Microsoft Releases May 2024 Patch Tuesday Updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10

Microsoft has just released the May 2024 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10. For Windows 11 users, today’s KB5037771 patch for the versions 23H2 and 22H2 of the OS brings minor changes to Widgets icons on the taskbar, as well as widgets cards on the lock screen. There are also two changes for the “Recommended” section Start Menu that may be met with some pushback from users.

With this patch, Microsoft is introducing more detailed and larger Widget icons on the Windows 11 taskbar. The new lock screen widgets for weather, finance, and sports news are also being improved with more visuals and customization options.

This is something that was already present on Windows 10, but Microsoft will soon start showing ads for select Microsoft Store apps in the “Recommended” section of the Start Menu. This can be turned off by disabling “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more” in Settings > Personalization > Start.

Microsoft will also soon start displaying your most frequently used apps in the Recommended section of the Start menu. The company explained in the release notes that this will only apply to apps that you haven’t already pinned to the Start menu or the taskbar.

Lastly, a Settings responsiveness issue has been addressed in this build. This bug was causing the app to stop responding when users dismissed a flyout menu.

For Windows 10 users, today’s KB5037768 patch brings the same improvements I’ve previously mentioned for Widgets on the lock screen. The new bits also improve the reliability of Windows Search and introduce what Microsoft described as a “personalized app search experience.”

The other notable changes in this update for Windows 10 users include account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts in Settings > Home. Microsoft also fixed an issue causing Bluetooth connections with some wireless earbuds that have firmware from April 2023 and later to be unreliable.

Last but not least, today’s updates also fix an issue that was causing VPN connections to fail on Windows 11 and Windows 10. This bug was introduced with last month’s Patch Tuesday updates, and Microsoft said earlier this month that it was working on a fix.