Windows 11 KB5074109 is now available for 25H2 and 24H2. Since it’s the first update of the year, it’s mostly bug fixes, but new features are always gradually rolling out. January 2026 Patch Tuesday can be downloaded from Windows Update, or Microsoft has also posted direct download links for KB5074109 offline installers (.msu).

KB5074109 is a mandatory update for Windows 11 25H2, and it’ll download or install automatically unless you manually pause the updates. In our tests, January 2026 Patch Tuesday shows up as “2026-01 Security Update (KB5074109) (26200.7623),” and it downloads automatically in the background.

KB5074109 advances PCs to Windows 11 Build 26200.7623 if you’re on version 25H2 and Build 26100.7623 if you’re on version 24H2. As you might have realised already, Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 are the same releases, so it doesn’t matter what version you have. The changelog is the same.

This update is still rolling out, and it may not show up immediately. It’ll become available at 10AM PT.

Download Links for Windows 11 KB5074109

Windows 11 KB5074109 Direct Download Links: 64-bit and ARM-64 | This opens the Update Catalog, which gives you access to the offline installers. Update Catalog is typically for those who deploy updates across several machines, or when they’re having trouble installing the patch from Windows Update. You don’t have to use it otherwise.

Like all previous updates, this Patch Tuesday is also above 4GB in size. It’s because Microsoft bundles AI models like Phi with these monthly updates. While AI models are only for supported hardware, the models are bundled for everyone with the update. As a result, update size increases for all hardware, including non-AI PCs.

Windows 11 Build 26200.7623 downloads in about 5 minutes at 200 Mbps bandwidth and takes about 7-10 minutes to finish installing across our ten machines. So far, I have not encountered any problems, but we’ll be testing it across our 100+ machines and share our results if we run into issues.

What’s new in Windows 11 Build 26200.7623 (25H2) / Build 26100.7623 (24H2)?

As I mentioned at the outset, January 2026 Patch Tuesday is not a big release, so the changelog is really just about bug fixes. However, it might roll out some of the delayed features to more consumers.

For example, if you still don’t have the colourful battery icons on the taskbar, you might see them after today’s update. The same applies to the new ‘Share with Copilot’ on the taskbar, which started rolling out with the December 2025 Patch Tuesday. Below, I’ve highlighted all the features that are still rolling out, including with the release of Windows 11 KB5074109.

List of features still rolling out for Windows 11 25H2 / 24H2

1. Share with Copilot comes to the taskbar

If you hover over apps on the taskbar, you might see a new “Share with Copilot” toggle, which immediately begins sharing your app’s screen with Copilot. This feature taps into the Windows API, which is used for communication apps like Teams, but in a recent Windows release, Microsoft made a change that allows the API to work with chatbots.

This means OpenAI could also use the API to add “Share with ChatGPT” to the taskbar, but the catch is that the API requires special approval from Microsoft. Since Microsoft owns Copilot, it has approved it, and Copilot is now rolling out on the taskbar.

After installing Windows 11 KB5074109, you can begin sharing the screen of open apps with Copilot and ask questions. For example, if you open Outlook and begin sharing the screen, you can ask Copilot how to respond to this email or how to move the email to another folder.

Copilot shows a mock cursor icon to highlight where you’re supposed to click on the screen, but it cannot perform actions on your behalf. It still requires your attention.

If “Share with Copilot” shows up after today’s update, you can turn it off from Settings > System > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviour, and change “Share any window from my taskbar” to “None” or “Communication apps.”

2. You can now turn on the ‘Recommended’ section in File Explorer

In Windows 11 KB5074109, there’s a new Recommended feed in File Explorer that allows you to see files that you recently accessed. It can also show files you downloaded recently.

In a way, the feature is similar to the ‘Recent’ section, but it prioritizes files you frequently use or downloaded recently, not just anything you opened recently.

Recommended feed works only when you use a Microsoft account. To turn it on, open File Explorer, click ‘Options,’ and turn on ‘Recommended.’

3. Advanced Settings

Microsoft now lets you manage advanced features, such as Sandbox, virtual workspaces, and environments like Hyper-V from Settings > System > Advanced Settings.

Previously, these features were offered via the Control Panel’s optional features dialog, but now you can manage Sandbox and other virtual tools from the Settings app.

This feature is also rolling out.

4. File Explorer’s dark mode is now consistent

Windows 11 KB5074109 also includes dark mode across File Explorer for more consumers.

Dark mode support for File Explorer dialogs originally appeared in production builds in December 2025, and it’s been gradually rolling out. It’s possible that the feature could show up after today’s update for more users, and if you get access, you’ll see dark-themed dialogs when you try to delete large folders or move files from one place to another.

Microsoft says the dark mode is rolling out to confirmation dialogs in File Explorer, such as the dialog for override actions, file selection, and other error dialogs, including when you delete a file in use.

5. Full-screen Experience is now available for all handhelds

With Windows 11 KB5074109 and recent updates, Microsoft has added Full Screen Experience for gaming handhelds. When you turn on the feature, Windows switches to a new gaming experience where the taskbar and other Windows features hide, and the Xbox app takes the full screen.

Windows also reduces background processes to free RAM and CPU for games. This feature will eventually arrive on regular PCs, but for now, you can only use it on handhelds.

This feature is available under Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience > Xbox.

6. Better performance

December 2025 update made a change that improves the performance of some games or apps that query monitor for supported modes at the time of launch. But this change was not available for everyone.

Today’s Windows 11 KB5074109 might roll it out to more consumers, so once it’s rolled out, you’ll no longer notice a stutter when you launch games on very high-resolution monitors.

“This work should help prevent and reduce stuttering in these scenarios,” Microsoft noted in a support document.

Moreover, if you’ve HID-compliant keyboards, you will notice improved performance of the backlight.

What are the known issues in Windows 11 KB5074109?

KB5074109 is a minor release if you’ve already installed the December 2025 updates.

That means you should not run into new issues, but we’re still testing the update, and I’ll update this article if we run into new problems.

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