- Microsoft has launched Windows 11 builds 26100.7462 and 26200.7462 (KB5072033) in the Stable Channel as part of the final cumulative update for 2025, targeting versions 25H2 and 24H2.
- This update introduces several enhancements, including a refined dark mode for File Explorer, an option to disable the Drag Tray feature, improvements to the Quick Machine Recovery, and upgrades to the Windows Search UI.
- Additionally, Windows 11 build 22631.6345 (KB5071417) has been released in the Stable Channel for version 23H2, offering key security fixes as part of the December 2025 update.
Updated on 12/9/2025: Microsoft is deploying Windows 11 builds 26100.7462 and 26200.7462 (KB5072033) in the Stable Channel, serving as the official December 2025 Security Update. Alongside this, Windows 11 build 22631.6345 (KB5071417) for the 23H2 version is also available as part of the upcoming cumulative update.
This release comes equipped with the “2025-12 Security Update (KB5072033) (26200.7462)”, which features notable enhancements such as dark mode updates in File Explorer, mobile device settings now conveniently located within the Settings application, and the option to switch off the Drag Tray feature in Nearby Sharing. Other improvements span across Quick Machine Recovery, Widgets, keyboard responsiveness, and cursor performance, among others.
Moreover, the KB5071417 update for Windows 11 introduces the updated Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA), adding crucial enhancements for specific mobile operators, and resolves issues within File Explorer, Group Policy, and Configuration settings.
It is critical to highlight that version 23H2 has reached its end of support as of November 11, 2025; however, extended support for organizational users will be available until November 10, 2026.
Typically, Microsoft does not disclose the final designation of updates meant for the Stable Channel during their development phase. Initially, these are classified as non-security updates in their preview stage. The finalized name, such as “December 2025 Security Update, ” is designated once the update is officially rolled out on Patch Tuesday, generally occurring on the second Tuesday of the month at 1 PM Eastern Time.
- What’s New in Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 Update (KB5072033)
- What’s New in Windows 11 23H2 Update (KB5071417)
- December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Manual Installation Process
- December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Update History
What’s New in Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 Update (KB5072033)
As part of the December 2025 Security Update, Microsoft is rolling out exciting new features, enhancements, and fixes for Windows 11 24H2 and version 25H2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Refined Start Menu and Windows Search Integration
This update marks a significant design alteration with the Windows Search interface aligning visually in height with the Start menu panel.
This minor adjustment resolves the design discrepancies seen when the new Start menu was first launched.
Enhanced Desktop Spotlight Features
The context menu has received a makeover when Windows Spotlight is your chosen desktop background, now presenting options like “Explorer background” and “Next desktop background.”
The Explorer background option directs the user to an informative web page about the current background, while Next desktop background conveniently changes the wallpaper.
New Drag Tray Feature Settings
In this update, users can find a new option to disable the Drag Tray feature by navigating to Settings > System > Nearby sharing.
This feature now supports multi-file sharing, displays more relevant applications, and streamlines the file transfer process.
Improved Keyboard Features
The performance of keyboard backlighting has been enhanced on compliant HID keyboards, allowing for better visibility in darker settings while also optimizing power consumption.
File Explorer Dark Mode Enhancements
Users will discover a refreshed visual theme in File Explorer, providing a more coherent dark mode experience. Prominent dialogs such as copy, move, delete, and error message interfaces have been updated to align with the dark aesthetic, including revamped progress indicators and action confirmations.
This update also resolves previous bugs, ensuring accurate thumbnail display for video files with specific EXIF metadata and removing the occasional appearance of a legacy white toolbar. The “File” context menu now accurately showcases the respective application icon next to the “Open” option. Additionally, a new context menu for File Explorer, designed to minimize clutter, will be tested during this rollout.
Upgraded Windows Share Features
The sharing interface has been updated, enabling users to easily share OneDrive files through other applications utilizing the Copy link function in the “Share using” menu.
Streamlined Mobile Device Settings
Users can now access mobile device settings directly from the “Mobile devices” page without the need to open an additional page.
New Keyboard and Cursor Settings
The two new builds also bring Control Panel features into the Settings app, including character repeat delay and rate configuration available at Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard.
The cursor blink rate adjustment can be found under Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor.
