Microsoft Confirms New Highly Requested Feature for Windows 11 in Build 27959

Microsoft Unveils New Windows 11 Build 27959 for Insiders

Microsoft has rolled out build 27959 for Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary channel. This latest release includes a series of enhancements primarily focused on bug fixes and user-requested features. Among the highlights is a much-anticipated setting that allows users to reposition hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops on their screens.

Key Features and Enhancements

In addition to new keyboard shortcuts, several issues have been addressed, notably one affecting applications and browsers becoming unresponsive. Microsoft is also looking into shutdown and restart problems experienced by Insiders. Below is a detailed breakdown of the key updates:

Customizable Hardware Indicators

One of the most exciting features in build 27959 is the introduction of a new setting that enables users to change the positions of their hardware indicators. Users can choose to place these indicators at the bottom of the screen, or in new positions: the top left or top center. This customization aims to enhance visibility based on user preferences.

Volume indicator positioned at the top left.

Volume indicator positioned at the top center.

To modify the location of your on-screen pop-ups, navigate to Settings > System > Notifications and select your preferred option from the dropdown for Position of the onscreen pop-up.

New Keyboard Shortcuts

A new keyboard shortcut has been added: users can now swiftly insert an En dash (–) by pressing WIN + Minus (-), and an Em dash (—) with WIN + Shift + Minus (-). Note, however, that if Magnifier is active, WIN + Minus (-) will continue to function as a zoom-out command.

Windows Share Enhancements

Users can now pin their favorite apps directly within the Windows share window, streamlining the sharing process.

New app pinning option within the Windows share window.

Visual Updates

Multiple dialogs have been refreshed to align with the modern aesthetics of Windows 11, including the notification when an app fails to open.

Important Bug Fixes

[General]

Addressed an issue that caused some Insiders using Arm64 devices to experience increased bugchecks (green screens) with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

[File Explorer]

The context menu in File Explorer has been refined to remove the accent-colored backplate behind packaged app icons on the “Open With”menu, improving the visibility of icons.
Several adjustments have been made to enhance the performance of launching cloud files and navigating context menus within File Explorer.
Resolved an issue where increased text scaling caused overlapping icons and text on the desktop.
Fixed a mirroring problem for icons when using Arabic or Hebrew as the display language.

[Taskbar and System Tray]

Corrected an issue where the battery icon could mistakenly indicate that the device was not charging when it was.
Fixed a focus problem that occurred when clicking on an app preview thumbnail, which could cause the app window to be dismissed without appearing in the foreground.

[Start Menu]

Resolved an issue that caused the Start menu to dismiss unexpectedly when using WIN + Shift + S for screenshots.

[Display and Graphics]

Fixed a bug where some apps and browsers would display partially stuck content while other applications with maximized windows were updating.

[Windows Hello]

Addressed an error (0x80090010) that occurred during Windows Hello Pin setup on Entra-domain joined devices following the latest updates.

[Voice Access]

Fixed a problem that could cause Voice Access not to function, resulting in error 9001.

[Developers]

Corrected an issue with PIX on Windows, which previously could not playback GPU captures on the latest OS versions; this has been resolved with a new release of PIX.

[Windows Security]

Fixed a display issue with apostrophes in certain texts within the app.

Known Issues

[Power and Battery]

[NEW] Microsoft is currently investigating reports regarding malfunctioning sleep and shutdown features for some Insiders after this latest Canary build.

For a complete overview of build 27959, refer to the official blog post on Microsoft’s website.

Source & Images