Microsoft’s Solution to Eliminate White Flashes in Dark Mode for Windows Explorer

Microsoft Resolves File Explorer Bug Causing White Flashes in Windows 11

Microsoft has successfully addressed a known issue that resulted in bright white flashes during the launch of File Explorer in dark mode on Windows 11 devices following the installation of the KB5070311 optional update.

The bug was especially noticeable when creating a new tab, selecting ‘More details’ while copying files, toggling the Details pane, or navigating to and from Home or Gallery, leading to frustrating user experiences.

Previously, affected users had to disable dark mode to avoid the sudden flashes while using File Explorer until the fix was rolled out.

“After installing KB5070311, you might experience issues when opening File Explorer in dark mode. The window might briefly display a blank white screen before loading files and folders,” Microsoft acknowledged when confirming the bug last week.

“This update addresses an issue where File Explorer briefly flashes white when you navigate between pages,” Microsoft noted in an advisory outlining the improvements introduced in this month’s KB5072033 Patch Tuesday cumulative update.

The December KB5072033 cumulative update also resolved another significant issue that caused network connectivity loss on virtual machines following the loss of physical network adapter bindings on external virtual switches after a host restart.

Additionally, KB5072033 includes enhancements to Windows PowerShell to alert users when scripts attempt to download web content using the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet, enhancing security measures against malicious code execution.

In a separate incident in November, Microsoft acknowledged a critical bug causing File Explorer, Start Menu, and other system components to crash when provisioning Windows 11 24H2 and Windows 11 25H2 devices with cumulative updates released since July 2025.

As a result of this issue, key shell components such as Explorer.exe, StartMenuExperienceHost, and ShellHost.exe would crash, leaving users with partially functional devices unable to access essential navigation tools.

Furthermore, Microsoft recently announced testing of an optional Windows 11 feature that preloads File Explorer in the background to accelerate launch times and enhance overall performance.