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Windows Insider

Build 22635.4870

Build 22635.4870: Windows Insider Beta Channel, February 2025. Lock screen widgets and File Explorer activity cards

In short

Adds customizable lock screen widgets for Insiders in the EEA and people icons in File Explorer for some work or school accounts. It also includes Start, File Explorer, camera, and USB audio fixes.

Does it affect you? Applies to: Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who did not upgrade to updates based on Windows 11, version 24H2. Some changes are limited to Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on; lock screen widgets are starting with Insiders in the EEA.

Build
22635.4870

This is a test build for people in the Windows Insider Program. Features in it can change, be removed, or never reach regular Windows releases.

What changes

Fixes 8 changes

Start menu

Gradual rollout 2 items
  • The Start menu no longer crashes for some Insiders when they interact with letters in the apps list.1
  • The account manager flyout displays the correct colors when you use a custom mix of dark and light mode.2
    The setting is under Settings > Personalization > Colors.

File Explorer

Gradual rollout 3 items
  • A minimized File Explorer window displays correctly when you restore it.3
  • File Explorer is more reliable for some Insiders.4
  • Dropping files into File Explorer no longer sometimes crashes it.5
    Fixes an explorer.exe crash.

Other

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on

  • A frequent background crash is fixed.6
    Fixes a high-hitting sihost.exe crash in recent flights.

USB cameras

For: Everyone in the Beta Channel

  • USB cameras are recognized as being on again after the January 2025 security update.7

USB audio device drivers

For: Everyone in the Beta Channel

  • Certain external audio management devices no longer show the “This device cannot start” Code 10 error when connected.8

New features 2 changes

Lock screen widgets

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders in the EEA with the latest-updates toggle on

  • In the EEA, you can add, remove, and rearrange supported widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, Sports, and Traffic on the lock screen.9
    Customize them in Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Only widgets that support the small sizing option can be added.

Widgets policy

Gradual rollout

For: IT administrators managing PCs in the EEA

  • Administrators can disable widgets on the lock screen without disabling widgets elsewhere on managed PCs.10
    The “Disable Widgets On Lock Screen” group policy is supported in EEA regions at this time. Find it in Local Group Policy Editor under Computer Configurations > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.

Improvement 1 change

File Explorer

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders signed in with a work or school account

  • File Explorer Home can show people icons under Activity and in Recommended. Selecting or hovering over an icon displays that person's Microsoft 365 profile card.11
    This change applies to Insiders signed in with a work or school account (Entra ID).

Technical details

Data sheet · Security · Downloads · Components Click to collapse or expand

Data sheet

Released
2025-02-03
Type
Windows Insider build
VersionBuildChannel
— 22635.4870 Beta Channel

Security

No vulnerabilities are listed for this update.

Sources

Updated
Cited passages from Microsoft's official notes (11)
  1. 1. Fixed an issue causing Start menu to crash for some Insiders when interacting with the letters in the apps list. blogs.windows.com
  2. 2. Fixed an issue where the colors were not correct when opening the account manager flyout on the when using a mixed dark and light custom mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors. blogs.windows.com
  3. 3. Fixed an issue where if you opened a File Explorer window and minimized it, it might not be rendered correctly when you restored it. blogs.windows.com
  4. 4. Fixed an issue which was impacting File Explorer reliability for some Insiders. blogs.windows.com
  5. 5. Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash when dropping files into File Explorer sometimes in the latest flights. blogs.windows.com
  6. 6. Fixed a high hitting background sihost.exe crash in the latest flights. blogs.windows.com
  7. 7. [USB cameras] Fixed: Your device does not recognize the camera is on. This issue occurs after you install the January 2025 security update. blogs.windows.com
  8. 8. [USB audio device drivers] Fixed: The code 10 error message, “This device cannot start” appears. This occurs when you connect to certain external audio management devices. blogs.windows.com
  9. 9. You can add, remove, and rearrange lock screen widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, Sports, Traffic, and more. blogs.windows.com
  10. 10. we’re also adding support for a new group policy called “Disable Widgets On Lock Screen” that will allow IT administrators to disable lock screen widgets without disabling widgets elsewhere on PCs they manage. blogs.windows.com
  11. 11. File Explorer will begin showing people icons under the “Activity” column on File Explorer Home and on “Recommended” at the top of File Explorer Home. blogs.windows.com
Checked automatically: 8 of 8 checks passed, 11 quoted passages
  • Quotes found in the official pages: passed
  • Numbers found in the sources: passed
  • Vulnerabilities from the dossier only: passed
  • Links to allowed domains only: passed
  • Every official change covered: passed
  • Readable plain text: passed
  • Changes confirmed by the file list: passed
  • Sources agree: passed

A second AI read the text against the sources: correctness 4/5, clarity 4/5, completeness 5/5. How we work

Published by The Update Bureau. Written with AI from Microsoft's own documents, checked by rules and a second AI. How we work · Report a mistake