What you need to know
- Windows 10 build 20246 is now available for Dev channel Insiders.
- This build is the first to come from the FE_RELEASE development branch.
- Some features may disappear with this switch, but they'll be added back later.
- This marks the end of the Calendar preview experience as well.
Microsoft shipped another new Windows 10 preview build to Dev channel Insiders today. The build number comes in at version 20246, and it's mostly concerned with bug fixes. However, it also marks a switch to the FE_RELEASE branch of development, along with the impending end of the Calendar preview.
In a blog post announcing the new build, Microsoft explained the switch to the new development branch, noting that you'll initially lose access to some features that will be added back to the mix at a later date. From Microsoft:
Starting with today's build, Windows Insiders will notice that the name of the branch we are releasing builds from has changed to FE_RELEASE. Just like we did back in May when we released builds from the MN_RELEASE branch, we are practicing our ability to change which branch flight builds from. As our engineers work in development cycles internally, we may prioritize work being done in a specific branch and may need to move Insiders between branches. As a result of the switch to the FE_RELEASE branch, Insiders will notice that some features like the updated emoji picker, redesigned touch keyboard, voice typing, theme-aware splash screens, and others have been removed temporarily. We look to bring these features back to Insiders in the future. As an important reminder – builds from the FE_RELEASE branch are not matched to a specific Windows 10 release.
Beyond the branch switch, Microsoft also signaled the impending end to the current Calendar preview experience. The Calendar app will be reverted back to the original experience, and some testers have already started receiving alerts about this change. There's no mention of what this means for the Calendar redesign that was being tested.
With that out of the way, here's a look at all of the fixes in this build:
- We fixed an issue that could result in the Pick Time button in the Windows Update dialog not doing anything.
- We fixed an issue where hovering over a thumbnail in Task View would display an unexpected border around the item.
- We fixed an issue where chkdsk could appear to be stuck at 100% due to not printing the message saying it was done.
- We fixed an issue that could result in a crash when disconnecting certain audio devices while playing audio in recent builds.
- We fixed an issue where the Windows Update page in Settings could fail to load if connected to a Wi-Fi network with no internet connection.
- We fixed an issue resulting in Settings crashing sometimes when clicking the Update and Security category.
- We fixed an issue resulting in Storage Settings unexpectedly showing incorrect category sizes (a higher number than what was visible in File Explorer).
- We fixed an issue that could lead to a crash when managing partition size in Storage Settings.
- We fixed an issue that stopped GPU compute scenarios such as CUDA and DirectML not working for some users inside of the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
And here are the known issues:
- We're investigating reports of installing games from the Store to a secondary non-OS drive will result in the secondary drive becoming inaccessible. To prevent this from occurring you must change the default storage for new content to the secondary drive PRIOR to installing the game. This can be done in Settings > Storage > Change where new content is saved.
- We're looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
- Live previews for pinned sites aren't enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We're continuing to work on polishing this experience.
- We're working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
- We're working on a fix for an issue causing some devices to experience a DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION bugcheck.
- We're investigating an issue reported by some Insiders wherein the taskbar is obscuring the Power button in the Start menu. If this is happening on your PC, you may need to use the Windows key plus X menu to shutdown for the time being.
- Windows Insiders on ARM PCs such as the Surface Pro X will notice that Windows PowerShell will fail to launch on this build. As a workaround, please use "Windows PowerShell (x86)" or "Windows PowerShell ISE (x86)" from the Start menu if you need to use PowerShell. Or download the new and modern PowerShell 7 which takes advantage of ARM by running natively. Plus the icon is prettier.
If you're already enrolled in the Windows 10 Dev channel, you can download build 20246 now via Windows Update. For Insiders on the Release Preview and Beta channels, you'll also see a small update rolling out today as build number 19042.610. It only contains the following fix:
- We fixed an issue that causes the Docker pull operation to fail. This issue occurs because of a Code Integrity (CI) Policy that blocks the import of a Windows container image.
