Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 update that lets users enter their PIN without waiting for Windows Hello biometrics. Here's how it works and who can try it.
The post Windows 11 Is Fixing an Annoying Sign-In Problem: Here’s What Changes appeared first on TechRepublic.
"Do you want to turn on Sticky Keys?" has likely popped up on your PC at some point. That prompt appears after you press the Shift key five times and allows you to enable the feature. Soon, Windows 11 will make it easier to stop that message from appearing.
In one of the latest Windows Insider builds, Microsoft introduced an updated version of the prompt. Windows 11 will soon let you permanently disable the Sticky Keys shortcut directly from the prompt itself.
The same change is also coming to the prompt used for Filter Keys, another accessibility feature that can be enabled through a keyboard shortcut.
Windows 11 already lets you disable that shortcut, but it requires a couple of extra steps. Within Settings, you need to navigate to Accessibility > Keyboard > Sticky Keys. That section has other controls, such as turning off Sticky Keys when two keys are pressed at the same time.
The current Windows 11 prompt includes a quick link to that section of the Settings app, but the process will soon be streamlined. The updated prompt still includes a shortcut to all Sticky Keys settings.
Best news of the weekNovember 7, 2026
Sticky Keys is a useful feature that improves accessibility. It lets you press one key at a time instead of holding multiple keys at once. For example, instead of pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete simultaneously, you can press Ctrl, then Alt, then Delete.
The shortcut to enable Sticky Keys by pressing Shift five times has been part of Windows for decades. While useful, it can be triggered accidentally. Last week, I was in a creative program and pressed Shift five times as part of my normal workflow and accidentally summoned the prompt to enable Sticky Keys.
I took the opportunity to disable the shortcut through the Settings app, but soon that won't be necessary since the prompt will include a check box that prevents it from appearing again.
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In this episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden break down a major architectural efficiency victory in Windows 11 under the ongoing Windows K2 initiative: reducing memory footprint and improving responsiveness by 20% on 8 GB RAM machines through WinUI conversions, OEM memory budgets, and memory compression.
We also analyze reporting on upcoming Windows 11 default wallpaper refreshes and detail why a full-blown Windows 12 release in 2027 is looking increasingly unlikely. We discuss platform fragmentation across Germanium and Bromine codebases, component cost inflation ("Ramageddon"), and why Microsoft could move toward iterative annual OS branding rather than forced migrations.
The conversation also tracks Copilot’s new opt-in integration into Windows Search, its discontinuation on LG and Samsung smart TVs, and hands-on impressions of the major performance rewrite of the Xbox PC app on handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X20.
This episode of the Windows Central Podcast is sponsored by Surfshark VPN. Unlimited devices, access your content from anywhere, and auto-block malware on Windows, Edge, and other platforms from $2.50/mo, with 3 months extra FREE. Sign up today!
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Microsoft has pushed back against reports that the company has built a modernized Registry Editor app for Windows 11, clarifying that the newly discovered modern Registry Editor is just a sample app, and not intended to ship in Windows.
Windows Latest was first to report on this new Registry Editor app, but stated within their article that the app is "not a mock-up," which led some people online to believe this app is a real replacement for the existing Registry Editor.
It appears that the app is a mockup, designed to showcase Microsoft.UI.Reactor technology, meaning it was only built to show developers what is possible with the tech and not representative of any modernization work ongoing by the Windows team.
Unfortunately, some reports didn't make it clear in their headlines that this app is just a sample app, which has resulted in a lot of pushback and criticism from users due to its unfinished design. Now, two Microsoft execs have taken to X to clear up the mess.
"It’s a sample. You say it’s the new one and then in the last line of the tweet you point out it’s a sample," Microsoft VP Scott Hanselman said in a reply to Windows Latest on X. This was followed up by a post from Windows Insider lead and CVP Marcus Ash, who said "Right. A sample. Not a developer preview of a new regedit."
So, that's confirmation from Microsoft that this new Registry Editor is not coming to Windows 11, and is just a sample app designed to showcase to developers what is possible with Microsoft.UI.Reactor.
With that said, this doesn't mean the Windows team isn't working on a modernized Registry Editor. My own sources tell me the Registry Editor is on the list for a modern rejuvenation under the Windows K2 effort, but there are other pillars and higher priority items that need to be addressed first before the Registry Editor can be tackled.
The good news is a modern Registry Editor for Windows 11 is unlikely to look like the sample app being depicted in recent reports, and that a modernized Registry Editor is on the docket for the future.
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