Windows 11 build 26200.5742 (25H2) just arrived, and it's garnering a lot of attention. The update brings solid improvements to performance, usability, and security, and yes, it's only been rolled out to the Dev channel. I've been using it for a few hours, so I'm already feeling it in my daily workflow.

What's New in the Latest Build 25H2

• AI Text Suggestion: It's gone from "a great demo" to something really helpful. In my testing, I started typing emails in Mail and content in Word. The suggestions came up contextually and felt surprisingly accurate. Not perfect, but more natural than ever.

• Taskbar Optimization: Icons respond faster now, and animations feel more natural. I ran several apps - Spotify, Edge, and Visual Studio Code - and noticed a significant speedup compared to the previous build. It's a little better, but it makes the whole OS feel more alive.

• Security Hardening: Smart App Control: Microsoft has tightened the limits on Smart App Control a bit. Which means fewer people will be able to use it now. Especially those who use smart installers from unknown sources. I tried to download a free app that I use often - it was blocked, and I had to manually allow it. This is a nice and comforting move.

• Graphics performance improvements: My little experiment with launching and resuming apps on the Surface Pro 9 showed improvements in GPU memory handling. Apps seemed to resume from sleep mode slightly faster, but noticeably.

• Bug fixes and stability: Some crashing issues have been reduced - the issue of Explorer.exe freezing and the occasional Settings hang have been reduced significantly in my little testing session. That flicker when switching desktops? It's much smoother now.

I'm really glad that the new version 25H2 OS update will make the new features more usable. Most of the users have already used some of its features. Next, we will tell you some things to keep in mind when its stable version arrives.

Compatibility and System Requirements

This update is not being released to users on x86/x64 and ARM64 devices available on Insider and Stable channels (25H2). In my case, the previous generation Intel laptop received it automatically -ARM-based users will want to ensure driver compatibility. Especially for graphics and virtualization tools. Tip: For ARM users, double-check your architecture-specific drivers before installing to avoid any unexpected situations.

How to get and fix it

You will get the new notification of the Windows 11 25H2 update. You can check this by going directly to Updates. If you are experiencing slowdowns or errors after an update (unlikely, but it happens sometimes), this method worked for me:


1. Pause updates:

Open Settings → Windows Update → Pause for 7 days. Wait a bit and let everything recover.

2. Roll back:

Try Settings → System → Recovery → Go Back (if available). I tested this when a third-party app wasn’t working properly - rolled back in less than 10 minutes.

3. Reinstall the driver:

Device Manager → right-click on the suspect driver (graphics, network) → Uninstall device → Restart. Windows automatically reinstalls a stable version.

4. Use DISM/SFC:

Open PowerShell as an admin and run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth sfc /scannow

I did this when my Explorer got stuck once - it fixed it without reinstalling.

If so, you may want to follow some of the suggestions above if your installation is not going well, as it may take time for a stable version to arrive.

This build 26200.5742 (25H2) is going to see a lot of improvements. If you are going to use 25H2, sync and install it - you will notice a difference in just a few hours.