Windows 11 KB5041587 with upgrades for Windows Share and Narrator (direct download .msu)

Microsoft recently released update KB5041587 for Windows 11 PCs. It is an optional update for August 2024 that brings some minor improvements to Windows Share, Narrator, and Voice Access.

Unlike the August 2024 security update, KB5041587 will not be automatically downloaded and installed on your PCs, so you must check for availability by going to Settings > WindowsUpdate section and then install it. We will also include the direct download links for the offline installer (.msu) file.

This optional update moves your Windows 11 PC to build number 22631.4112. Before we discuss the changes in this update, let’s discuss the download links.

Download links for KB5041587

Direct download links for Windows 11 KB5041587: 64-bit and arm64 | Microsoft Update Catalog.

Use the offline installer file if you have problems downloading and installing updates from the Settings app.

What’s new in Windows 11 Build 22631.4112

The first noticeable new feature is the ability to send files to the Android phone via Windows Share. After selecting a file, a “My Phone” option appears in the Windows Share window. However, this trick only works if you have previously linked the phone to the PC via Phone Link and Link for Windows.

You must connect your phone to the PC using Phone Link before attempting to send the file, otherwise the option will not appear in Windows Share.

The speaker’s scanning mode has been significantly improved in this version. It can scan large documents or web pages and read them aloud with ease. Voice Access has also received some improvements and can recognize voice input faster.

Lastly, there is a change for the Widgets Board for users from the EEA region. The Microsoft Start Experiences app is a separate app that supports the Microsoft Start widget and feed. Microsoft wants to improve the security of the APIs used to create widgets and has removed many widgets.

The August 2024 optional update also fixes the following File Explorer bugs:

• The search function did not work when you pressed the Win + F key combination.
• Pressing Shift + Tab interrupted keyboard focus.
• When opening or browsing items in a breadcrumb navigation of the Open or Save dialog, the screen reader announcements failed. The same was true when opening/browsing items in the column header.

However, Microsoft is still working on the Linux dual-boot issue that appeared with the August 2024 security update. The company has issued official workarounds while it tries to “patch” the issue that appeared with the Patch Tuesday update.