# Windows 11, version 21H2

The original version of Windows 11 (also retroactively named version 21H2 and codenamed "Sun Valley") was released in October 2021. It carries the build number 10.0.22000. It was retroactively named "version 21H2" by Microsoft per its naming conventions that are labeled "YYHX", with YY representing the two-digit year and X representing the half-year of planned release (for example, version 21H2 refers to builds which initially released in the second half of 2021).

## Overview

The first public preview build was made available to Windows Insiders who opted in to the Dev Channel on June 28, 2021. Notable changes in this version include:
* Redesigned Fluent Design System:
** Most interfaces in Windows 11 feature rounded geometry, refreshed iconography, new typography, and a refreshed colour palette.
** Windows 11 also introduces "Mica", a new opaque Material that is tinted with the color of the desktop wallpaper.
* Significantly redesigned Start menu, adhering to the principles of the updated Fluent Design System.
* Center-aligned Taskbar, with new animations for pinning, rearranging, minimizing, and switching apps.
* The File Explorer has been refreshed with the Fluent Design System and the Ribbon interface has been replaced with a new command bar with a revamped user interface and a Mica background. It also introduces revamped context menus with rounded corners, larger text, and Acrylic.
* New Windows Subsystem for Android.
The update has reached end of service on October 10, 2023 for Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations editions. The Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session, IoT Enterprise and Education editions have reached end of service on October 8, 2024.

## Builds
### Preview builds

Preview builds of Windows 11, version 21H2 :
| Version | Release date(s) | Highlights |
| 10.0.22000.51 | Dev Channel: June 28, 2021 | Initial preview release See Features new to Windows 11 |
| 10.0.22000.65 | Dev Channel: July 8, 2021 | Added search box in the Start menu Updated login experience Redesigned jumplists and full-screen notifications |
| 10.0.22000.71 | Dev Channel: July 15, 2021 | New Entertainment widget in Widgets panel Redesigned context menus with Acrylic material Redesigned taskbar previews New SplitButton control for making new folders and files in the File Explorer's command bar |
| 10.0.22000.100 | Dev Channel: July 22, 2021 Beta Channel: July 29, 2021 | Integration of Chat from Microsoft Teams Improvements to hidden icons flyout, touch keyboard icon, and calendar flyout on the taskbar Added quick access to Focus assist settings in the Notification Center Redesigned attention indicator of app's background activity on the taskbar New animations in the Microsoft Store |
| 10.0.22000.120 | Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 5, 2021 | New Family widget in Widgets panel Minor updates and improvements New single dropdown button for making new folders and files in the File Explorer's command bar New compact context menu in the File Explorer Updated close button in taskbar previews Adjusted spacing in Alt+Tab ↹, Task View and snap assist interfaces Rollout of notification badging for the Chat icon on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.132 | Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 12, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.160 | Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 19, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.168 | Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 27, 2021 | Added multi-language support for Chat from Microsoft Teams New Microsoft 365 widget in Widgets panel |
| 10.0.22000.176 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 2, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.184 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 9, 2021 | |
| Version | Release date(s) | Highlights |
| Notes: ↑ Rollout of this feature to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel began on July 20, 2021, and to Insiders in the Beta Channel began on August 12, 2021. |||

