Windows 10 KB5035941 Adds Lock Screen Status, Spotlight As Default Desktop

Microsoft has released a cumulative update KB5035941 for Windows 10, which applies to version 22H2 only. This is an optional preview update, therefore will need to be installed manually.

KB5035941 introduces new features and fixes for the operating system. It introduces a new feature for the lock screen which will display more information if configured. Known as the “Lock screen status“, you can now choose to display the weather, mail, or “News and interests” information on the lock screen. Moreover, this update also makes Windows Spotlight the default background.

The update includes more features and fixes. Installing KB5035941 upgrades the operating system build to 19045.4239.

What’s new in KB5035941

KB5035941 introduces some new features and fixes. I have highlighted the major new features here:

• Lock Screen

  The lock screen can now display widget cards for more information, such as the local weather, mail, or News and interests.

  After installing the update, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, expand the drop-down menu in front of “Lock screen status“, and choose the item to display.

  

• Windows Spotlight as the default background

  Windows Spotlight is a Windows feature that automatically rotates the desktop background with new images. You can also click the icon in the corner to learn more about the image.

  While this feature has been a part of Windows 11 for a long time, it has made its debut in Windows 10 with KB5035941.

  To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize your background, and select “Windows spotlight“.

• Update to Windows 11 notification

  Users still using Windows 10 with eligible devices will see a notification asking them to upgrade to Windows 11.

• Other changes and improvements

  • IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting.
  • This update adds search highlights to the taskbar search box for the European Economic Area.
  • This update addresses an issue that stops some apps and features from being available. This occurs after you upgrade to Windows 11.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode. It is not overwritten when rules merge with a collection that has no rules. This occurs when the enforcement mode is set to “Not Configured.”

The list includes more fixes and improvements. To learn more about them, refer to the KB5035941 Release Notes.

With these improvements, there are also a few known issues with this release.

Known issues

Microsoft is aware of the following issues with this release, which have been around for a while, and Microsoft is yet to address them:

• 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 will not work if the 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.

Download and install KB5035941

You can download and install KB5035941 from Windows Update, or using the direct download links below.

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.

Alternatively, you may download the .MSU files from the links provided in the “Downloads” column here:

To install the update, simply run the downloaded MSU file and Windows will automatically install the update. To download any other updates related to any of the above, please check the Microsoft Catalog.

Windows 10 optional non-security update history