Windows 11 finally gets redesigned Start menu and more in builds 26200.5641 and 26120.4250

A Windows 11 Insider Preview banner

Apple is not the only company with big software announcements today. Microsoft is dropping two preview builds for Windows 11 users, which introduce major changes to the Start menu. Those in the Dev Channel can download build 26200.5641 (KB5060824) and try the much-improved Start menu and other changes. Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel receive build 26120.4250 with the same changelog.

The new Start menu features several changes that make it easier to launch your favorite app. It no longer uses a two-page view, focusing on a single scrollable view instead. At the top, you have your pins, then the Recommended section (you can now turn it off completely), and a list of all apps presented as a grid or categories.

Also, the Start menu is now more adaptive, which means users with bigger displays will have a larger Start menu to display more apps (up to eight columns of pinned apps, six recommendations, and four category columns). Finally, it has a new button that lets you expand or collapse the Phone Link pane.

By the way, you can check out this article if you want to take a look at other Start menu variants that Microsoft considered when working on the new Start menu.

Other changes in build 26200.5641 include the ability to select what widgets appear on the lock screen and the so-called Screen Curtain for Narrator. The latter blacks out the display, keeping the content of the screen available only to those using the Narrator. You can turn on or off the Screen curtain by pressing Caps Lock + Ctrl + C. Also, Narrator now has a new welcome experience that guides users through its features and recent changes.

The Settings page is getting two sections fused into one: Searching in Windows and Search Permissions are now just Search in the Privacy & Security section. The gamepad keyboard now has improved navigation and improved focus handling for child keys, flyout menus, word suggestions, language switching, settings, etc. It also works on the lock screen when you have to enter your PIN.

Here are other fixes that Microsoft is rolling out gradually to Windows Insiders:

[General]

This build should fix an underlying issue in the previous flight which was causing input to not work for some Insiders, including when typing into Search, and with the Chinese pinyin IME candidate window, clipboard history, and the emoji panel.

[Recall (Preview)]

The following fixes are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:
Fixed an issue causing Recall to crash for some Insiders in the last couple flights.

[Taskbar]

Fixed an issue where in some cases taskbar icons might appear small even though the setting to show smaller taskbar buttons was configured as “never”.

[File Explorer]

Fixed an issue where restoring a File Explorer search result from Recall would open File Explorer but not show your search string.

[Windowing]

Fixed an issue where ALT + Tabbing out of a full screen game could lead to other windows freezing (like Windows Terminal).

[Login and lock]

Fixed an issue causing the lock screen to crash for some Insiders in the previous flight.

[Graphics]

Fixed an issue causing some displays to be unexpectedly green after the latest flights.

[Settings]

Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to the Settings window hanging and no longer responding to input or resizing unless you closed and reopened it.
Fixed an issue in System > Display, where if UAC was set to Always Notify and you tried to click the button to do color calibration for your display and cancelled, it would crash Settings.
Fixed an issue in System > Display, where a chevron might display for Brightness even if there were no additional settings to display.
Fixed an issue where if you changed to a custom mouse cursor in Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch, it could make Settings crash.

There is also a single fix that is rolling out to everyone right here, right now:

[General]

We fixed the issue where you might see severe discoloration when connecting your PC to some older Dolby Vision displays.

Here are the known bugs in both Dev and Beta Channels:

After you do a PC reset under Settings > System > Recovery, your build version may incorrectly show as Build 26100 instead of Build 26120. This will not prevent you from getting future Beta Channel updates, which will resolve this issue.
[NEW] Some Windows Insiders may experience a rollback trying to install this update with a 0x80070005 in Windows Update. We’re working on a fix for the next flight.

[Start menu]

The following are known issues for Windows Insiders with the new Start menu:
[NEW] Using touch to navigate the new Start menu may not work reliably. For example, it currently does not support the swipe-up gesture.
[NEW] Drag and drop capabilities are limited from “All” to “Pinned.”
[NEW] In some cases, duplicate entries may appear in folders on the Start menu.

[Xbox Controllers]

Some Insiders are experiencing an issue where using their Xbox Controller via Bluetooth is causing their PC to bugcheck. Here is how to resolve the issue. Open Device Manager by searching for it via the search box on your taskbar. Once Device Manager is open, click on “View” and then “Devices by Driver”. Find the driver named “oemXXX.inf (XboxGameControllerDriver.inf)” where the “XXX” will be a specific number on your PC. Right-click on that driver and click “Uninstall”.

[Click to Do (Preview)]

The following known issues will be fixed in future updates to Windows Insiders:

Windows Insiders on AMD or Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs may experience long wait times on the first attempt to perform intelligent text actions in Click to Do after a new build or model update.

[Improved Windows Search]

[REMINDER] For improved Windows Search on Copilot+ PCs, it is recommended that you plug in your Copilot+ PC for the initial search indexing to get completed. You can check your search indexing status under Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows.

[File Explorer]

The following are known issues for AI actions in File Explorer:

Narrator scan mode may not work properly in the action result canvas window for the Summarize AI action for Microsoft 365 files when reading bulleted lists. As a workaround, you can use Caps + Right key to navigate.

[Widgets]

Until we complete support for pinning in the new widgets board experience, pinning reverts you back to the previous experience

Note that the Dev build has two more known issues:

The option to reset your PC under Settings > System > Recovery will not work on this build.
We’re investigating an issue causing a small number of Insiders to experience repeated bugchecks with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE after upgrading to most current Dev Channel builds.

You can find the official announcement for the Dev build here and for the Beta build here.