Windows 11 build 22000.832 enables version upgrades during setup

Microsoft has released a new optional cumulative update for Windows 11 users, bringing the OS to build number 22000.832. This is a small increment from the build that rolled out to Windows Insiders in the Release Preview channel last week, but this one is available for anyone who wants to install it. The update is labeled as KB5015882, and you can download it manually here.

The highlight of this update is that it allows Windows 11 to install major version updates for Windows during the out-of-box-experience (OOBE). Basically, when you first set up your computer with your user account, you can be prompted to install a version upgrade if it's available and your device is eligible. This change comes at just the right time, considering we're expecting Windows 11 version 22H2 to roll out at some point in the next few months. This way, people who buy a new PC with the original release of Windows 11 will be able to upgrade and get the latest features out of the box.

That's not all that's new, though. There's also a new option to allow Windows 11 to show urgent notifications when focus assist is on. Here's the breakdown of the highlights in this update:

New! Gives you the option to receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on. Focus assist is like a do not disturb mode that hides notifications.
New! Gives you the option to update to a newer Windows 11 version at the very first startup of Windows if your device is eligible.
Addresses an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you use the play and pause keyboard buttons on certain devices.
Addresses an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you use the Start menu’s context menu (Win+X) and an external monitor is connected to your device.
Addresses an issue that displays a blank window that you cannot close when you hover over the search icon on the taskbar.
Addresses an issue that prevents certain troubleshooting tools from opening.

The full list of changes in Windows 11 build 22000.832 is much longer, and as you'd expect, it's mostly about fixes and minor improvements. Various issues have been resolved, and you can find the full list below.

Improvements in WIndows 11 build 22000.832

New! Provides the ability for you to consent to receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on.
New! Provides the option for eligible devices to update to a newer Windows 11 version during the out-of-box experience (OOBE) when you first sign in. If you choose to update to a newer version, the update process will begin shortly after the update is installed on the device.
New! Restores functionality for Windows Autopilot deployment scenarios that are affected by the security mitigation for hardware reuse. This update removes the one-time use restriction for self-deploying mode (SDM) and pre-provisioning (PP). This update also re-enables any User Principal Name (UPN) display in user-driven mode (UDM) deployments for approved manufacturers.
Addresses an issue in UIAutomation() that causes an application to stop working.
Addresses an issue that prevents the Startup Task API from working as expected for certain apps.
Improves the reliability of a push-button reset after an OS upgrade.
Addresses an issue that makes the tenant restrictions event logging channel inaccessible if you remove the EN-US language pack.
Addresses an issue that causes certificate-based machine account authentication to fail in some circumstances after you install the May 10, 2022 security updates on domain controllers.
Addresses an issue that affects the Arm64EC code you build using the Windows 11 software development kit (SDK).
Updates the Remove-Item cmdlet to properly interact with Microsoft OneDrive folders.
Addresses an issue that prevents certain troubleshooting tools from opening.
Addresses an issue that causes port mapping conflicts for containers.
Addresses an issue that causes Code Integrity to continue trusting a file after the file has been modified.
Addresses an issue that might cause Windows to stop working when you enable Windows Defender Application Control with the Intelligent Security Graph feature turned on.
Deploys search highlights to devices. To access the policy for search highlights (on a device that has installed the June 2022 Cumulative Update Preview or July 2022 monthly quality update), go to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions and locate Search.admx. For your convenience, we will be publishing an updated version of the Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11, version 21H2 to the Microsoft Download Center soon.
Addresses an issue that causes explorer.exe to stop working when you use the play and pause keyboard buttons on certain devices.
Addresses an issue that causes explorer.exe to stop working when you use the Start menu’s context menu (Win+X) and an external monitor is connected to your device.
Addresses an issue that displays a blank window that you cannot close when you hover over the search icon on the taskbar.
Reduces the overhead of resource contention in high input/output operations per second (IOPS) scenarios that have many threads contending on a single file.
Addresses an issue that causes the Windows profile service to fail sporadically. The failure might occur when signing in. The error message is, “gpsvc service failed to sign in. Access denied”.

If you want to get these fixes, you can simply look for updates in Windows Update, then choose to install the KB5015882 cumulative update. Otherwise, you can download it manually with the link we provided at the top.

While this is an optional update, all of these changes will be making their way to everyone next month, when Microsoft rolls out new cumulative updates for Patch Tuesday. Those are mandatory updates, and they can often include additional fixes. Lately, though, Microsoft has mostly published Patch Tuesday updates without much of a changelog, so the bulk of the changes are in this update.

[UPDATE JULY 25TH @ 5:38AM ET] The update was initially labeled as build number 22000.829, but this is incorrect. The correct build number is 22000.832. We have updated the article accordingly.