KB5094980

Update KB5094980 (Build 28120.2242) for Windows 11 version 26H1 is intended for insiders on the Experimental channel. This build includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that enhance the operating system's quality of experience, and also brings back the ability to manually enable the Administrator Protection feature through system settings.

• General improvements and fixes. The build contains a small set of general improvements and fixes aimed at improving Windows quality of experience for insiders.
• Administrator Protection. After resuming deployment of the Administrator Protection feature in IT-administered enablement mode, Microsoft is also beginning to provide the ability to manually enable Administrator Protection in Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Security > Account Protection. To activate, you need to toggle the switch to On. A system reboot is required after enabling.

To install the update, go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates. A computer restart is required to complete installation.

These builds may be unstable and released with limited documentation.

Builds released to the Experimental channel (26H1) represent the latest platform changes at early stages of development and are not tied to any specific Windows release. Features and capabilities included in these builds may never make it to the final version, as Microsoft tries out various concepts and gathers feedback. Features may change, be removed, or be replaced, and some of them may never become available outside the Windows Insider program. However, when these features are ready, they may appear in future Windows releases.

Many features on the Experimental channel (26H1) are distributed using Controlled Feature Rollout technology. They first become available to a small group of insiders, and then their availability expands as feedback is collected and analyzed, to evaluate how they are received before becoming available to all participants of this channel.

How the new features work:

General Improvements and Fixes: This build contains a cumulative package of fixes aimed at enhancing the stability of the operating system's UI and kernel. The implementation involves optimizing background processes, resolving previously detected memory leaks in the Win32k subsystem and Explorer.exe, and rectifying telemetry bugs and driver loops that caused inadvertent DPC Watchdog Violation interruptions for insiders.

Administrator Protection: The technology implements a Just-in-Time (JIT) authentication model for accounts with admin privileges. When activated via Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Security, the system creates a hidden, isolated administrator profile with a time-limited access token. The user process requests elevation not directly through UAC, but via a security broker that mandates hardware-isolated Windows Hello verification. Enabling requires modifying the state of the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLUA and a reboot to initialize the authentication filter driver.

The last 10 Windows updates: