





Hello Windows Insiders!

Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16176 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. We’re continuing work to refine OneCore with some code refactoring so that teams can start checking in new code. So, you still won’t see any noticeable changes or new features in new builds just yet.

We are also releasing Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15204 to Insiders in the Fast ring. As we release new builds from our Development Branch for PC, we will also be doing the same for Windows 10 Mobile just like we have been in the past. However, Windows Insiders will likely notice some minor differences. The biggest difference being that the build number and branch won’t match the builds we will be releasing for PC. This is a result of more work we’re doing to converge code into OneCore – the heart of Windows across PC, tablet, phone, IoT, HoloLens, Xbox and more as we continue to develop new improvements for Windows 10 Mobile and our enterprise customers.

Starting with the Windows 10 Creators Update, these are the Windows 10 Mobile devices we will officially support in the Windows Insider Program going forward:

HP Elite x3

Microsoft Lumia 550

Microsoft Lumia 640/640XL

Microsoft Lumia 650

Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL

Alcatel IDOL 4S

Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL

SoftBank 503LV

VAIO Phone Biz

MouseComputer MADOSMA Q601

Trinity NuAns NEO

UPDATE: We’re seeing that some small percentage ~0.1% of eligible Mobile devices, including variants of the Alcatel IDOL 4S, are not being offered Build 15204. We’re working on updating the targeting to include them for the next flight.

Devices not on this list will not officially receive the Windows 10 Creators Update nor will they receive any future builds from our Development Branch that we release as part of the Windows Insider Program. However, Windows Insiders who have devices not on this list can still keep these devices on the Windows 10 Creators Update at their own risk knowing that it’s unsupported.

We recognize that many Insiders will be disappointed to see their device is no longer supported. We looked at feedback from our Windows Insiders and realized that we were not providing the best possible experience for our customers on many older devices. That helped us determine which devices we support for the Windows 10 Creators Update. We are continually listening to your feedback to provide the best experience for ALL of our customers.

For developers – you will need to set the minimum platform version in Visual Studio to be the Windows 10 Creators Update.

What’s New in Build 16176 For PC

Windows Subsystem for Linux Gains Serial Device Support: Windows COM ports can now be accessed directly from a WSL process!

More information can be found on the WSL Blog. Additional features and fixes are posted on the WSL Release Notes page – keep the feedback coming!

Changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

You can now hold down the power button on your device for 7 seconds to trigger a bugcheck. This will only work on newer devices that don’t uses legacy ACPI power buttons.

Narrator will work again on this build.

We fixed the issue causing some apps and games to crash due to a misconfiguration of advertising ID that happened in a prior build.

We fixed an issue resulting in the Start menu and Action Center having a noticeable framerate drop in their animations on certain devices if transparency was enabled and there were open UWP apps.

We fixed an issue from the previous build where the Action Center could get into a state where dismissing one notification unexpectedly dismissed multiple.

We fixed an issue where the Clock and Calendar flyout was unexpectedly missing the agenda integration for some Insiders.

We fixed an issue from the previous build (Build 16170) resulting in Surface Books unexpectedly doing a disk check after waking from sleep due to it bugchecking during sleep.

We fixed an issue from the previous build resulting in Win32 app text sometimes not rendering, for example in File Explorer, until logging out and back in.

We fixed an issue where the Extensions Process was suspended inappropriately during Connected Standby, resulting in Microsoft Edge becoming unresponsive on wake if any extensions had been installed.

Known issues for PC

Apps that use the Desktop Bridge (“Centennial”) from the Store such as Slack and Evernote will cause your PC to bugcheck (GSOD) when launched with a “kmode exception not handled” in ntfs.sys error.

Some Insiders have reported seeing this error “Some updates were cancelled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available” in Windows Update. See this forum post for more details.

Double-clicking on the Windows Defender icon in the notification area does not open Windows Defender. Right-clicking on the icon and choosing open will open Windows Defender.

Surface 3 devices fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. The updated drivers for the Surface 3 that fix this issue have not yet been published to Windows Update.

Pressing F12 to open the Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge while F12 is open and focused may not return focus to the tab F12 is opened against, and vice-versa.

exe will crash and restart if you tap any of the apps listed in the Windows Ink Workspace’s Recent Apps section.

Changes, improvements, and fixes for Mobile

We have added a new privacy page to the Windows 10 Mobile OOBE experience that allows you to quickly and effectively make common privacy changes while setting up the device. You can read more about our Windows 10 privacy journey here.

We fixed the issue where the keyboard would sometimes not appear when a text input field is selected in Microsoft Edge.

Known issues for Mobile

FYI: If you receive error 800b0109 while attempting to download this build, navigate to Settings > Update & security > Windows Insider Program and check for a restart message – please restart your device from there and then check for updates again and should be able to download the build as expected.

For Insiders who have upgraded from a prior 150xx build to this build, the “Add Bluetooth or other devices” Settings page and the Connect UX page may fail to open.

Some users are reporting that pages are constantly reloading or refreshing, especially while they are in the middle of scrolling them in Microsoft Edge. We’re investigating.

There is an issue with Microsoft Edge where you might get into a bad state after opening a new Microsoft Edge windows and screen off with the JIT process suspended.

Continuum will stop working when HP Elite X3 case is closed.

Continuum hangs or renders incorrectly after disconnecting on devices like the Lumia 950.

The device screen might stay black when disconnecting from a Continuum dock after screen has timed out normally.

Happy Easter to those of you who are celebrating, have a great weekend ALL of you, and keep hustling team,

Dona <3