Microsoft has released the August 2026 Patch Tuesday cumulative updates, KB5121003 and KB5120240, for Windows 11 versions 25H2/24H2 and 23H2. These updates are mandatory and address 400 security vulnerabilities identified in prior months, in addition to introducing new features and bug fixes. Users can install the update via Windows Update in their system settings or by manually downloading it from the Microsoft Update Catalog. This marks the eighth Patch Tuesday release of 2026, with versions 25H2 and 24H2 receiving identical updates.
The update brings several enhancements to File Explorer, including displaying file sizes in appropriate units (KB, MB, GB) in the Details view for improved readability. Users can now middle-click to open folders in new tabs from the Address Bar and Home page, streamlining navigation. Visual improvements include the elimination of a grey flash on load and unexpected scrolling on the Home page, along with crisper file thumbnails in the Recommended section.
Windows Search has been refined to better handle typos and partial app names when searching for installed applications. The relevance of Settings search results has also been improved, surfacing more useful options higher up.
Voice Access receives significant new features, including Voice Isolation, which enhances speech recognition by filtering out other speakers and background noise. This requires a one-time voice setup. Users can also opt for "Remove background noise only" to filter non-speech sounds, or "No filtering" for default microphone input. Additionally, Voice Access now supports the Korean language, and its startup reliability has been improved.
Widgets on the Taskbar will now display notification badges using the user's Windows accent color instead of red, aiming to reduce unnecessary attention-grabbing alerts. For new users, the Lock screen Widgets experience has been simplified, with Weather being the sole widget shown by default.
New gesture controls for precision touchpads are available in Settings, allowing users to adjust scroll and zoom speeds. An "Accelerated scrolling" feature enables faster scrolling with repeated gestures, facilitating quick navigation through long documents.
The Start menu sees improvements in reliability for view preferences, ensuring selected layouts are retained. Keyboard navigation within the apps list of the Start menu has also been enhanced. Fluid dictation in Voice Typing is now off by default for new users, accompanied by a teaching tip upon first use. Input improvements include better persistence of mouse cursor size.
Windowing ensures system dialogs open at appropriate sizes on small tablets. Accessibility enhancements include turning off the horizontal and vertical touch bars for panning in Magnifier by default on touch-enabled devices, preventing obstruction of magnified content. These bars can be re-enabled in Settings.
Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) now supports peripheral fingerprint sensors, extending this secure sign-in option beyond devices with built-in sensors to desktops and other Windows 11 PCs, including Copilot+ PCs. This feature, previously disclosed in January 2026 (KB5074105), is now rolling out.
Font improvements include restoring support for Unicode variation sequences in the Myanmar Text font and enhancing character shaping and rendering for the Mongolian Baiti font for more accurate display. The Start menu account control has been refreshed with a new design and a badge displaying subscription status for users signed in with a Microsoft account.
The reliability of loading the system tray area of the Taskbar on touch devices in tablet posture has been improved. For Copilot+ PCs, the Image Generation AI component can now be removed. Windows Setup includes a new parental controls notice highlighting available family safety features.
Power and Battery settings now apply changes made in Settings to all power plans, ensuring consistent preferences for display, sleep, hibernate, power button, sleep button, and lid-close settings. The ability to set a threshold for Energy Saver activation has also been restored.
Windows Update shows improved calculation of update progress in Settings and includes changes to update clean-up logic for better system performance post-update. System sounds in dark mode have been improved. Date and Time enhancements include better detection for triggering time zone change notifications and improved daylight saving time data accuracy for Middle East Standard Time (Beirut), Morocco Standard Time (Casablanca), Israel Standard Time (Jerusalem), and Greenland Standard Time (Nuuk).
Microsoft has not reported any new issues with this month's Patch Tuesday updates.
