Microsoft has been trying to fix Windows 11's annoying white flash bug in File Explorer for over 2 years: Has it finally done it?

Microsoft's latest Windows 11 release preview build includes a change that finally fixes File Explorer's annoying white flash issue that appears whenever you open the app in dark mode. It's a long standing issue that is hopefully finally being put to rest, because this isn't the first time Microsoft has claimed this to be fixed.

From what I could find, Microsoft first claimed that the white flash issue in File Explorer was fixed over two years ago, in a Beta build released in August 2023: "Fixed a white flash in dark mode when switching between Home and Gallery." A month later, another fix was spotted in a Dev Channel build that read "Fixed an issue where if you launched File Explorer in dark theme you could see a bright white flash as content loaded."

So the issue was fixed all the way back in 2023, so why is it being fixed again? Well, Microsoft seemingly broke the fix when it rolled out dark mode improvements back in December. Update KB5070311 introduced more dark mode interfaces, but also brought back the white flashing issue that was already fixed.

With that said, this issue was quickly resolved by Microsoft, meaning there's another white flashing issue that Microsoft is addressing with the latest Windows 11 Release Preview build. This changelog reads: "Removes white flash when launching File Explorer in dark mode if File Explorer was set to launch to This PC or when resizing the details pane."

Slowly but surely, Microsoft is addressing all the areas of File Explorer that are flashing users with a white screen when in dark mode. It's interesting that it's taking this long to complete the work, and you'd think it could be done in one fell swoop. But it turns out the File Explorer is a lot more complicated than that.

Unlike other areas of the Windows 11 interface, the File Explorer is a mish-mash of old and new UI frameworks spanning back decades. The app features modern WinUI elements at the top, but the actual file management and folder view uses much older UI frameworks that older versions of Windows also used.

This combination of old and new interfaces causes a lot of headaches, including graphical glitches such as the white flashes which continue to plague the app to this day. Microsoft is working to improve both performance and the UI consistency of File Explorer this year, but it has a lot of work ahead of them before many would consider it to be in a good place.

The good news is I can confirm that the latest Release Preview build does indeed once again fix the white flashes issue, and I can't find any area of the app that still flashes white currently, which is great. There are still many areas of the File Explorer interface that straight up do not support dark mode yet, such as File Properties, but sources tell me this is being addressed soon.

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