Fed up of adverts creeping into Windows 11? You wont like Microsofts latest update, then, although it does provide some important bug fixes

Date:
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:07:36 +0000

Description:
How many adverts are too many ads in Windows 11? Whatever your tolerance level, theres another one in the OS thanks to the latest update.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Microsof t has just released a new update for Windows 11 Unfortunately, it brings an advert for PC Game Pass into the Settings app Not everyone will see this, though, and this update applies a raft of useful bug fixes, particularly for File Explorer

Windows 11 just received its latest update, and as is quite often the case, theres good and bad news important fixes for File Explorer is the former,
and yet another advert being officially introduced to the OS is the latter.

Yes, in case you didnt realize, yesterday was 'Patch Tuesday', and the March cumulative update for Windows 11 was released.

Lets get the dubious move out of the way first, then: the mentioned ad is placed in the Settings app, on the home page panel, and consists of promotional activity for PC Game Pass.

The positive news here is that it will only appear for certain Windows 11 users those who are PC Game Pass subscribers the reason being that its an
ad that offers a referral for friends who might want to join the service,
too.

In other words, this gives you the ability to invite friends to try PC Game Pass for free (for a 14-day trial, or at least that was the case in testing).

Right, onto the File Explorer fixes, which, for those who might be unsure, is the app that powers the very folders that you use on a daily basis (most likely) to deal with your files.

As Bleeping Computer reports, there are quite a few cures for various File Explorer blues, including an important one, whereby Windows 11 now offers much-improved performance levels when opening folders that have a large quantity of media files within them.

A problem that meant the right-click context menu was also sluggish to appear with cloud-based files has been resolved, too. Also, regarding files in the cloud (OneDrive), the thumbnails for these now show properly in Windows 11 search results (whereas some thumbnails previously wouldnt be displayed).

On top of that, an issue with the address bar overlapping files when in full-screen mode with a File Explorer window has been remedied (and URLs entered manually in the address bar are guaranteed to work, whereas some were failing previously).

There are quite a number of bug fixes in this patch, in fact, including some work on the Start menu (where the colors were wrong in the Account Manager flyout), and a cure for an odd sound-related issue. The latter saw the PCs volume increase to 100% when the device woke from sleep (a rude awakening indeed for some unsuspecting Windows 11 users, no doubt and another in an unfortunate collection of recent audio bugs ).

Also, a glitch that caused some apps to not recognize a connected scanner has been smoothed over, too.

There are the usual security patches here, as youd expect, and also some work on features, including useful new shortcuts for the scan mode of Windows 11s screen reader tool, Narrator. (Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan) Analysis: Ad aggro and File Explorer remains wonky yet Microsoft deserves some credit here

So, another advert has made it all the way through testing into the finished version of Windows 11 and I cant say Im impressed with that. Okay, so this advert might actually be useful, I dont dispute that it is at least targeted at PC Game Pass subscribers, and they might genuinely want to give their friends the chance of a free trial (to try out some coop gaming with them).

That said, this is still an out-and-out advert not some kind of suggestion
or more subtle prod to use a Microsoft service and the more of this thats brought into Windows 11, the more I feel that Microsoft is crossing lines it really shouldnt be crossing. (Not in a paid-for operating system).

To give Microsoft credit where its due, we have witnessed some
recommendations (in testing) of late that could prove genuinely useful , so the company isnt going entirely in the wrong direction with Windows 11s various nudges and prompts.

Furthermore, its definitely good to see the work on fixing File Explorer, although there have been a lot of bugs affecting it , and some annoyances still remain. Notably, only last month, the February 2025 update caused chaos with File Explorer falling over for some folks.

This is an area Microsoft clearly needs to fully smooth over, as its a
central part of the Windows 11 interface, so it really doesnt look good if there are glitches hanging about in the works. You may also like... Shock, horror Im not going to argue with Microsofts latest bit of nagging in
Windows 11, as this pop-up is justified Are you unable to get security
updates for Windows 11 24H2? Heres the likely reason why, and the fix to get your PC safe and secure again Windows 11 fully streamlined in just two
clicks? Talon utility promises to rip all the bloatware out of Microsofts OS in a hassle-free way



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/fed-up-of-adverts-creeping-into-wi ndows-11-you-wont-like-microsofts-latest-update-then-although-it-does-provide- some-important-bug-fixes


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