KB5014019 is now available for Windows 11 in the production channel, and it’s an optional preview update, meaning users can safely ignore it if they can wait for the next Patch Tuesday update. It is available through Windows Update, but you can also download the Windows 11 KB5014019 offline installers.
Offline installers are useful when you cannot deploy the cumulative preview update through Windows Update. As for the improvements in this update, it is actually a major release with some new features. For example, Microsoft enables the Windows 11 22H2 Spotlight feature in version 21H2.
The Windows Update is only offered through the Settings app or can be downloaded manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog. It is generally a good idea to avoid these patches as they are still being tested. Of course, an optional cumulative update is considered a stable release, but there is a reason why they are marked ‘Preview’.
In particular, these updates are not intended for enterprise machines. An optional cumulative update is being released for enthusiasts who can’t wait for the next Patch Tuesday update to try out new features or fixes. The main purpose of optional updates is to test critical fixes prior to Patch Tuesday release.
Download Links for Windows 11 KB5014019
Windows 11 KB5014019 Direct Download Links: 64 bit
Optional updates are offered through Windows Update or Microsoft Update Catalog. If you are unable to download the package from the Settings app, you can always go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and download the offline installer and then run the installation manually.
Once you are in the Microsoft Update Catalog, click the “Download” button and open the .msu link.
As a reminder, Microsoft recently made it easier for users to download the update package in browsers such as Google Chrome. Previously, Microsoft Update Catalog delivered packages over an insecure HTTP connection. As a result, some browsers blocked the downloaded files and required users to copy the .msu link and open it in another tab.
Windows 11 KB5014019 (Build 22000.708) improvements
Windows 11’s latest optional update apparently enables a pretty cool feature called “Spotlight”. For those unfamiliar, Spotlight is a Windows 8 feature that allows you to automatically change the lock screen background.
Spotlight downloads high-quality wallpapers from Bing and Microsoft brings the same feature to the desktop. With Spotlight for desktop you can keep it fresh with beautiful beautiful wallpapers.
Since pretty much everyone prefers a nice desktop background, it makes sense to let users use Windows Spotlight on the desktop as well. For some reason, Microsoft never really considered adding Spotlight to the desktop and many people used third-party apps or scripts to download lock screen wallpapers.
Microsoft has finally listened to the feedback and Windows 11 Build 22000.708 makes it possible for everyone. After the update, go to the Settings > Personalization tab and select ‘Spotlight’.
Once you select “Windows Spotlight”, Windows 11 will automatically download the Bing wallpaper of the day and replace the current wallpaper with it. It would work as you’d expect, ie similar to the way Spotlight works for the lock screen.
In addition to Windows 11 Spotlight integration, today’s cumulative update also makes changes to the Family Safety authentication experience. Likewise, there are several major bug fixes, including a fix for an issue that would crash your apps or make copying files between drives slower than usual.
While the update includes a long list of fixes and some quality of life improvements, it also includes critical fixes to reduce app crashes. It fixes an issue that caused some apps based on .NET Framework 3.5 to crash shortly after launch. Likewise, there are fixes for black screen, login issues, and other bugs.
Here’s the full list of bug fixes and improvements:
- Microsoft has fixed an issue where searchindexer.exe could affect forms in Microsoft Visio.
- Microsoft has fixed an issue where adding a trusted user, group, or computer could result in the error message “The selected object does not match the target resource type”.
- Microsoft has fixed an issue that could affect the screen brightness after changing the display mode.
- Microsoft has fixed an issue where apps containing d3d9.dll would crash with certain graphics cards.
- Microsoft fixed an issue where some users saw a black screen.
- Microsoft has fixed an issue that caused printing errors.
In terms of improvements, Microsoft says it has added animation to the Widgets-cion when you click or tap the icon, and the taskbar is left-aligned. Windows Search gets several important fixes in this release. For example, an issue where search box input doesn’t work has been resolved.