### Public patches

Public patches of Windows 11, version 21H2 :
| Version | Knowledge base | Release date(s) | Highlights |
| 10.0.22000.194 Version 21H2 | KB5005635 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 16, 2021 Public release: October 4, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.258 | KB5006674 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: October 12, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.282 | KB5006746 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: October 15, 2021 Public release: October 21, 2021 | New visual design and animations of the Chat icon on the taskbar Fixed L3 caching latency issue with AMD Ryzen processors |
| 10.0.22000.318 | KB5007215 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: November 9, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.346 | KB5007262 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: November 12, 2021 | New fluent designed emojis Added support for Emoji 13.1 Renamed "Ease of Access" folder in Start menu to "Accessibility" Improved the animation performance of icons on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.348 | KB5007262 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: November 19, 2021 Public release: November 22, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.376 | KB5008215 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: December 14, 2021 | |
| 10.0.22000.434 | KB5009566 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: January 11, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.438 | KB5010795 | Public release: January 17, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.466 | KB5008353 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: January 14, 2022 | New "Your Microsoft account" page in the Settings app New "HelpWith" feature that suggests relevant Help topics for each Settings page |
| 10.0.22000.469 | KB5008353 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: January 25, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.493 | KB5010386 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: February 8, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.526 | KB5010414 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: February 10, 2022 | Updated entry point for Widgets on the taskbar Added a new microphone icon in the taskbar when joining in a Microsoft Teams call Added the ability to share the content from open app windows directly from the taskbar to any Microsoft Teams meeting call Added support of cloud-trust hybrid deployment model of Windows Hello for Business Added clock and date to the taskbars on multiple connected monitors Added support for hot adding and the removal of NVMe namespaces |
| 10.0.22000.527 | KB5010414 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: February 15, 2022 | The general availability of Windows Subsystem for Android (only in the U.S.) |
| 10.0.22000.556 | KB5011493 | Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: March 8, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.588 | KB5011563 | Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: March 15, 2022 | Added the ability to show up to three high priority notifications as stacked and shown alongside the normal priority notification |
| 10.0.22000.593 | KB5011563 | Release Preview Channel and public release: March 28, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.613 | KB5012592 | Release Preview Channel and public release: April 12, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.651 | KB5012643 | Release Preview Channel: April 14, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.652 | KB5012643 | Release Preview Channel and public release: April 25, 2022 | This update is no longer available from Windows Update, Microsoft Update Catalog or other release channels since May 11, 2022. |
| 10.0.22000.675 | KB5013943 | Release Preview Channel and public release: May 10, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.706 | KB5014019 | Release Preview Channel: May 19, 2022 | Added the ability to display desktop wallpapers in Windows Spotlight |
| 10.0.22000.708 | KB5014019 | Release Preview Channel and public release: May 24, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.739 | KB5014697 | Release Preview Channel and public release: June 14, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.740 | KB5016138 | Public release: June 20, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.776 | KB5014668 | Release Preview Channel: June 16, 2022 | New highlights feature for Search on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.778 | KB5014668 | Release Preview Channel and public release: June 23, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.795 | KB5015814 | Release Preview Channel and public release: July 12, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.829 | KB5015882 | Release Preview Channel: July 14, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.832 | KB5015882 | Release Preview Channel and public release: July 21, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.856 | KB5016629 | Release Preview Channel and public release: August 9, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.917 | KB5016691 | Release Preview Channel: August 16, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.918 | KB5016691 | Release Preview Channel and public release: August 25, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.978 | KB5017328 | Release Preview Channel and public release: September 13, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1041 | KB5017383 | Release Preview Channel: September 15, 2022 | New Notification badging feature for Widgets on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.1042 | KB5017383 | Release Preview Channel and public release: September 20, 2022 | Redesigned Search entry point on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.1098 | KB5018418 | Release Preview Channel and public release: October 11, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1100 | KB5020387 | Release Preview Channel and public release: October 17, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1163 | KB5018483 | Release Preview Channel: October 18, 2022 | New Task Manager item in the taskbar context menu |
| 10.0.22000.1165 | KB5018483 | Release Preview Channel and public release: October 25, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1219 | KB5019961 | Release Preview Channel and public release: November 8, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1279 | KB5019157 | Release Preview Channel: November 10, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1281 | KB5019157 | Release Preview Channel and public release: November 15, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1335 | KB5021234 | Release Preview Channel and public release: December 13, 2022 | |
| 10.0.22000.1455 | KB5022287 | Release Preview Channel and public release: January 10, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1515 | KB5019274 | Release Preview Channel: January 17, 2023 | New Windows Spotlight theme Added the ability to view details about the OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscription in the Settings app Added the ability to view details about Xbox subscriptions in the Settings app New consolidated storage quota bar under the Accounts page in the Settings app |
| 10.0.22000.1516 | KB5019274 | Release Preview Channel and public release: January 19, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1574 | KB5022836 | Release Preview Channel and public release: February 14, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1639 | KB5022905 | Release Preview Channel: February 16, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1641 | KB5022905 | Release Preview Channel and public release: February 21, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1696 | KB5023698 | Release Preview Channel and public release: March 14, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1757 | KB5023774 | Release Preview Channel: March 16, 2023 | Re-introduced the search box on the taskbar |
| 10.0.22000.1761 | KB5023774 | Release Preview Channel and public release: March 28, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1817 | KB5025224 | Release Preview Channel and public release: April 11, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1879 | KB5025298 | Release Preview Channel: April 13, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1880 | KB5025298 | Release Preview Channel and public release: April 25, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.1936 | KB5026368 | Release Preview Channel and public release: May 9, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2001 | KB5026436 | Release Preview Channel: May 11, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2003 | KB5026436 | Release Preview Channel and public release: May 23, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2057 | KB5027223 | Release Preview Channel and public release: June 13, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2121 | KB5027292 | Release Preview Channel: June 15, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2124 | KB5027292 | Release Preview Channel and public release: June 28, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2176 | KB5028182 | Release Preview Channel and public release: July 11, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2243 | KB5028245 | Release Preview Channel: July 13, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2245 | KB5028245 | Release Preview Channel and public release: July 25, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2295 | KB5029253 | Release Preview Channel and public release: August 8, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2359 | KB5029332 | Release Preview Channel: August 10, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2360 | KB5029332 | Release Preview Channel and public release: August 22, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2416 | KB5030217 | Release Preview Channel and public release: September 12, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2479 | KB5030301 | Release Preview Channel: September 14, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2482 | KB5030301 | Release Preview Channel and public release: September 26, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2538 | KB5031358 | Release Preview Channel and public release: October 10, 2023 | |
| 10.0.22000.2600 | KB5032192 | Public release: November 14, 2023 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2652 | KB5033369 | Public release: December 12, 2023 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2713 | KB5034121 | Public release: January 9, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2777 | KB5034766 | Public release: February 13, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2836 | KB5035854 | Public release: March 12, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2899 | KB5036894 | Public release: April 9, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.2960 | KB5037770 | Public release: May 14, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.3019 | KB5039213 | Public release: June 11, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.3079 | KB5040431 | Public release: July 9, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.3147 | KB5041592 | Public release: August 13, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.3197 | KB5043067 | Public release: September 10, 2024 | This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| 10.0.22000.3260 | KB5044280 | Public release: October 8, 2024 | This final update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only. |
| Version | Knowledge base | Release date(s) | Highlights |