insert an en dash, and Windows logo key+Shift+Minus (-) to insert an em dash. If Magnifier is running, Windows logo key+hyphen (-) will zoom out Magnifier instead of inserting an en dash.
- Fixed: After waking a PC from sleep, touch input might not work to enter your pin on the sign-in screen.
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[Narrator]
- New! Narrator now includes Braille Viewer, which shows both on-screen text and its Braille equivalent on a refreshable Braille display. To open Braille viewer and start Narrator, press the Windows logo key+Ctrl+Enter, press Narrator key+Alt+B. A new floating window opens and updates dynamically as you navigate with Narrator. Before using Braille viewer, you must set up Narrator for Braille. To download and install the Braille support package, go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Use a Braille display with Narrator.
- New! Narrator offers a smoother, more natural experience in Word, with improved voice feedback, reliable continuous reading, and better navigation for footnotes, comments, lists, and tables. Enhancements include consistent list announcements, clearer table boundaries, and intuitive selection feedback.
- [Passkeys] New! A seamless plugin passkey manager integration in Windows 11. You can now use plugin credential manager for passkeys. To set up a plugin credential manager, install a credential manager application that supports integration then go to Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > Advanced options. Turn on support and complete user verification using Windows Hello (through face recognition, fingerprint, or PIN). Once verified, you can use your existing passkeys saved to the plugin credential manager or save new passkeys.
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[Settings]
- New! The Manage or clear your Bing search history entry under Settings > Privacy & security > Search > Search history has been removed. You can now manage your Bing search history directly from the Privacy dashboard, accessible via the Privacy resources link under Related settings on that Settings page.
- New! More time, language, and keyboard settings have moved from Control Panel to Settings. You can now add additional clocks, change your time server, and customize date and time formatting—including AM/PM symbols—directly from Settings > Time & language > Date & time. Number and currency formats, Unicode UTF-8 support, and options to copy language and region settings to other accounts are now under Settings > Time & language > Language & region. Keyboard character repeat and cursor blink rate settings are now easier to find under Settings > Accessibility.
- Improved: Made underlying changes to help improve the performance of loading the apps list in Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
- Fixed: Settings > System > Storage > Disks and Volumes might show a link for BitLocker drive encryption in unsupported cases. Selecting it results in BitLocker opening and displaying error 0x80004005.
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[Gaming]
- New! Xbox Wireless Controller support for gaming on Windows 11 handheld devices has improved. Short pressing the Xbox button opens Game Bar. A new change we're introducing is when you long press the Xbox button, it will open Task View. Pressing and holding the Xbox button continues to turn off the game controller. This update is currently available on supported handheld devices, and we plan to expand availability to more Windows 11 PCs soon.
- Improved: Underlying changes have been made to improve performance when gaming with Game Bar or other overlays active on top of users' game. This update might especially help users with multiple monitors that have different refresh rates.
- [Other] New! This feature offers a modern interface that aligns with Windows 11 visuals across several dialogs, including the one shown when an app fails to open.
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[Voice access]
- New! Natural language commanding in Voice access provides users with the flexibility to speak commands naturally, using filler words and synonyms, rather than rigid, predefined commands. This feature is now available for Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs.
- Fixed: Voice access might get stuck in a state where it says it’s listening but is stuck and doesn’t respond.
- [Notification Center] New! The Notification Center functionality is now available on secondary monitors. To open it, select the date and time in the system tray on the taskbar. With the August 2025 non-security update (KB5064081), you can also show a larger clock with seconds above the calendar.
- [Command line] New! Windows now includes Edit, a text editor you can use from the command line. To edit a file, open the Terminal app and type edit followed by the file name. Edit is open source and available on GitHub. For a full list of features, see Edit command line tool.
- [Dynamic Lighting] Fixed: The Dynamic Lighting Background Controller might occasionally consume excessive CPU after unlocking your PC.
- [High Dynamic Range (HDR)] Fixed: HDR might unexpectedly immediately turn off after being enabled in Settings.
- [Media (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects playback of protected content in certain Blu-ray, DVD, and digital TV apps that use Enhanced Video Renderer with HDCP enforcement. This can occur after installing KB5064081.
- [Performance] Improved: Added support for Certificate Revocation List (CRL) partitioning in Windows Certificate Authorities.
- [Quick Settings]: Fixed: If you had to enter a PIN for your device to cast from Quick Settings, pressing Enter wouldn’t confirm the PIN.
- [Windows Hello] Fixed: You might unexpectedly see a message saying “Something happened and your PIN isn’t available” when attempting to enter safe mode.
- [Windows Sandbox] Fixed: When Windows Sandbox is enabled, the VmmemCMFirstBoot process might consume large amounts of CPU after sign-in, causing your PC to become unresponsive.
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[Hyper-V]
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects starting Hyper-V virtual machines with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on ARM64 devices running supported versions of Windows. This can occur after installing KB5064081
- Fixed: When you assign a GPU paravirtualization device to a VM, the session may freeze and stop responding.
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[Input]
- Fixed: An issue where some characters didn’t display correctly when using the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME).
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue where certain Chinese characters appeared as empty boxes in some text fields, such as those used in Connection Manager Administration Kit, when a character limit was set.
- Fixed: Addresses an issue in File Explorer where tooltips in the Recent section displayed certain extended Unicode characters—such as Chinese characters from Extension B through Extension F and other four-byte characters—as square boxes or unreadable symbols.
- [Networking (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where you might not be able to connect to shared files and folders if you're using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP NetBIOS (NetBT). This can happen after installing update KB5065426.
- [Servicing] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that disrupted Windows Update for customers using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
- [Windows Hello] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Hello PIN setup with error 0x80090010 on devices joined to Microsoft Entra ID domains after installing Windows updates released on or after KB5060842.
On top of all that, the patch also introduces these tweaks:
- [Browser] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that caused the print preview screen to stop responding in Chromium-based browsers.
- [Gaming] Fixed: An issue occurred when users signed in to a Windows device using only a Gamepad at the lock screen. If no other input methods—such as touch or fingerprint—were used during sign-in, apps and games did not respond to input afterward.
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[PowerShell]
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects PowerShell Remoting and Windows Remote Management (WinRM), where commands might time out after 10 minutes.
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue that prevented an audit event from being logged.
- [Windows Hello] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects the setup process for Windows Hello face recognition when using USB infrared camera modules. Users were unable to complete setup due to a persistent error message, such as “Make sure your face is centered in the frame.”
- [Compatibility] This update removes the ltmdm64.sys driver. Fax modem hardware dependent on this specific driver will no longer work in Windows.
Here's the full catalog:
|
Windows version |
Build number |
Changelog |
Supported editions |
Manual Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Windows 11 25H2 |
26200.6899 |
All editions |
||
|
Windows 11 24H2 |
26200.6899 |
All editions |
||
|
Windows 11 23H2 |
22631.6060 |
All editions |
||
|
Windows 11 22H2 |
22631.6060 |
All editions |
||
|
Windows 10 22H2 |
19045.6456 |
All editions |
||
|
Windows 10 21H2 |
19045.6456 |
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 |
