Hands On with Windows 10 Redstone Build 14342

It appears Microsoft was in the process of staging Windows 10 Build 14342 last night so it could be distributed to Windows Insiders participating in the Fast Ring when the update ended up on live Windows Update servers and started to pop up on testers machines.

Gabe Aul confirmed that this was the case via Twitter late last night and so instead of trying to close the virtual barn door they went ahead and allowed the update to continue staging to all geographic regions. Under normal circumstances, according to Aul, the update is pushed live once it is staged to all locations. This inadvertent push will likely stagger a little more than usual since the full roll out was not completed before release.

Once the update was being pulled down by Insiders they also went ahead and finalized the announcement blog post over on the Blogging Windows and pushed it live as well.

Although the early release build was only for PCs, I suspect that a mobile build is also in the works for Fast Ring Insiders on eligible handsets and that we might see that later today. It has become quite standard for Microsoft to release the same build for both PC and Mobile on the same day. It also helps that Gabe Aul gave a sly hint about the existence of a new mobile build on Twitter.

So while we wait for the mobile version of Build 14342, let's take a look at some of the things we have discovered in the PC version of this new build.

Microsoft Edge

Last week two highly desired extensions appeared in the Windows Store unannounced, AdBlock and Adblock Plus, and they were enthusiastically received by Microsoft Edge users on Build 14332.

The release of Windows 10 Build 14342 includes the formal announcement of those two extensions availability to Microsoft Edge users and also transitions all existing Microsoft Edge extensions to only being available through the Windows Store.

This is significant because it has always been Microsoft's goal to only make extensions for Edge available through the Windows Store and this build finally delivers on that process.

On the Microsoft Extensions page each one now has a Store button that connects you directly to the extension in the Windows Store.

There are now a total of eight official extensions for Microsoft Edge and here are links to them in the Windows Store:

Microsoft Edge has also gained the ability to now use touch based swipe gestures to navigate between pages you have browsed on your device. It looks like that feature is coming to the mobile version of Microsoft Edge as well.

Wi-Fi Sense

Microsoft confirmed that with Build 14342 they have removed part of the Wi-Fi Sense feature due to low usage. While the crowdsourced hotspot element of Wi-Fi Sense remains in place the shared Wi-Fi connections from your contacts is no longer part of the feature. Although this was a safe feature to use, it was widely panned as unsafe and that likely had a lot to do with its demise.

Here is the new Wi-Fi Sense settings with the Connect to networks shared by my contacts setting removed. I also found this crowd sourced feature turned on after this upgrade even though I had it turned off in the previous build. Be sue to check yours to make sure it is set according to your choices.

Windows Update

A new setting has emerged in Settings>Windows Update and security>Advanced options that allows you to sign in to finish setting upu your device after an upgrade. In other words, if you begin an upgrade and come back to it later it will have logged in so it can finish those final steps that normally happen after you manually log in to your Microsoft Account.

This means no delays waiting to be told all your files are right where you left them and you can get straight to work.

Sign-in Privacy Option for Lockscreen

In Windows 10 Build 14332 Microsoft stopped showing your email address on your lock screen by default. This setting might have been available in Build 14332 but I noticed this while poking around in Build 14342.

This option allows you to choose to show your email address on the lock screen of your device.

Updated System Tray Icons

Both Windows Defender and Ink Workspace had their system tray icons updated in this build of Windows 10.

As a side note, there is one issue I discovered with Windows Defender in this build. Normally you can close Defender once you start a scan however, in Build 14342, the program insists on closing instead of minimizing to the system tray to complete the scan.

I have submitted this as a bug in the Windows Feedback Hub so if you are also seeing this please upvote the feedback item so that it can be addressed by the Windows team.

Associate apps with websites

The ability to associate links with a certain app was discussed at Build 2016 and now the initial steps for that process are showing up in this build as a new settings page.

Currently there are no options available but this will be implemented in future builds.

Addional Features and Enhancements

Real-time web notifications in Microsoft Edge
Skype UWP Preview updated and can use a dark theme and switch between Skype accounts
UAC dialog updated
Middle mouse click to clear notifications in Action Center
Feedback Hub now suggests categories for feedback based on the title you provide

Fixes and Known Issues

There is a long list of issues that have been fixed in Build 14342 and still some known items so be sure to check out our PC Windows 10 Insider Preview Build Tracker to review all of those items.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

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