Microsoft released KB5041865 to Windows 11 24H2, giving Copilot+ PCs a new Widget Board

Microsoft released its latest update, KB5041865, which enhances the Windows Widgets for Windows 11 version 24H2 users. This version is tailored for Copilot+ PCs, including devices like the Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7.

First, the update introduces significant improvements to the Widgets Board, focusing on security enhancements and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds, especially for users in the EEA regions. Microsoft is leveraging the Microsoft Start Experiences app to power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. However, it’s worth noting that this update will also see some existing widgets being removed or modified, which might temporarily affect their functionality.

KB5041865 also addresses a few key issues. For instance, there’s a fix for a scenario where the browser would ignore the value in the “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main” registry key. Also, a deadlock issue in the domain controller during startup in the DNS client has been resolved. For those waiting, this update will prompt you when turning on OpenSSH using the Server Manager UI.

Interestingly, this update doesn’t include some parts, like the File Explorer improvements found in KB5041587, which was released earlier for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. And if you’re wondering about any known bugs, Microsoft claims none are in KB5041865.

KB5041865 updates are optional, but you can head to Settings > Windows Update and toggle on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option to get them. Or, for a more manual approach, KB5041865 is also available from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

You can read KB5041865’s full changelog here.