Windows Insiders have new features to try out, including improved Windows Search and an upgraded Phone Link. The changes come with Windows 11 Insider Build 26300.9032, which is now available through the Experimental Preview Channel.

The improved Windows Search is customizable, including some options that were already available. You can enable or disable integration with your personal Microsoft account or work or school account. You can also set Search to look through your OneDrive or not search your cloud storage.

The most recent addition of automatically expanding indexing in Windows Search based on your activity can also be enabled or disabled with a toggle.

The changes to Phone Link are more significant, but I wonder how many people they will affect. Based on comments here and on social media, it feels like Phone Link is a good idea that few people actually use daily. But Microsoft continues to improve it, so there must be a healthy user base.

In the most recent Windows Insider build, Phone Link can show more activity at a glance. Hovering over a recent message or notification in the recent section of the Start menu will show a preview of content. That experience is rolling out gradually, though, so you may not see it even if you're on the latest build.

Microsoft has big plans for Phone Link and even has a dedicated Messages app in the works that will support SMS conversations. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden reported that the new features "are being explored and prototyped internally," but that they might change or not ship.

Eventually, Phone Link may integrate with the Windows shell rather than existing as a standalone app on top of Windows 11.

Microsoft has also played around with integrating Windows 11 and smartphones directly rather than through Phone Link. There's probably a place for both, but I'm curious if you have a preference regarding how to connect a smartphone and a PC.

• Windows Search can now automatically expand its indexing scope based on your activity, using signals like recent files and frequently accessed locations. This helps ensure that relevant files across your device are discoverable without requiring manual indexing configuration.
• To manage this feature, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Search.

• The phone companion experience in Start already helps you keep up with activity from your mobile device. With today's update, you can see even more at a glance.
• Get more from your latest activities: Hover over a recent message or notification in the Recent section to preview its content directly in Start. There's no need to pick up your phone or open the item to see what's new.
• Whether you're checking a message or deciding if a notification needs attention, these updates make it easier to stay informed and keep your focus.
• This experience is gradually rolling out to Insiders on the Experimental channel with a minimum Phone Link build of 1.26021.3.0. Go to Phone Link > Settings > Start menu personalization.

• We've improved search in the Settings app to help you discover and navigate to settings more quickly. Search now surfaces results from more areas within Settings, with improved ranking to help relevant settings appear higher in results.

• Updates to the adaptive hibernate policy increase instances of instant-on resumes from Modern Standby and increase battery preservation at the low end of the battery. Noticeable changes include less hibernation while the battery is above 80% and hibernating sooner when the battery is below 10%.

• Fixed an issue causing the Start menu to crash for some Insiders recently when dragging apps.

• Fixed a recent issue where, when the taskbar was in an overflow state, hovering over the preview thumbnail for an app window in the overflow area would immediately dismiss it.

• File Explorer Home now preserves the state of sections (expanded or collapsed), so you can pick up where you left off.
• We've addressed an issue that caused the address bar contents to be cleared when entering edit mode by clicking near the right end of the bar.
• We've improved the reliability of File Explorer when dragging files to a disconnected network drive.
• This update addresses an issue where files stored on a DFS mapped drive could be incorrectly treated as originating from the internet after the device started while disconnected from the network and later reconnected. This could cause File Explorer's Preview pane to display the message, "The file you are attempting to preview could harm your computer," or cause files copied from the DFS drive to receive an unexpected Mark of the Web.

• Made some underlying changes to help improve reliability for Windows Spotlight on the lock screen.

• This update fixes an issue that affects File History automatic backups to network shares using Server Message Block (SMB). Backups didn't work because Windows showed a false "invalid credentials" error when connecting to SMB shares.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.