Device Information Card on Settings Home Page
A fresh “Device info” card now showcases key specs and usage details on the home page of the Settings app (currently available only in the US for users logged in with a Microsoft account).This facilitates swift access to the complete “About” information.
Also, the Game Pass card description on the Settings home page has been refreshed to reflect updated branding and advantages.
Redesigned About Page in Settings
The “About” page has undergone a visual overhaul, replacing the previously displayed key specifications cards with a simplified view featuring the device name and an option to rename the computer.
The section formerly known as “Device specifications” is now titled “Device info, ” with a newly curated section for Frequently Asked Questions now labeled “Device insights.”
Additionally, the section previously called “Windows specifications” has been renamed to “Windows info, ” and the “Related” section now offers access to the “Storage” settings page.
Taskbar Enhancements
With these updates, the animation for app grouping in the taskbar has been improved, offering smoother transitions when hovering between applications.
This update resolves issues where the “Automatically hide the taskbar” setting would unexpectedly turn off after a system notification about a hidden toolbar. Furthermore, it addresses the reliability of voice commands when utilizing number-based interactions to trigger taskbar items.
Users can now share any open app window directly with Copilot straight from the taskbar. Just hover over the corresponding app icon and select “Share with Copilot” to initiate a chat using Copilot Vision.
Updates to Quick Machine Recovery
This release modifies the Quick Machine Recovery feature, ensuring that devices with both “Quick Machine Recovery” and “Automatically check for solutions” settings enabled will run a one-time scan by default rather than continuous scans.
Should no resolution be found immediately, Quick Machine Recovery will list the best recovery options available.
Virtual Workspaces in Advanced Settings
Users can now activate Virtual Workspaces via Settings > System > Advanced. This feature enables toggling of virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Sandbox.
Revamped Widgets Dashboard Design
The KB5072033 update introduces a reimagined Widgets dashboard design, now featuring a distinct settings page rather than an overlay, enhancing its application-like feel.
With live weather assistance visible in the Taskbar, launching the Widgets board will now direct users to the first dashboard in their navigation bar, ensuring a cohesive experience. This setting can be customized to prioritize specific dashboards as needed.
Additonally, the left navigation section now displays badges on page icons indicating the number of unseen alerts available.
Enhanced Haptic Feedback for Digital Pens
Builds 26100.7462 and 26200.7462 introduce haptic feedback functionalities for digital pens, offering tactile responses during various interactions with system elements.
Xbox Full-Screen Experience for Handhelds
Microsoft is expanding the Xbox Full-Screen Experience to additional handheld devices like the ASUS ROG Ally series. The company is also aiming for this feature to be accessible on all PCs eventually.
This feature modifies the standard Windows 11 desktop into a more console-friendly interface, designed to minimize operational complexities and the resource load of a traditional desktop, thus providing a focused gaming space.
When activated, the traditional Windows Explorer shell won’t load, and unnecessary processes will be suppressed, potentially freeing up to 2GB of system memory.
To enable this feature, head to Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience. You can access this new mode via Task View, Game Bar settings, or through the shortcut “Windows key + F11”.
It’s imperative to note that the rollout of this feature is phased and requires you to be a participant in the Xbox Insiders program.
Camera Enhancements with AI Features (Copilot+ PC)
The new Windows Studio Effects bring AI enhancements for secondary cameras (like USB webcams or integrated rear cameras).
Join our newsletter for the latest guides and updates directly to your inbox!
Subscribe
To activate it, navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select your chosen camera, and enable the “Use Windows Studio Effects” option in the Advanced camera settings.
Once activated, alterations to the effects can be made directly from the camera settings page or through the quick settings menu in the Taskbar.
Updated Click to Do Actions Menu (Copilot+ PC)
This release also transforms the Click to Do actions menu to align more closely with the File Explorer design, incorporating inline choices for Copy, Save, Share, and Open, optimized alongside the Copilot prompt box.
Additionally, new images or tables appearing on screen will automatically trigger the actions menu for rapid access to options.
Agent Improvements in the Settings App (Copilot+ PC)
Enhancements to the AI agent in the Settings application include three significant updates. The search results section now displays more entries with an integrated scrolling feature for easier navigation and management.
The “Recommended” settings now expedite adjustments through inline options for frequently modified items, while any settings that cannot be adapted will yield an explanation dialog outlining alternative options.
