Microsoft Enhances Windows 11 Update Features: Lock Screen and Pinned Apps in Canary Build 27718

Microsoft has unveiled a new build for Insiders participating in the Windows 11 Canary channel. The recent build, 27718, enhances the lock screen media controls and also refines the functionality of pinned apps. In addition to these changes, enhancements have been made to the Windows Update process as well.

The complete changelog for build 27718 is outlined below:

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds provided in the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27695. Please ensure your Canary Channel build is up to date.

[Lock screen]

• The Lock screen has been updated, and media controls will now display at the bottom center of the Lock screen when media is playing.

[Start menu]

• Users can drag applications from the Pinned section of the Start menu and pin them directly to the taskbar.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The taskbar has been updated to support first-letter navigation. When keyboard focus is on the taskbar (WIN + T), pressing a letter will jump to the corresponding open or pinned app. Pressing the letter repeatedly cycles through apps starting with that letter. In cases of an uncombined taskbar, navigation will use window names instead. Additionally, pressing Home and End will navigate to the first and last items in the taskbar respectively.

[Notifications]

• An option has been added to disable notification suggestions from specific apps. Users can now click the “…” in the notification to disable it, or go to Settings > System > Notifications to do so (labeled as “Notification Suggestions”). Note that this entry only appears after a notification is received.

[Windows Share]

• Minor UI changes have been introduced to streamline the Windows share window, including the removal of the search box.

[Narrator]

• Changes have been made to enhance the performance of Narrator scan mode, improving response times—especially in Microsoft Edge and while navigating large documents. To use scan mode, first activate Narrator (Win key + Ctrl + Enter), then press Caps Lock + Spacebar to enable scan mode.

[Energy Saver]

• Laptops running on battery will now display a notification suggesting to plug in when battery levels drop to 20% while Energy Saver is set to “Always On” .

[Windows Update]

• Minor design improvements have been made to the dialog that appears when certain actions need your attention prior to a Windows update, such as issues with space or compatibility, including updated icon sizes and spacing.

[Input]

• The Settings for Bluetooth & Devices > Touch have been updated to include a new section for touchscreen edge gestures, allowing users to disable the left or right screen edge gestures. Note that this feature is being rolled out, so not all Insiders in the Canary Channel will see it immediately.

[Administrator protection]

• Administrator protection is an upcoming security feature in Windows 11 designed to secure admin rights for users, enabling them to perform admin tasks with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and must be activated through group policy. More information about this feature will be shared at Microsoft Ignite.

Fixes

[General]

• Resolved an issue causing Insiders to experience boot screen hangs and rollbacks with error code 0xC1900101 during upgrade attempts.
• Fixed sporadic explorer.exe crashes occurring in the last two Canary builds when rearranging windows.
• Addressed issues causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with the error message “SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION” in the last two Canary builds.

[Input]

• Fixed a problem where the emoji panel would close unexpectedly when switching to kaomoji and symbols sections or after selecting an emoji.
• Updated the settings for “Press the lower right corner of the touchpad to right-click” under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad to prevent it from displaying for unsupported touchpads.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue that caused the Widgets icon to sometimes appear twice on the taskbar.

[Other]

• Fixed a high-impact wmiprvse.exe crash present in the last two Canary builds.
• Resolved an issue causing crashes in certain apps, like Media Player, during audio playback for some Insiders in the last two Canary builds.
• Corrected an issue for some Insiders with dual boot devices where the boot menu theme was displaying incorrectly, taking up only part of the available space.

Known issues

[General]

• [IMPORTANT NOTE FOR COPILOT+ PCs] Insiders joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel, or retail will lose their Windows Hello PIN and biometric options, receiving error 0xd0000225 and the message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available” . Users can recreate their PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN” .

[Movies & TV]

• [NEW] Insiders may encounter issues when attempting to play purchased content in the Movies & TV app in the recent Canary Channel builds. This issue will be resolved in a forthcoming update.

[Input]

• [NEW] We are currently addressing an underlying issue that prevents the Emoji Panel and Clipboard History from opening in certain interfaces, including Registry Editor.

Accompanying this build, Microsoft is also issuing an update to the Store. You can view the official blog post here on Microsoft’s official website.

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