On May 18, 2021, Microsoft released Windows 10 version 21H1. Windows 10, version 21H1 is available to people with devices running Windows 10, versions 2004 and higher who manually Check for updates via Windows Update. It is also available as a 5.3 GB *.iso file to MSDN subscribers.

In previous years, the *04 releases (now called *H1 releases) served as major yearly release versions of Windows 10 with *09 releases (now called *H2 releases) being refined versions with small improvements and bug fixes. The 21H1, however, is a minor release version. Windows 10 version 21H2 is expected to be this year’s major release version.

What’s New

It’s time to look at the new Identity-related features in this version of Windows 10:

Windows Hello Multicamera Support

For devices with a built-in camera and an external camera, Windows Hello would previously use the built-in camera to authenticate the user, while apps such as Microsoft Teams were set to use the external camera. In Windows 10, version 21H1, Windows Hello and Windows Hello for Business now default to the external camera when both built-in and external Windows Hello-capable cameras are present on the device. When multiple cameras are available on the same device, Windows Hello will prioritize as follows:

• SecureBio camera
• External FrameServer camera with IR + Color sensors
• Internal FrameServer camera with IR + Color sensors
• External camera with IR only sensor
• Internal camera with IR only sensor
• Sensor Data Service or other old cameras

This is certainly a welcome change for people who, use a Logitech BRIO webcam, any of the other Windows Hello-capable webcams and/or a high-end display device with integrated Windows Hello support, hooked up to their Microsoft Surface devices.

WMI Group Policy Performance improvements

Windows 10, version 21H1 includes Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Group Policy Service (GPSVC) updating performance improvements to support remote work scenarios.

When an administrator would make changes to user and/or computer group membership, these changes would propagate slowly. Although the access token eventually updates, these changes do not appear when the administrator uses gpresult /r or gpresult /h to create a report. This was especially experienced in remote work scenarios and has been addressed.

Concluding

The Windows 10 21H1 feature update mainly optimizes remote office scenarios. Microsoft said that because of COVID-19, it did not release a major feature update this spring, and the update it made was to address the most urgent requirements it heard from customers.

Related blogposts

The May Cumulative update fixes several Azure AD Join issues on Windows 10    Windows 10, version 20H2 build 19042 introduces five new Group Policy settings
Identity-related new features in Windows 10, version 20H2 build 19042
Identity-related Features in Windows 10 version 2004 build 19041
Windows 10, version 2004 introduces 134 new Group Policy settings
Improvements for (Hybrid) Azure AD-joined Windows 10 devices in the March 2020 Cumulative Updates
What’s New in Identity in Microsoft Edge v88