Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing 20H1 Build 18855 to Windows Insiders who have opted into Skip Ahead. Remember – these builds are from the 20H1 development branch. Some things we are working on in 20H1 require a longer lead time. We will begin releasing 19H2 bits to Insiders later this spring after we get 19H1 nearly finished and ready; once 19H1 is “nearly finished and ready” we’ll also use the Release Preview ring for previews of drivers and quality updates on 19H1.

IMPORTANT: As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, these builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some. If you take this flight, you won’t be able to switch back to the Fast or Slow rings without doing a clean-install on your PC and starting over.

If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle.

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

Notepad now automatically restores unsaved content when Windows restarts for updates.

We’ve enabled microphone in Windows Sandbox, which among other things will improve several accessibility scenarios.

We’ve added functionality to configure the audio input device via the Windows Sandbox config file.

We’ve fixed an issue in which the Windows Sandbox time zone was not synchronized with the host.

We’ve enabled the Shift + Alt + PrintScreen key sequence in Windows Sandbox which activates the ease of access dialog for enabling high contrast mode.

We’ve enabled the ctrl + alt + break key sequence in Windows Sandbox which allows entering/exiting fullscreen mode.

We fixed a recent issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bug checks upon lid close, monitor plug, or monitor unplug.

We fixed an issue resulting in preferred region settings getting reset on upgrade in the last few flights.

We fixed an issue resulting in the Chinese version of multiple games not working.

We fixed an issue in memcpy that caused some drivers to hard-hang the system on load; this could manifest as a hang on upgrade, depending on the system.

We fixed an issue from recent builds that could result in monitors being missing from the built-in Color Management application.

We fixed an issue causing Explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when Jump list content was updated.

We fixed an issue where text scaling values did not persist across upgrades for Win32 applications.

Due to a Narrator reading reliability issue for the “Change how capitalized text is read” feature, the feature has been disabled starting in build 18855.

We fixed an issue that could cause the touch keyboard to crash when switching from IME-based languages to another language.

Known issues

Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).

While this flight contains some night light improvements, we’re continuing to investigate reported issues in this space.

When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled, the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly.

Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue.

Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.

We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you.

Known issues for Developers

If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.

Boost your social media presence

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If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program.

No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service,

Dona <3