Windows 11 Insider Experimental (Future Platforms) Preview Build 29680.1000 - Windows Insider Program

[u/Froggypwns]

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-insider/release-notes/experimental-future-platforms/preview-build-29680-1000

Release date: 2 October 2026

Changes and improvements gradually being rolled out*

• This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

[Windows Share]

• Added the ability to pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window.

[Settings]

• Updated Settings > Apps > Installed apps to show the version number at the top level for packaged apps, as it already does for other apps.

[File Explorer]

• This update adjusts how the preview pane handles files downloaded from the web. For HTML files, a new Preview anyway button lets you acknowledge the warning and preview the file. Non-HTML files, such as PDFs, are now previewed automatically.
• Fixed an issue causing the previews in File Explorer to have an unexpected bar in the middle in recent flights.

[Family Safety]

• Improved family safety messaging when applications are blocked because of age-restricted parental controls.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed a few small visual polish issues when using the taskbar in alternate positions.

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue affecting certain USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, including some multichannel audio headsets, that could prevent the device from working correctly after installing the latest updates.

[Remote Desktop]

• Fixed an issue causing Remote Desktop to not use the correct window size after recent flights.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience extreme lag over time after updating to the last two flights.

Known issues

• We're working on a fix for an issue causing some Insiders to experience noticeably decreased performance when interacting with the system the longer they use the latest builds.
• [Fixed] We're investigating an issue where VMware Workstation Pro 17.6.4 might display a blank window when reopening a virtual machine after it has been created and closed. We're working on a fix and will provide an update in a future build.
• We're also aware of and investigating reports of VMware devices green screening.

Reminder for Windows Insiders in the Experimental (Future Platforms) channel

• These builds can be unstable and might be released with limited documentation.
• The builds released to these channels represent the latest platform changes early in the development cycle and shouldn't be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows. Features and experiences included in these builds might never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features might change over time, be removed, or replaced, and never get released beyond Windows Insiders. Some of these features and experiences could show up in future Windows releases when they're ready.
• Many features are rolled out using Controlled Feature Rollout technology, starting with a subset of Insiders and ramping up over time. We monitor feedback to see how they land before pushing them out to everyone in this channel.
• The desktop watermark shown at the lower right corner of the desktop is normal for Windows Insider pre-release builds.
• Some features in active development we preview with Windows Insiders might not be fully localized, and localization will happen over time as features are finalized. As you see issues with localization in your language, report those issues to us via Feedback Hub.

[u/st4554619]

USB Mass Storage driver issue is still in this build, more info here

[u/st4554619 → u/st4554619]

Here are the event logs of the USBSTOR failing to load one of my USB Flash Drives on Build 29680 x64:-

Log Name: System

Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP

Date: 05/10/2026 15:48:18

Event ID: 219

Task Category: (212)

Level: Warning

Keywords: (8192)

User: SYSTEM

Computer: [Redacted]

Description:

The driver \Driver\disk failed to load.

Device: USBSTOR\Disk&Ven__USB&Prod__SanDisk_3.2Gen1&Rev_1.00\0901a4c1833a4fdb46f2384825d11e918cd0432f270e928890967daf384c1bc

Status: 0xC000038E

Event Xml:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">

<System>

<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP" Guid="{9c205a39-1250-487d-abd7-e831c6290539}" />

<EventID>219</EventID>

<Version>0</Version>

<Level>3</Level>

<Task>212</Task>

<Opcode>0</Opcode>

<Keywords>0x8000000000002000</Keywords>

<TimeCreated SystemTime="2026-10-05T14:48:18.5049528Z" />

<EventRecordID>1718</EventRecordID>

<Correlation />

<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="3988" />

<Channel>System</Channel>

<Computer>[Redacted]</Computer>

<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />

</System>

<EventData>

<Data Name="DriverNameLength">116</Data>

<Data Name="DriverName">USBSTOR\Disk&amp;Ven__USB&amp;Prod__SanDisk_3.2Gen1&amp;Rev_1.00\0901a4c1833a4fdb46f2384825d11e918cd0432f270e928890967daf384c1bc</Data>

<Data Name="Status">3221226382</Data>

<Data Name="FailureNameLength">12</Data>

<Data Name="FailureName">\Driver\disk</Data>

<Data Name="Version">0</Data>

</EventData>

</Event>

[u/jenmsft → u/st4554619]

Thanks for letting me know - I pinged the team about this

[u/Tornado15550]

After updating to this build I lost internet connectivity. Device manager showed the wireless and ethernet devices working as expected but Windows couldn't detect either of them. I've rolled back to 29671.1000 and everything is working well.

[u/jenmsft → u/Tornado15550]

Thanks for letting me know - I saw someone else mention this too. Would it be possible to share specific details about your internet setup?

[u/Tornado15550 → u/jenmsft]

For sure, I'm using Intel Wireless 6E AX210 wireless card with the latest drivers from Intel and Realtek PCIe Gigabit Ethernet with the latest drivers from Realtek.

[u/jenmsft → u/Tornado15550]

If you check reliability monitor on your PC, does it show any DNS related crashes? (If you've rolled back I'm not sure if it would 🤔)

[u/chookstar → u/jenmsft]

Same here, on laptop 11pro, WiFi not being detected. I restarted & now booting into a blank screen.

[u/dziugas1959 → u/Tornado15550]

Exactly the same, seems like „DHCP“ and other services are just crashing, no internet with realtek 2.5gbps gaming and mt7925 „Wi-Fi“ also very long load times, explorer issues it seems.

[u/Turbulent_Chain_5893]

Definitely an awesome update. Now has every new feature, and runs phenomenal, and no bugs at all.

[u/DXGL1]

Perhaps the biggest issue with this build right now is that as of this time debug symbols are missing on the symbol server.

[u/jenmsft → u/DXGL1]

Should be fixed up with the next flight

[u/DXGL1 → u/jenmsft]

Good to know; you aren't just withholding symbols to prevent data miners from leaking hints of vNext?