iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Windows 11's Temporary Files storage settings page is getting modernised! (hidden in build 26340.9354, feature RejuvenateTempFilesMainPage/ID 61456288)

Temporary Files settings in Windows 11, listing various temporary files with options to include system files and clean up files.

Temporary Files settings in Windows 11, listing various temporary files with a link to view pending updates in Windows Update.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

New in Windows 11 Experimental build 26340.9212: an option to open apps maximised by default. Already quietly rolling out to Insiders (feature MaximizeWindow, ID 62915050)

Visual Effects settings in Windows 11. Among the options is one for "Open apps maximized", which "Automatically maximize[s] app windows when they open". It is set to Off.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"Magnifier toolbar refresh" "Get access to Magnifier's toolbar updated icons and refined spacing and padding." Feature Flag ID: 63194003 (4/4)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"Improved Context Menu" "A faster, cleaner context menu that you can customize to fit your workflow and preferences." Feature Flag ID: 60813048 (3/4)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"Camera Roll Backup" "Get access to new entry points on the Settings Home and Accounts pages help you set up Camera Roll Backup and automatically back up photos and videos from your mobile device to OneDrive." Feature Flag ID: 62068874 (2/4)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

New Feature Flags for 26340.9212 (which you can't see because the page is bugged), with IDs so you can enable them anyway 🧵(1/4)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

If you also want to enable the new AutoPlay dialog in build 26340.9212 with vivetool, you can do so with feature ID 62141177.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

If you want to try out the new context menu experience in Experimental build 26340.9212, get vivetool and enable feature ID 60813048.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

First look at Windows 11's upcoming WinUI AutoPlay dialog revamp in dark mode! Now lets you choose whether you want to take an action always or just once, and it will now open in the centre of the screen as it last did in Windows 7, instead of in the top right.

Modern, WinUI AutoPlay dialog in Windows 11, with some options for "Elements (E:)", including configure storage settings, open folder to view files and take no action.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Coming soon to Windows 11: a major update to context menus! There's a new Settings page that lets you turn certain actions on or off, "Send to" and Refresh for all folders are coming to modern context menus, and they'll be simpler by default. Demo: youtu.be/BaHKzbeER0k

Windows 11 desktop with a context menu open, showing various options including send to and customize menu. On the right is the Settings page for customising context menus, including toggles for various file actions (send to included), as well as a collapsed section for app extensions and some additional options.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

(Voice reveal!) Video on Windows 11's big August non-security update (KB5120998) with K2's taskbar, Start and search improvements www.youtube.com/watch?v=76cz...

youtube.com

The BIG One: Windows 11 August 2026 Update (KB5120998) - Everything New!

YouTube video by phantomofearth

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Looks like the new Power quick settings subpage was quietly enabled in 29xxx at some point.

Windows Server build 29641 with the new "Power" quick settings page, housing just one toggle for energy saver.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

The Windows Insider Experimental Channel will soon get an EKB build number bump to build 26340.xxxx. Exp build .9032 already comes with "Ge-26340" versioning packages (not the proper KB5122776 EKB) in C:\Windows\servicing\Packages.

Windows 11 Experimental build 26100.9032 with versioning packages for "build" 26340 installed, causing the OS to show build 26340.9032.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Here's how the modern WinUI Print Management in build 26300.9032 (thanks @techosarusrex.bsky.social) looks in dark mode if you're curious, very much a work in progress.

Modern WinUI Print Management app in Windows 11 Experimental builds, in dark mode. The app is unfinished and shows a big white bar on the left.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

10.0.26100.6 (ge_release_flt.260716-1700) 10.0.26100.1746 (ge_release_svc_flt.260719-1830)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Also hidden in recent Windows 11 Experimental builds: a new "Do nothing" option for the Copilot key in Settings, letting you easily disable it!

Copilot key settings in Windows 11 Experimental build 26300.8935, with "Do nothing" set.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Some people seem to be falling for it so PSA: This image claiming to show revamped drive properties is fake. It's not a mockup of anything real, rather it's a concept (and maybe AI slop at that, some of these icons look weird.)

Concept claiming to show revamped Drive Properties in Windows 11.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

heads up for anyone who follows me across multiple platforms, my main Xwitter account got locked 🙃 hoping for it to be restored quickly, will continue to post here

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Windows 11's File Properties sheets are finally getting some WinUI + dark mode love! A modern version of the Properties UI is hidden in Experimental build 26300.8935, currently only for the deleted files dialog with more to come. So nice to see after all these years! 🥳

File Properties in Windows 11. The dialog shown is a modern, WinUI version for a deleted file named "free minecraft 2027 no virus trust bro.exe". It is in dark mode, respecting the user's preference unlike the older version. Only one tab (General) is available, showing the file name, type, origin, size, date deleted, date created and attributes, alongside an option to restore the file to its original location.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Build 26300.8935 updates the new (upcoming) L1 Privacy & Security Settings page yet again. MS has ditched the fancy hero control in favour of a "core privacy settings" section with the location/camera/mic options, and Windows Security is back to being listed under "Security".

