Microsoft has released Windows 11 KB512103 and KB5120240 cumulative updates for versions 25H2/24H2 and 23H2 to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs, and add new features.
Today’s updates are mandatory as they contain the August 2026 Patch Tuesday security patches for 400 vulnerabilities discovered in previous months.
You can install today’s update by going to Start > Settings > Windows Update and clicking on ‘Check for Updates.’
You can also manually download and install the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
This is the eighth ‘Patch Tuesday’ release in 2026, and it’s based on 24H2, which means 25H2 gets the same update. There are no exclusive or special changes. You’ll get the same fixes across the two versions of Windows 11.
What’s new in the August 2026 Patch Tuesday update
With today’s update, Microsoft is making Windows Search better at typos and rolling out multiple performance-related fixes, but the catch is that most changes don’t show up right away.
Here’s the full list of improvements and fixes:
File Explorer
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File sizes in the Details view now display using appropriate units (KB, MB, GB) instead of KB-only, making them easier to understand at a glance.
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Middle click to open a folder in a new tab is now supported in the Address Bar and the Home page for a more consistent and efficient tabbed navigation experience across File Explorer.
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This update eliminates a grey flash on load and unexpected scrolling to the top on the Home page in certain cases.
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This update improves the appearance of file thumbnails in the Recommended section on the Home page so they’re crisper and easier to read.
Windows Search
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This update improves app search to better handle typos and partial app names when finding installed apps.
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This update improves Settings relevance to surface more useful settings higher in search results.
Voice Access
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New! This update adds Voice Isolation to Voice Access, helping it better recognize your voice by reducing interference from other speakers and background noise. Voice Access now offers three speed recognition modes under Voice Access settings > Improve speech recognition:
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Voice Isolation — Filters out other speakers and background noise (one-time voice setup required).
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Remove background noise only — Filters out non-speech sounds like typing or door slams. No additional setup needed.
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No filtering — Default microphone input with no additional processing.
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To set up Voice Isolation, go to Voice Access settings > Improve speech recognition and select Voice Isolation.
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New! This update adds Korean language support for voice access.
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This update improves the realiability of starting Voice Access.
- New! Taskbar notification badges now use your Windows accent color instead of appearing red, helping reduce unnecessary attention-grabbing alerts.
- New! This update also simplifies the Lock screen Widgets experience. For new users, Weather is now the only widget shown on the Lock screen by default.
Touchpad
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The update improves the reliability of Start menu view preferences, ensuring your selected view is retained.
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This update improves keyboard navigation when keyboard focus was set to the apps list within Start menu.
Voice Typing
- Fluid dictation is now off by default for new users. A teaching tip is also available when the feature is used for the first time.
Input
- This update improves persistence of mouse cursor size.
Windowing
- This update ensures system dialogs open at the appropriate size on small tablets.
Accessibility
- This update improves the Magnifier experience on touch-enabled devices. The horizontal and vertical touch bars used to pan the magnified view are now off by default, so they no longer obstruct magnified content. If you use touch to pan, you can turn the bars back on in Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.
Windows Hello
- New! Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) now supports peripheral fingerprint sensors. This update extends this secure sign in option beyond devices with built in fingerprint sensors to include desktops and other Windows 11 PCs, including Copilot+ PCs. To get started, plug in a supported ESS fingerprint reader, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign in options, and follow the prompts to enroll. This feature was previously disclosed in January 2026 (KB5074105) and is now beginning to roll out.
Fonts
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This update restores support for Unicode variation sequences in the Myanmar Text font.
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This update improves character shaping and rendering for Mongolian Baiti font, providing more accurate and consistent text display.
Account Control
- This update refreshes the design of the Start menu account control and adds a badge that displays your subscription status. To view your account control, open the Start menu and select your account picture in the lower-left corner. This experience is available for users signed in with a Microsoft account. 1
Taskbar
- This update improves reliability of loading the system tray area of the taskbar when using the taskbar on touch devices in a tablet posture.
AI Component
- This update allows you to remove the Image Generation AI component from supported Copilot+ PCs where the component is installed.
Windows Setup
- This update adds a parental controls notice during Windows setup that highlights available family safety features.
Power and Battery
- This update improves the reliability of power settings by applying changes made in Settings to all power plans. This includes display, sleep, hibernate, power button, sleep button, and lid-close settings, helping ensure your preferences are consistently maintained.
- This update restores the ability to set a threshold for when energy saver should enable within Settings > System > Power & Battery.
Windows Update
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This update improves calculation of update progress progression in Windows Update Settings.
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This update includes changes to update clean-up logic to improve system performance immediately following an update.
Sounds
- This update improves system sounds when using Windows in dark mode.
Date and Time
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This update improves detection for triggering time zone change notifications.
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This update improves daylight saving time (DST) data accuracy for Middle East Standard Time (Beirut), Morocco Standard Time (Casablanca), Israel Standard Time (Jerusalem), and Greenland Standard Time (Nuuk).
Microsoft is not aware of any new issues with this month’s Patch Tuesday, but we’ll update the article if we come across major problems.
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