File Explorer Upgrades (Copilot+ PC)
The File Explorer search bar has been enhanced, showcasing the improved Windows Search capabilities more prominently.
AI-Enhanced Windows Search (Copilot+ PC)
A new feature of the Windows Search is the integration of AI categorization of images from the Photos app, improving search accuracy and relevance.
Additional Fixes and Updates
Apart from the newly introduced features and improvements, Windows 11 builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 include several crucial fixes:
- OneDrive: The new icon design has been implemented in the “Accounts” section within the Settings app.
- Smart Cards: Resolved an issue that caused the ECC Smart Card Logon Credential to generate a logon error with
STATUS_NOT_SUPPORTED(0xc00000bb). - Graphics: Significant performance improvements have been made to app queries for monitor mode lists and display resolutions, and brightness slider issues on all-in-one devices have been addressed. A bug that misleadingly flagged games as having an “Unsupported graphics card detected” has also been fixed.
- Lock Screen: An initial slow login to new accounts issue has been resolved, along with a fix for a memory leak caused when setting the lock screen to slideshow mode.
- Security: A fix has been implemented to address instability in the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) related to access violations.
- Network & Internet: Resolved a freezing issue in the Settings when accessing the “Network & Internet” section.
- Copilot: Fixed issues with activating Ask Copilot to trigger the Click to Do window.
- File Explorer: A fix for a flashing white screen issue when navigating through pages in File Explorer has been addressed.
- Networking: Resolved concerns where external virtual switches would lose physical NIC bindings following a host reboot, reverting to internal mode and disrupting network connectivity for virtual machines.
- PowerShell 5.1:
Invoke-WebRequesthas been updated to include a confirmation prompt accompanied by a security warning regarding script execution risks, providing users with options to proceed or cancel.
What’s New in Windows 11 23H2 Update (KB5071417)
Microsoft has also introduced critical security enhancements and fixes targeting Windows 11 23H2 through the KB5071417 update (build 22631.6345).
- Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA): Updates made to profiles for specific mobile providers ensure accuracy.
- File Explorer: This update resolves issues that caused the app to become unresponsive to mouse inputs until a restart was performed and fixes failures during the extraction of “.tar” files containing over 34 commonly used Chinese characters.
- Group Policy and Configuration: A problem with the
HideRecommendedSectionpolicy failing in Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session setups like Azure Virtual Desktop has been fixed, even when applied using Group Policy or Configuration Service Provider (CSP). - PowerShell 5.1: The same update applies here regarding
Invoke-WebRequestas noted earlier.
It is important to note that no new features will be added in this version, given it has reached its end of support.
How to Install Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday Updates
To download and install the recent updates, open the “Windows Update” settings, proceed to the “Windows Insider Program” section to enroll your device in the Release Preview Channel, enable the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option, and click the “Check for Updates” button.
The updates will download and install automatically. Alternatively, you can manually install them by visiting the Update Catalog website to download KB5072033. For version 23H2, you can use this link for update (KB5070312).
If you experience any issues following the installation of this update package, refer to the provided instructions for uninstalling the December 2025 update.
Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Update History
- Initial Release – Release Preview Channel:
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7296 release date: November 17, 2025.Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7296 release date: November 17, 2025.(same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.6269 release date: November 13, 2025.Official notes.
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7309 release date: November 26, 2025.(Re-released).
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7309 release date: November 26, 2025.(Re-released).
- Second Release – Optional Install (Stable Channel):
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7309 release date: December 1, 2025.Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7309 release date: December 1, 2025. (same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.6276 release date: November 20, 2025.Official notes.
- Final Release – Patch Tuesday (Stable Channel):
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7462 release date: December 9, 2025.Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7462 release date: December 9, 2025.(same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.6345 release date: December 9, 2025.Official notes.
Update December 9, 2025: This content has been refreshed with new details and revisions to maintain accuracy.
Related Articles:
How to Update Secure Boot Certificates on Windows 11 as Microsoft Replaces Expiring Ones – Complete Guide
17:42
Windows 11 26H1 KB5073097 (Build 28020.1371) Fixes Start Menu and File Explorer Issues (Canary)
12:43
Complete Guide to Uninstalling Apps with Revo Uninstaller on Windows 11
16:43
Leave a Reply