Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

New themes are available in the Windows Store for Insiders only

Kevin Parrish
By

Image used with permission by copyright holder
During Microsoft’s press event in October, the company introduced the Surface Book with Performance Base, the Surface Studio all-in-one PC, and the upcoming Creators Update slated for the spring of 2017. Microsoft also indicated that themes for Windows 10 would be offered directly from the Windows Store once Creators Update arrived. The first batch of these themes are now listed in the store, but they can’t actually be used … at least for now.

The new Windows Store themes are now available to install by participants of the Windows Insider program, but they can’t be used in Windows 10 just yet. While the latest preview build may already include Creators Update components, Microsoft isn’t expected to activate the ability to use these themes until early 2017. Until then, Insiders can merely wait until a compatible preview arrives, or lock and load them now ahead of theme support.

Recommended Videos

Here are some of the provided themes found on the Windows Store:

Note that by clicking on one of the links, general Windows 10 users will pull up the theme listed on the Windows Store, but they can’t download or install it. Instead, they are provided with a “Join Now” button to enlist in the Windows Insider program. Meanwhile, Insiders will see a button to download the theme, although there’s currently nothing in place to actually make the theme active.

Related

Windows 10 power users can preview the themes by going into the Program Files folder and make the WindowsApps folder visible. After that, users must make themselves the owner of the folder and its contents before accessing the themes, as it’s locked by Windows 10 by default. Once that’s done, users can access the theme files located within.

Right now, Windows 10 users must continue the old fashion way of grabbing new desktop themes by visiting Microsoft’s website. The company divides them all up into categories, such as Animals, Holiday & Seasons, Games, Plants & Flowers, and more. Surprisingly, Microsoft never introduced a Themes section in the Windows Store when it launched Windows 10 in July 2015.

Once Creators Update goes live in the spring, Windows 10 users will see a new “Personalization” section in the Windows Store. This is where the themes will reside, and may even be made available to Xbox One console owners. However, Microsoft plans to offer paid themes as well, as the company briefly teased Minecraft: Steve’s Stroll for $1.99 and League of Legends: Classic Vayne for $2.49 during October’s event.

The most recent build of Windows 10 for Insiders is 14986 for PC released just days ago. The build added music playback control to Cortana, improvements to the Windows Game Bar full-screen option, improvements to Windows Ink, and more. That said, the current rollout of themes in the Windows Store should indicate that Store-based theme support is right around the corner for Windows Insider participants.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kevin Parrish
Kevin Parrish
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
The latest Windows Update is reportedly causing Starfield problems
A man walking into a dusty town on another planet in starfield.

If you've installed the latest Windows 11 update and you've been experiencing all sorts of issues ever since, you're not alone And if you're still yet to install it, it's probably best hold off on it for now. Many users have been reporting problems following the recent update, including crashes, slowdowns, and blue screens of death (BSOD). Gamers appear to be affected most of all, with some reporting stuttering in Starfield and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. 

Following the latest update released on Patch Tuesday, various reports of problems started pouring in across social media and Microsoft's Feedback Hub. Microsoft itself hasn't spoken up about this yet, but considering the number of reported issues, we could soon hear an official comment on the situation. If you've already installed the update and aren't experiencing problems, you have nothing to worry about. If you have installed and are encountering issues, it's best to revert to the previous version and reach out through the Feedback Hub.

Read more
Windows just gave us another reason not to download fresh updates
Windows 11 blue error crash screen.

As if we needed another reason to hold off on downloading the latest patches before they've been tested by a considerable number of people, Microsoft's most recent Windows Update comes with an unfortunate side effect -- it causes blue screens for some users. The blue screen shows up right at boot, citing the "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" error as the stop code. Here's what we know, and more importantly, how to make sure this doesn't affect your PC too.

The issue started popping up right after the latest Windows 11 update, KB5029351, which brought the operating system up to version 22621.2215. The build addresses some issues and brings minor improvements, such as adding a new hover behavior to the search box gleam and improving the reliability of the Search app.

Read more
This new Windows 11 feature is a great addition for PC gamers
HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop on a desk with two monitors nearby displaying games and a keyboard and headset to the side.

Microsoft is developing improved controls for Windows 11 users, aiming to change how the operating system manages high refresh rate monitors. The latest Windows 11 preview build includes the ability to automatically adjust the refresh rate on multiple monitors based on what content is being displayed.

“We have improved refresh rate logic to allow different refresh rates on different monitors, depending on the refresh rate for each monitor and content shown on the screen. This will help most with refresh rate-dependent multitasking, like playing a game and watching a video at the same time,” said Microsoft’s Amanda Langowski and Brandon LeBlanc in a blog post announcing the new preview build.

Read more