Microsoft Adds Account Notification To Windows 10 Settings With KB5036979

As the cumulative optional update for April 2024 for Windows 10, Microsoft released KB5036979 which adds Microsoft account-related notifications to the Home screen of the settings app. Moreover, this update also makes functional and visual changes to the lock screen widgets, improving on the initial release with KB5036892.

This update applies to Windows 10 version 22H2 only, and installing it upgrades the OS build to 19045.4355.

Download and install KB5036979

You can download and install KB5036979 from Windows Update, or using the direct download links here:

You can download the .MSU files from the links provided in the “Downloads” column above. Simply execute the MSU file to proceed with the installation.

To install the update from Windows Update on a Windows 10 PC, press the Windows Key + i to open Settings, go to “Windows Update“, and then click “Check for updates.” Once the update is available, click “Download and Install.” Once installed, restart the PC to finalize it.

Note that the update may start installing automatically if you have enabled the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option.

What’s new in KB5036979

Microsoft account notification in Settings Home page

After installing this update, users logged in with a Microsoft account will begin seeing account-related notifications on the Home page of the Settings app.

If you are not already signed in with a Microsoft, account, you will be urged to sign in with it and backup your data. Clicking on the “Sign in now” button opens the Windows Backup app, which then redirects you to create a Microsoft account, or sign in with it, and then continue to backup your account data.

Optionally, if you do not want to see such notifications, go to Settings > Privacy > General. Here, toggle the option “Show me suggested content in Settings” into the off position.

Improvements to lock screen widgets

The lock screen widget cards display different useful information around your area, such as the weather, local news, etc. These were introduced to Windows 10 not too long ago with the Windows 10 update KB5036892. With this update, Microsoft has made them more reliable and has improved their quality.

The widget cards now offers a more customized experience, and Microsoft has also made a few animations to make the cards more interactive.

Windows updates to get smaller and faster

Microsoft has anounced to reduce the size of the Windows update packages by up to 20%. This will be achieved by removing the reverse differentials from the Last Cumulative Update (LCU). The client will generate the reverse update data, which will benefit the user in the following ways:

• Les bandwidth usage
• Quicker downloads
• Reduced network traffic
• Improved performance on slower internet connections

Other improvements in KB5036979

KB5036979 brings a list of other fixes and improvements to Windows 10. I have highlighted the significant ones here:

• The Windows Search has been made more reliable and faster. Users will now be able to search for apps rather quickly.
• Some wireless earbuds have an unstable Bluetooth connection, which is now fixed.
• This update addresses an issue that affects apps licensing. Because of this, Copilot in Windows (in preview) does not work as you expect.
• This update addresses a race condition that might stop a machine from starting up. This occurs when you set up a bootloader to start up multiple operating systems.
• This update affects hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI). It accepts drivers that are now compatible.

If you want to read the complete changelog, read the Microsoft blog post for KB5036979.

Other than these improvements, Microsoft is also aware of a few known issue with this update.

Known issues in KB5036979

Icon alignment issues with Copilot

When you open Windows Copilot, the desktop icons get randomly rearranged with no sorting order and spread across the screen. This issue only occurs with systems in a multimonitor setup. You can take solace in the fact that the icons are reverted to their original places when you close Copilot.

At the moment, there is no workaround for this issue. However, Microsoft has disabled Copilot in Preview on devices that have been using a multi-monitor configuration.

Copilot not working when taskbar is positioned vertically

If you have moved the taskbar to the left or the right side of the screen and is now in a vertical position, Copilot will be inaccessible.

At the moment, the only workaround for this issue is moving the taskbar to a horizontal position, which is either at the top of the screen or the bottom.

0x80070520 error when changing profile picture

Microsoft has stated that users might not be able to change their user account’s profile picture after installing KB5036979.

If you attempt to change your profile picture by going to Settings > Accounts > Your info, and then clicking “Choose a file“, you may see an error message with the code “0x80070520”.

At the moment, there is no workaround for this issue. However, Microsoft does say that they are working on the problem and will likely provide an update in the upcoming Patch Tuesday release.

Devices using DHCP Option 235 unable to discover Microsoft Connected Cache nodes

Microsoft Connected Cache, or MCC, is a software caching solution that delivers Microsoft content, so a device will not need to go to he internet each time needs to download Microsoft content. Instead, th devices would just ransfer the data between them.

Microsoft is aware of an issue that, after installing KB5034203, devices using DHCP Option 235 might not be able to use the nodes around them. But instead, the device goes online to download the content directly from Microsoft servers.

Note that this issue will not affet Windows Home users, since these services are normally used in enterprises.

Microsoft has given 2 options to mitigate this issue:

1. Contact the Microsoft support for business whih can provide Group Policies to mitigate the issue, or
2. Configure Microsoft Connected Cache endpoint in DOCacheHost policy as indicated in Cache hostname. Additionally, DOCacheHostSourcehas to be set to 1 or removed as indicated in Cache hostname source.

Windows 10 optional non-security update history