The latest KB5050087 to the Beta Channel lets Windows 11 users customize the Lock screen widgets

The patch can be downloaded now.

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KB5050087

Microsoft released the KB5050087 patch to the Beta Channel of the Windows 11 Insider Program. With it, the Redmond-based tech giant introduced a significant change that should, theoretically, lessen the number of ads the operating system displays on the Lock screen.

We’re talking about the ability to customize the widgets of Windows 11’s Lock screen. If you remember, the Redmond-based tech giant introduced a new experience in the Lock screen that displayed weather, news, or sports widgets last year.

While helpful, these widgets also occupy much of the space available in the Lock screen, making it seem complete and confusing to users.

However, with this patch, the Redmond-based tech giant allows users to add, remove, or rearrange these widgets to their liking. This means you can quickly transform your Lock screen experience back to what it was before Microsoft said widgets.

Microsoft is also making it possible to add any widget that supports trim sizing options. They can be easily customized in Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.

The Redmond-based tech giant also allows IT admins to disable lock screen widgets without disabling widgets elsewhere on PCs they manage, thanks to a new policy: Disable Widgets On Lock Screen.

To edit this policy, admins must go to the Local Group Policy Editor app and navigate to Computer Configurations > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.

It’s worth noting that these new changes will only be released to Windows 11 users from the EEA region for now. However, Microsoft intends to roll them out gradually to other areas in the months ahead. This is due to the company’s conflicting policies with the European Economic Area, which the Redmond-based tech giant needs to respect if it wants to release its products and services there.

Elsewhere, the KB5050087 patch introduces a new Activity column in the File Explorer area that shows any editing and activity done to shared files. Regarding File Explorer, this patch also fixes many bugs, including explorer.exe crashing. There is also a known issue that causes File Explorer to become very slow when closing it using the X button.

You can read the KB5050087’s full release notes here.

More about the topics: Windows 11, Windows Update

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