Windows 11 Insider Beta Preview Build 26220.8491

Release date: 22 May 2026

Changes and improvements

Voice Isolation in Voice Access

We're introducing Voice Isolation, a new option in Voice Access that helps it focus on your voice, even when others are speaking nearby. Whether you're in a shared office, an open floor plan, or at home with family around, Voice Isolation filters out other voices and background noise so Voice Access can better understand you. All processing happens privately on your device.
Getting started
Voice Access now offers three speech recognition modes under Voice Access settings > Improve speech recognition:
- Voice Isolation — Filters out other speakers and background noise (one-time voice setup required).
- Remove background noise only — Filters out non-speech sounds like typing or door slams. No additional setup needed.
- No filtering — Default microphone input with no additional processing.
To set up Voice Isolation, select it from the menu and follow the short, guided setup where you'll read a brief paragraph aloud so Voice Access can learn your voice. It only takes a minute, and your voice data never leaves your device.

Screenshot showing where the voice isolation setting can be found.

Screenshot showing voice isolation setup.

If you were experiencing a cyclical explorer.exe crash after the previous flight (which may have looked like the screen or taskbar was blinking and repeatedly refreshing), that should be resolved after updating to this build.
Fixed an issue causing the Energy Saver quick setting to show twice for some Insiders in recent flights.
Fixed an issue resulting in the audio volume being unexpectedly muted on certain devices in recent flights.

[Fixed] Resetting your PC may get stuck when using "Reset this PC." To complete the reset successfully, choose the cloud download option (Cloud PBR) instead of local.

Updates are based on Windows 11, version 25H2 via an enablement package (Build 26220.8491).
The desktop watermark shown at the lower right corner of the desktop is normal for Windows Insider pre-release builds.
Features and experiences included in these builds may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features may 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.
Some features in active development we preview with Windows Insiders may not be fully localized and localization will happen over time as features are finalized. As you see issues with localization in your language, please report those issues to us via Feedback Hub.
Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.