- Windows 11 has a new preview update
- It contains improvements for dark mode, but also contains a bug.
- The glitch causes a white flash every time a folder is opened, as well as when performing other actions using File Explorer.
Windows 11The latest preview update has an unfortunate side effect: it causes annoying visual glitches when File Explorer when using dark mode.
The Verge noticed that November's optional update (KB5070311, which actually arrived in early December, which is unusual) has a known issue with File Explorer—in other words, folders on the desktop.
Microsoft tells us that: “After installing KB5070311, you may have problems opening File Explorer in dark mode. The window may briefly display a blank white screen before loading files and folders.”
This means that when you open any folder, a short white flash may appear on the screen. How Microsoft makes it clear that this can also happen not only when you bring up File Explorer, but also when you open a new tab in File Explorer, or navigate to (or away from) the Home or Gallery panels, turn the Details panel on or off, or select Details when copying a file.
The last two are rarer actions, of course. But you'll still get white flashes every time you open a folder or tab, or when you go to or exit the Home page or gallery in File Explorer, which can be fairly common actions you perform on your Windows 11 PC.
Microsoft says it is “working to resolve this issue” and will provide us with more details when they become available.
Analysis: yeah, my eyes…
For now, affected users will have to live with this; and remember, this happens when using dark mode, which people will most likely turn on in low light conditions, perhaps late in the evening or at night, and the bright white screen flash will be very annoying in such lighting conditions.
Okay, this is a preview build and most people don't download these optional updates for Windows 11, so luckily most of them won't run into this problem.
However, the preview release at the end of the month (well, in this case, the beginning of the month) becomes the next full update, and so Microsoft better fix this ASAP, or else will be a problem for many people. Indeed, the full December cumulative update will arrive in Windows 11 next week (Tuesday, December 9), so Microsoft won't have much time.
The most interesting thing here is that this preview update has added dark mode to more parts of the Explorer interface – dialog boxes for moving, copying or deleting files and other similar operations (as already seen in testing) – so this should improve the overall consistency of application of this regime (in addition to lots of other recent work on dark mode). Previously, these dialog boxes were still white instead of dark, which was annoying in itself, but not as annoying as white flashes attacking your eyeballs in a dimly lit room.
As is often the case these days, Microsoft patches are given with one hand and taken with the other.
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