KB5026446 for Windows 11 brings new features, but not for everyone

[harlan4096]

Microsoft has released an update for its Windows 11 operating system, KB5026446, a few hours ago. The preview update includes new features, courtesy of the third Moments update, and lots of fixes. Most new features appear to be locked, even after installation of the preview update. Users may need to enable the "get the latest updates as soon as they're available" toggle to unlock the features on their devices.

The update is available already, but administrators need to manually select it to install it on Windows 11 devices. Systems with "get the latest updates as soon as they're available" enabled will get the update automatically though.

Note: KB5026446 is a preview update. It should be considered Beta and most Windows 11 users may want to wait for the stable release on June 13th, 2023.



The official release notes lack information about the new features, which users may find puzzling. Installation of the update may also result in a lack of features on the system.

One of the easier ways to find out if the features are available already is to tap on the Print key on the keyboard. The features are installed if the Snipping Tool is loaded, and they are not installed if the content is copied to the Clipboard; this works only, if no other screen capturing software is used that has mapped the key.

Another option is to launch the Task Manager using Ctlr-Shift-Esc, switch to the Details pane, right-click on the System process to check if the option to create a live kernel memory dump is listed.

Most Windows 11 users may get the functionality of the Moments 3 update if they check "get latest updates as soon as they're available" before they run a check for updates or install the preview update. A second restart may help in this case, but not in all.

The following method helps on systems that do not have the Moments 3 features after installation of KB5026446:

• Download the latest version of ViVeTool from the project's GitHub repository,
  
• Unpack the archive on the system. Copy the folder path to the Clipboard.
  
• Use Windows-X to display the admin menu and select Terminal (Admin).
  
• Use the cd command to navigate to the folder, use paste to make this easier, e.g., cd C:\Users\Martin\Downloads\ViVeTool-v0.3.3 (replace the username Martin with yours).
  
• Run the command ./vivetool /enable /id:4165523
  
• Restart the computer.
  

The new features should be enabled after the restart.

Closing Words

The Moments 3 update does not add spectacular new features to the Windows 11 operating system. Extended live captions support is a highlight, but the majority of features have a niche appeal only.

Unless some of the fixes that the update makes are required, it is recommended to ignore the preview update.

It is not clear why Microsoft has decided to separate the features of the Moments 3 update from the preview update.  One possible explanation is that it wants to roll out the functionality gradually, even on preview systems in an effort to catch last minute bugs.

Now You: have you installed the preview update on your devices?
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