Windows 11’s February update brings some welcome improvements

Yesterday was Patch Tuesday for February, which means Microsoft released updates KB5051989 for Windows 11 23H2 and KB5051987 for Windows 11 24H2. These are both security updates that also come with some quality-of-life improvements and new features.

In this patch, you’ll find improvements to File Explorer along with some experimental changes like a completely new font based on Chinese characters. Meanwhile, Windows 10 users are being forced to update to the new Outlook app with their own February patch.

Update KB5051989 is mandatory for users on Windows 11 23H2, but update KB5051987 is currently optional for users on Windows 11 24H2. These updates bring the following notable changes:

• In File Explorer, you can now create “New Folder” when right-clicking on items in the left-hand navigation pane. There’s also a new feature that restores all open tabs when you launch File Explorer, but you have to enable the setting first.
• When you stop working on OneDrive files on your PC, you can now resume from where you left off on your Android and/or iOS devices. If you resume while your PC is locked, just sign back into your PC within 5 minutes of accessing with your Android/iOS device.
• Windows Share now lets you right-click on files in File Explorer or on the desktop and immediately share to any app that supports network sharing on Windows 11.
• The Magnifier system app now has a new keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + Alt + Minus) that lets you instantly switch between your current zoom level and 1x zoom, plus buttons to reset zoom.
• There’s a new simplified Chinese font called Simsun-ExtG, which includes some new extension characters.
• For users on Copilot+ PCs, Windows Studio Effects (the AI-driven camera feature) now shows an icon in the system tray when an app is using Windows Studio Effects.

If you’re on Windows 11 23H2, the update will automatically be installed on your system — if not already, then in the coming days.

If you’re on Windows 11 24H2 and you want this update, you’ll have to install it manually by checking for it in Windows Update or by downloading it directly from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Further reading: How to revert a problematic Windows 11 update