KB5050094 was the update identifier for Microsoft’s January 21, 2025 Release Preview announcement of Windows 11 version 24H2 build 26100.3025. It included staged taskbar, Windows Studio Effects, font, File Explorer and Settings changes, plus fixes for several Windows features and apps. Some changes were not available to every Insider immediately. Microsoft later used the same KB number for a separate January 28 preview record, build 26100.3037, so the dates and build numbers matter.
What is KB5050094?
In the January 21, 2025 announcement, Microsoft said Windows 11 Insiders in the Release Preview Channel on version 24H2 (build 26100) would receive build 26100.3025, identified as KB5050094. Microsoft’s Windows Insider announcement distinguishes staged “gradual rollout” changes from items in normal rollout. A feature listed under gradual rollout might not appear for every eligible Insider at the same time.
KB5050094 is not, by itself, enough to identify which January preview record someone means. Microsoft Support published another article under the same KB number on January 28, 2025, for Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.3037. That is a later preview record, not the January 21 Insider build.
| Date and source | Audience or applicability | Build |
|---|---|---|
| January 21, 2025, Windows Insider announcement | Release Preview Insiders on Windows 11 version 24H2 | 26100.3025 |
| January 28, 2025, Microsoft Support preview article | Windows 11 version 24H2, all editions | 26100.3037 |
The January 28 record is documented in Microsoft Support’s KB5050094 article. Its changes and issue history should not be attributed to build 26100.3025.
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What changed in Windows 11 build 26100.3025?
The January 21 announcement listed user-facing changes as well as reliability and usability fixes. The following items describe that announcement, not the separate January 28 build.
Gradual rollout changes
- Taskbar previews: Microsoft improved the hover previews for open apps and their animations.
- Windows Studio Effects: On a device with a neural processing unit (NPU), a system-tray icon appears when an app that supports Studio Effects is in use. Selecting it opens the Studio Effects page in Quick Settings; hovering over the icon shows which app is using the camera.
- Simsun-ExtG font: Microsoft added this simplified Chinese font, which includes the Biangbiang noodles character. Microsoft counted 9,753 ideographs: 4,939 in Unicode Extension G, 4,192 in Extension H and 622 in Extension I. The company cautioned that some apps might not yet display the new extension characters.
- File Explorer: The left navigation pane’s context menu gained a “New Folder” option. Microsoft also listed fixes for repeated searches, file date or time properties changing after copying, details-pane icons that did not respond correctly to the selected theme, and the search box losing focus while a user typed.
- Date and time settings: Users could change the time zone at Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time without administrator privileges.
Other listed fixes
- Some devices could fail to join a domain.
- The mouse cursor could disappear, become transparent or stutter.
- The Chinese Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME) could switch to English unexpectedly.
- Snipping Tool captures could appear distorted across two or more monitors when those displays used different scaling settings.
- Task Manager could take a long time to close.
- Certain Excel 2016 files could remain on a loading screen.
- A Dam.sys watchdog timeout could occur when resuming from sleep.
- A cumulative update could fail with error 0x800736b3 following a failure to install a feature on demand.
Normal rollout changes
- Windows Backup and setup: After restoring from a backup through Windows Setup (OOBE) on a new PC, users would see a standard Windows 11 taskbar. Apps remained available through Start and Search for pinning. Microsoft said this change was not yet rolling out in the European Economic Area.
- Auto HDR: Microsoft fixed oversaturated display in some games when Auto HDR was enabled.
Which proposed changes were not part of the delivered rollout?
Microsoft amended the January 21 post after publication. Its January 23 note removed support for 6 GHz connections in Windows Mobile Hotspot because that change was not yet rolling out. The January 27 note said the described File Explorer Shared tab feature was no longer rolling out and would begin in a future update. Neither should be treated as a feature delivered by build 26100.3025 on the basis of that announcement.
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How does the January 28 KB5050094 preview differ?
The later Microsoft Support entry identifies build 26100.3037, rather than 26100.3025. It repeats some fixes from the Insider announcement and lists additional changes, including File Explorer tab restoration behavior, Game Bar recording, USB audio and camera problems, passkey timeouts, shutdown behavior with a controller, Wi-Fi security dialogs, memory leaks, a vulnerable-driver blocklist addition and Remote Desktop Gateway problems. It also has known-issue information concerning Roblox on Arm, OpenSSH, Citrix and Remote Desktop. These details belong to the January 28 support record.
Microsoft Support reported that Remote Desktop sessions could freeze after connecting or disconnect unexpectedly after KB5050094 and later updates. According to that article, KB5052093 addressed the freeze issue and KB5053656 addressed the disconnect issue. These are later support-history details, not fixes announced for the January 21 build.
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How did Microsoft document installation?
Installation routes and package instructions in Microsoft’s January 28 Support article apply to its build 26100.3037 preview record. Microsoft listed Windows Update, Microsoft Update Catalog, Windows Update for Business and Windows Server Update Services. The update could appear under Optional updates in Windows Update; Microsoft also described installing the standalone package with DISM or Windows Update Standalone Installer. Those instructions should not be taken as build-specific installation guidance for the January 21 Insider announcement.
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