I’ve been running Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6772 on my test rig (Hyper-V VM on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 32GB RAM, Dev Channel enabled), and I’ve got to say—this update finally tackles one of my long-standing gripes: the half-baked dark mode.
Why I Took the Plunge
Dark mode isn’t just a cosmetic preference for me—it’s survival. I spend hours in low-light environments, and those legacy pop-ups that ignored the system theme? They were like flashbangs. So when I saw Microsoft was rolling out deeper dark mode integration in this build, I flipped the toggle in Windows Update and jumped in.
What Actually Changed
Once the update landed, I poked around File Explorer and noticed the difference immediately. The copy/move/delete dialogs now respect the dark theme. No more jarring white boxes mid-operation. Even the progress bars got a facelift—blue for active, yellow for paused, red for failed. It’s subtle, but it feels intentional.
Context menus and confirmation prompts also follow suit. I used to brace myself every time I hit “Delete” on a file, expecting that blinding confirmation window. Not anymore.
Start Menu Tweaks That You’ll Actually Notice
The Start Menu got a quiet revamp too. Pinned apps and recommendations are spaced better, and transitions feel smoother. I tested this on both touch and mouse setups—my Surface Go and my desktop—and the responsiveness is noticeably tighter. It’s not a radical redesign, but it’s cleaner and more consistent, especially on Copilot+ PCs.
What’s Still Stuck in the Past
Let’s not pretend everything’s perfect. The Registry Editor, Group Policy Editor, and the Run dialog are still stuck in light mode. Control Panel is halfway there. I checked with Microsoft’s rollout notes, and they’ve confirmed these will be addressed in future cumulative updates—likely in 24H2 or 25H2.
Lessons Learned
If you’re testing this build, make sure you’ve enabled the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle in Windows Update. Without it, you might miss the Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) changes. I missed it the first time and wondered why my dialogs were still blinding me.
Also, don’t expect miracles overnight. Microsoft is clearly phasing this in, and some testers might not see all changes immediately.
Final Thoughts
This build doesn’t reinvent Windows 11, but it does smooth out some of the rough edges that have bugged me since launch. The dark mode finally feels like it’s being taken seriously, and the Start Menu tweaks make daily use a bit more pleasant.
Ever spent an hour trying to dark-theme your entire setup only to be betrayed by a rogue white dialog? Yeah, me too. This build is a step in the right direction.