Privacy & Security Settings in Windows 11 with "Core privacy settings" section at the top, housing options for Location, Camera and Microphone.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Confusingly the 2 character search improvement is listed again (despite also being listed in KB5089573's retail relnotes) and the global power settings change (applying to all plans) is listed twice with different wording for some reason. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/window...

learn.microsoft.com

Release Preview Build 26100.8942/26200.8942 - Windows Insider Program

release notes for release preview build 26100.8942/26200.8942

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Oh dear, these Ge RP release notes have quite a few mistakes in them. First, the build numbers are wrong (26x00.8968 is what released, not 8942).

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Welp, build 26300.8889 has replaced it. Should have known we'd never get a cool build number!

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The Shut Down/Restart actions in the improved Windows Search announced today open a modern version of the Shut Down Windows dialog box to choose a power option. The one opened on desktop by pressing Alt + F4 still looks old so it would be cool if it's modernised as well soon.

Windows Search results. A dialog box asking the user what they want the computer to do is present, with "Shut down" selected, saying it "Closes all apps and turns off the PC."

Windows 11's Shut Down Windows dialog box asking the user what they want the computer to do, with "Shut down" selected, saying it "Closes all apps and turns off the PC."

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Here's an early look at the upcoming notification previews on hover for the Start menu's mobile devices companion! this Xwitter notification preview shows the exact tweet contents and sender + when it was sent. (as opposed to just "1 new notification from X")

Windows 11 desktop. The Start menu shows one notification from Twitter (X) for a tweet by techosarusrex with the text "@phantomofearth server is the best" sent 8 minutes ago. In the top right, a Phone Link window showing a toggle for "Notification previews" in app settings is present.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Build 26300.8888 is a thing and I'll be disappointed if we don't get it next week or the Monday after lol

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Anyone on recent Experimental 26H1 builds (28120.2387 or 28120.2374) missing the feature flags page entirely?

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

For anyone wondering how that taskbar search box size change in build 26300.8772 looks, top: before and bottom: after

Two images of the Windows 11 Taskbar search box. The top search box is slightly shorter than the one on the bottom.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The focus rectangles around the reset password/sign-in options on the login screen are getting rounded corners, more UI inconsistency being fixed. Left: old, right: new

Two side-by-side photos of the Windows 11 login screen. Both have "Reset password" highlighted with a focus rectangle - however, on the left, the rectangle has sharp corners unlike the rest of the Windows 11 UI. On the right it has rounded corners, more consistent with said UI.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Screen Tint will be getting a toggle in the quick settings menu's accessibility page.

Accessibility quick settings in Windows 11, with a toggle for Screen Tint set to On and the description "Apply a color overlay to the screen".

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Windows 11 Experimental build 26300.8758 updates the name of "Xbox mode" to "XBOX mode".

XBOX mode settings in Windows 11, with a few toggles for enabling it, showing it in task view and showing accessibility control hints.

Gaming Task View in Windows 11's XBOX mode with the "XBOX mode" name visible.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

To enable the new Search experience you'll need several IDs: 61267302, 61344081, 61482515, 61532758, 61760679 Make sure 48433719 is enabled (should be enabled on most Experimental installs already) if this doesn't work.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

More screenshots! There's an updated Windows Search UI with a highlight-less recent/suggested page (also as seen at the meetup) and additional at a glance info in search results. And as you might have noticed, it's now possible to turn off Store results as well.

Windows Search results for "pdf". A file named "readme Mark-up.pdf" is visible as the best match, with Store results below it, and another PDF document below it. All results have additional at-a-glance info on the left, e.g. last modified dates and ratings.

Windows Search results for "candy" with Microsoft Store search results enabled in Search settings, showing three Candy Crush games.

Windows Search results for "candy" with Microsoft Store search results disabled in Search settings, showing no results.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Hidden in build 26300.8697 is the long-awaited option to turn off web searches in Windows Search for good under a new "Show suggested search results" section, as seen at the SF Windows Insider meetup. A long time coming!

Windows Search in build 26300.8697, displaying no web results for "google". In the Search Settings page, the toggle for "Web Searches" has been disabled.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

13 days can't wait to go to the London Windows Insider meetup and hopefully see some friends and followers there!

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

10.0.28000.2242 (br_prerelease_im.260601-0950)

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

It's finally time for Experimental 26H1 to move up in EKB build numbers! Build 28120.2242 🔜

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Random fun fact for fellow number nerds: KB51xxxxx has been reached! The latest internal 28120 build, 28120.2300, is LCU KB5101323. The Patch Tuesdays this month will be KB5094xxx/KB5095xxx though.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

For comparison, here are the open/save as dialogs without this change enabled.

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phantomofearth 🌳 @phantomofearth.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Build 26300.8553 also includes a (not yet rolling out) fix for white flashes in file open/save as dialogs when in dark mode! ID 61372722 (WhiteFlashOnFileOpenSaveDialog)

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