Windows 10 build 18995 now rolling out to Fast ring Insiders

Windows Insider program settings
Windows Insider program settings (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Windows 10 build 18995 is now rolling out to Fast ring Insiders.
  • This release adds support for signing in with your Windows Hello PIN when booting into Safe Mode.
  • Build 18995 is rolling out via Windows Update for the Fast ring now.

We're approaching the end of the week, and Microsoft is capping things off with a new build for Fast ring Insiders. Windows 10 build 18995 is now rolling out on the Fast ring, and it brings with it a single new, notable feature, along with a ton of bug fixes and performance improvements.

The main highlight of build 18995 is that you can now sign in with your Windows Hello PIN when booting your PC into Safe Mode. With this change, you'll no longer be restricted to using your password to sign in. Here's a look at all of what's new.

What's new in build 18995

With the latest flight, we're taking another step forward in our Passwordless journey by adding Windows Hello PIN sign-in support to Safe mode, so that you no longer have rely on your password when troubleshooting your device. Try it out with the instructions below and let us know what you think!

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We've made some improvements to address an issue resulting in some users frequently seeing a notification saying their account needed to be fixed, but the Settings page that opened showed no action was necessary.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing error 0x80242016 when trying to upgrade.
  • We fixed an issue where you might be prompted to fix something before you could update, but the dialog with what to fix didn't display the issue that needed fixing.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the mouse cursor unexpectedly showing up in screenshots in recent builds.
  • We fixed an issue impacting reliability of taking screenshots with WIN+Shift+S / Snip & Sketch.
  • We fixed an issue where, if you started a snip from Snip & Sketch by pressing New and had "automatically copy to clipboard" enabled, the first initial copy might be blank.
  • We fixed an issue where the Action Center might be visible in screenshots recently if you started them by pressing the Screen Snip quick action.
  • We fixed an issue for multi-mon devices that could cause random crashes in UWP apps when switching focus between monitors.
  • We fixed a high hitting DWM crash from the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue in recent flights that resulted in Skype unexpectedly closing the first time it was launched and you tried to sign in.
  • We've updated our File Explorer context menu logic, so if you right-click on a .HEIC image file, you'll now have the option to Print or Set as Desktop Background, as you can with other image file types.
  • We fixed an issue where you might need to invoke the File Explorer context menu twice before the option to create a new Text Document would appear.
  • We've made some improvements to help address an issue where search may appear blank.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some users seeing a 0x000007D1 when trying to print.
  • We fixed an issue where the publisher information was unexpectedly blank for some apps in App Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where the Windows Update information in the Settings header could be out of date.
  • We fixed an issue where turning Bluetooth off then back on while a Bluetooth audio device was paired could take an unexpectedly long time.
  • We fixed a crash when adding devices in Devices Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where the ImmGetVirtualKey function wasn't returning VK_PROCESSKEY even if an IME was enabled.
  • We fixed an issue where pressing space to enter selected word with the Changjie IME when using the touch keyboard might not work.
  • We fixed a ctfmon.exe crash when using the Japanese IME if reconversion was triggered with a partial selection.
  • We fixed an issue where ctfmon.exe would crash if you attempted to use dictation from the touch keyboard in certain apps.
  • We fixed an issue impacting Windows Ink Workspace reliability.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in pinned websites icons in the taskbar sometimes unexpectedly switching from their actual icon to the default browser icon.
  • We fixed an issue where calendar events created from the taskbar clock and calendar flyout wouldn't have a default 15min reminder set.
  • We fixed an issue where if the taskbar changed scale enough times while an IME was active, it would lead to the input indicator disappearing from the taskbar.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in transparent/invisible app thumbnails in snap assist when snapping an app to the side when in tablet mode.
  • We fixed an issue where Task View would display that the navigation pane of certain apps was expanded, even if it was actually collapsed.
  • We've improved Magnifier performance when using touch.
  • We've updated our logic, Magnifier UI will now show properly when alt-tabbing if Magnifier was minimized originally.
  • We've fixed a few small issues with the Text cursor indicator page in Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where, when using the text cursor indicator, you might unexpectedly see a focusable Eoaexperiences.exe app running in the taskbar.
  • We've improved the reading of email when objects such as images are embedded in the message while using Narrator to remove the repeating of information while moving through the content.
  • We fixed a bug in Narrator where the link sound did not play in certain scenarios.
  • We fixed an issue with older drivers showing as available for download. If you continue to see older drivers in the Option updates section of Windows Update, please let us know.

If you're an Insider on the Fast ring, you can grab build 18995 via Windows Update now. For more on this release, including the list of known issues, you can view Microsoft's full release notes at the Windows Blog.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl