Windows 11 build 27686 increases FAT32 formatting to 2TB and adds detach option for VHD

• Windows 11 build 27686 finally adds a detach option for virtual drives in the Settings app.
• This flight also increased the format support by up to 2TB for FAT32.
• Also, Windows Sandbox has been updated from the store and has rolled out new features.

Microsoft announced the Windows 11 build 27686 in the Canary Channel of the Windows Insider Program, which includes various improvements and fixes for administrator tools.

According to the official changes published on August 15, 2024, build 27686 brings an updated version of the Windows Sandbox tool with new features, and now the tool is updated from the Microsoft Store.

This flight updates the “Disk & Volumes” settings with a new option to detach virtual drives, increases the format size limit for FAT32 from 32GB to 2TB, and rolls out fixes an issue that prevented virtual drives from remounting automatically. The Lock screen addresses issues with the battery icon, icons in the “Firewall & Network” page in the Windows Security app, and fixes various problems with the Settings app and Registry.

Windows 11 build 27686 new changes

These are the most significant changes rolling out through the Canary Channel.

Windows Sandbox from the Microsoft Store

If you use the Windows Sandbox to test applications and browse untrusted sites to protect your main installation, the tool now updates from the Microsoft Store.

Also, the company is adding a menu from the top-right that adds clipboard redirection so you can copy and paste from the clipboard from the main installation.

In addition, you will also find the options to connect the audio and camera input to the virtual machine.

Virtual drives detach option

As part of the virtual drive improvements, on the “Disks & Volumes” page, inside the drive properties page, you will now find an option to detach VHD or VHDX. In the past, if you attached a virtual drive through the Settings app, you would have to use the legacy Disk Management app to detach it.

Format tool with 2TB support for FAT32

In the past, the “Format” tool only allowed you to format a storage using the FAT32 file system to a maximum of 32GB, but now, the company is updating the tool to support up to 2TB.

However, it’s important to note that the limit of 4GB per file still applies since that is a limitation of the FAT32 file system.

Other changes

Microsft also notes that after installing this build, the system will periodically perform network tests in the background to connect diagnostic data for future performance changes coming to the operating system. However, the company isn’t sharing details of those improvements.

If you have a Copilot+ PC enrolled in the Stable, Dev, or Release Preview Channels, switching to the Canary Channel will make you lose the Windows Hellow settings, resulting in the 0xd0000225 error, but you can always recreate your PIN and biometric authentication from the Settings app.

Install build 27686

To download and install this Windows 11 build, enroll your device in the Canary Channel through the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section. Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download the build from the “Windows Update” settings by turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option and clicking the “Check for Updates” button.