KB5120996: Cumulative update for Windows 11, version 26H1, August 2026. Voice isolation and external fingerprint sign-in arrive

• File sizes in Details view use appropriate units such as KB, MB and GB instead of showing sizes only in KB.¹
• File thumbnails in the Home page's Recommended section look crisper and easier to read.²

• App search handles typos and partial app names better when finding installed apps.³
• Search results rank more useful Settings options higher.⁴

For: Voice Access users

• Starting Voice Access is more reliable.⁵

• Weather is the only widget shown on the Lock screen by default for all users. You can add other widgets in Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.⁶

• Your selected Start menu view is retained more reliably.⁷
• Keyboard navigation works better when focus is in the Start menu apps list.⁸

For: New Voice Typing users

• Fluid dictation is off by default for new users, and a teaching tip appears the first time they use the feature.⁹

• Your mouse cursor size is retained more reliably.¹⁰

For: Touch-enabled devices using Magnifier

• On touch-enabled devices, Magnifier's horizontal and vertical touch bars are off by default so they do not cover magnified content. You can turn them on in Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.¹¹

For: Users of Mongolian Baiti

• Mongolian Baiti displays characters more accurately and consistently.¹²

• The Start menu account control has a refreshed design and a badge showing subscription status. This experience is for users signed in with a Microsoft account.¹³
  Open the Start menu and select your account picture in the lower-left corner. Availability varies by device and market.

For: Touch devices used in tablet posture

• The system tray loads more reliably when you use the taskbar on a touch device in tablet posture.¹⁴

• Changes to power settings in Settings apply more reliably to all power plans, including display, sleep, hibernate, power button, sleep button and lid-close settings.¹⁵

• Windows Update Settings calculates update progress more accurately.¹⁶
• Update cleanup changes improve system performance immediately after an update.¹⁷

• System sounds are improved when Windows is in dark mode.¹⁸

• Windows more reliably detects when to show time-zone-change notifications.¹⁹
• Daylight saving time data is more accurate for Beirut, Casablanca, Jerusalem and Nuuk.²⁰
  The affected zones are Middle East Standard Time (Beirut), Morocco Standard Time (Casablanca), Israel Standard Time (Jerusalem) and Greenland Standard Time (Nuuk).

For: Devices using DHCP, particularly those using Modern Standby

• DHCP renewals are more reliable in some situations, especially when the DHCP server sends NACKs and on devices using Modern Standby.²¹

• IPPS printers print more pages per minute.²²
  IPPS means Internet Printing Protocol Secure.

For: Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop users

• Clipboard use is more reliable in some Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop scenarios.²³

• File Explorer is more reliable when opening Jump Lists and recent files, sharing files and folders, and using Task View and multiple desktops.²⁴
  Improves explorer.exe reliability.
• Sign-in and lock screens are more reliable, especially when system memory is low. Start and the taskbar are also more reliable during startup.²⁵

For: Some Arm64 Surface devices using HDR

• HDR works more reliably on some Surface devices with Arm64 processors, helping the built-in display work as expected when HDR is enabled.²⁶

• Touchpad gestures and mouse-drag actions respond more reliably on some devices.²⁷

For: Copilot+ PCs

• The Image Search, Content Extraction, Semantic Analysis and Settings Model AI components are updated.²⁸
  The components are updated to version 1.2607.840.0. These updates apply only to Copilot+ PCs and do not install on other Windows PCs or Windows Server.

• The included servicing stack update improves the reliability of installing Windows updates.²⁹
  Includes KB5120995, build 28000.2801.

• Middle-clicking a folder in the Address Bar or Home page opens it in a new tab.³⁰

For: Voice Access users

• Voice Access adds Voice Isolation, which reduces interference from other speakers and background noise. It requires a one-time voice setup.³¹
  Choose Voice Isolation under Voice Access settings > Improve speech recognition. The other modes are Remove background noise only and No filtering.
• Voice Access adds Korean language support.³²

• Taskbar notification badges use your Windows accent color instead of red.³³

• Precision touchpads get settings for scroll and zoom speed and accelerated scrolling.³⁴
  Find the controls under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.

For: Devices with supported peripheral fingerprint sensors

• Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security can use supported external fingerprint readers, including on desktops and other PCs.³⁵
  Connect a supported ESS fingerprint reader, then enroll under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. The feature is beginning to roll out.

For: Supported Copilot+ PCs with the component installed

• On supported Copilot+ PCs where it is installed, you can remove the Image Generation AI component.³⁶

For: People setting up Windows

• Windows Setup displays a parental-controls notice about available family safety features.³⁷

• The Home page no longer has a grey flash on load or unexpected scrolling to the top in certain cases.³⁸

• System dialogs open at an appropriate size on small tablets.³⁹

For: Users of Myanmar Text

• Myanmar Text supports Unicode variation sequences again.⁴⁰

• You can set the threshold for when Energy Saver turns on again in Settings > System > Power & Battery.⁴¹