Microsoft's Windows 10 'Redstone 2' build 14926 adds minor new features, many fixes
Microsoft's latest Windows 10 "Redstone 2" test build, 14926, is out as of Sept. 14.
The new build, released 15 days after the most recent Windows 10 test build, is for both PC and mobile testers in the Fast Ring.
As it is still early days, there are relatively few new features in this build. There's a new "Snooze" action tab in Microsoft Edge that allows users to set a Cortana reminder and then quickly open a site in Edge when the reminder chimes in. There's also an updated Wi-Fi settings page in Windows 10 Mobile that is meant ultimately to unify settings across devices.
Microsoft is delivering quite a few fixes in this latest test build, including one rather mysterious reliability fix for Microsoft's Edge browser that Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar describes this way:
"We have addressed the largest cause of reliability issues in Microsoft Edge running on Insider Preview builds. This should improve reliability on major websites such as Facebook and Outlook.com."
There's also a fix, as @arebee on Twitter pointed out to me, aimed at improving Tweetdeck performance in Microsoft Edge. (This has been a sore spot for me and a number of other users.) Microsoft's release notes for 14926 also mention the Wi-Fi problems experienced by some Surface Pro 1 and 2 users with the last Insider build also are fixed, as is the Kindle-compatibility issue some reported with Windows 10 Anniversary Update. (Note: The Insider update won't yet fix the Kindle issue for those not in the Insider Fast Ring.)
As usual, there are a number of known issues with this build, which are listed in today's blog post.
There's also a note about "really old" Insider builds beginning to expire as of tomorrow:
"Starting tomorrow September 15th, PCs running really old Insider Preview builds will start to see build expiration notifications once a day. Then on October 1st, these PCs will start rebooting every 3 hours and then on October 15th - these PCs will stop booting all together. If your PC is running one of these old Insider Preview builds, please make sure you update to Build 14926 via Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. Build 14926 has an updated expiration date of May 1st, 2017. If your PC is running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Build 14393) in the Slow and Release Preview rings today - this does not apply to you and you will not be notified of your build expiring."
The Insider testers aren't the only ones who got new Windows 10 builds this week. Those running release to manufacturing (RTM) versions of Windows 10 who are not Insiders also got Cumulative Updates on Patch Tuesday this week. These updates include bug fixes and system improvements, but no new features.
These cumulative updates, which all include slightly different sets of fixes, are 14393.187 (for those running Windows 10 Anniversary Update); 10586.589 for those running last November's update; and 10240.17113 for those running the original version of Windows 10 from last July.