The 26H1 feature update for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition has been released today and is included in the June 2026 CU for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition.
Releasing new features for a product which is used by a large number of users creates challenges for IT departments, e.g.
- users have to be trained to use the new functionality correctly
- a change in behavior can lead to an increased number of internal support calls
- new features need to be tested against custom solutions installed on the SharePoint farm
- …
With the feature updates for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition organizations are given the ability to manage the introduction of new features introduced in a feature update by grouping them into feature release rings: the Early release ring and the Standard release ring. This gives organizations time to train their users and support staff on any new functionality, perform compatibility testing of those new feature experiences with existing customer scenarios, and develop new business processes to take full advantage of the new feature experiences.
See here for more details on the feature release rings.
Below is a list of all new feature released in the 26H1 feature updates and the release ring the feature is included:
| New Features released with 26H1 | Release rings |
|---|---|
| Modern People Card | Standard release (*) |
| Document Intelligence | Standard release (*) |
| Config to exclude “Everyone” claim on People Picker | Early release |
Standard release (*) in the list above means that this feature was already available in Feature Update 25H2 in Early releaseand got promoted to Standard Release with the 26H1 feature update.
| Features added in an earlier feature update which remain in Early release | Release rings |
|---|---|
| Support JWE encrypted tokens from Entra ID | Early release (*) |
| Drag and drop functionality for web parts in publishing sites | Early release (*) |
| AMSI Body Scan Defaults to “Full Mode” | Early release (*) |
| Enhance Document Virus Check with AMSI Option | Early release (*) |
| New enhancements for the Text web part | Early release (*) |
Early release (*) in the list above means that this feature was already available in Feature Update 25H2 in Early release and did not get promoted to Standard Release.
More details:
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Documwntation page for 26H1 is not yet live on learn.microsoft.com
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*documentation
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Correct. The release of the documentation is delayed due to some maintenance on the Learn site. Should be available soon.
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So another half year of development and the only new feature is that we can now configure the people picker to exclude the Everyone-claim…?
I’m speechless.
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Hi John,
I assume you are underestimating the huge amount of work done in the last 9 months since the release of the last feature update.
Aside of that: new features are driven by customer demand and implemented design changes.
Are there any features you/your company requested from Microsoft which you expected to be included in this feature update?
Cheers,
Stefan
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Sure there is a lot of technical debt kind of work under the hood that we don’t see, but the priorities are off imo. I would rather see a search which is at least on par with the 10-15 year old one, than a new cloud-only document summary feature. The ability to add custom search verticals (there was an attempt a couple of years ago, but it doesn’t work very well). The ability to add custom search refiners etc. More out of the box webparts…
Needless to say the SPFx version is still 1.4.1/1.5.0 even though we were told there would be a renewed focus on that going forward, and that was three years ago. We are still developing using 1.4.1 which is the same version as the one that came with SP2019, and i have to explain to customers why the toolchain has 950 vulnerabilities. And 1.5.0 is essentially the same. We can’t even use react hooks which has been around longer than the Covid pandemic and generative AI in the non-SharePoint world.
Didn’t mean to rant, but i do realize nothing is gonna happen because like you said customer demand drives new features and that demand spells M365. Some of us can’t ever (and i really mean never) go cloud however, and it’s just frustrating to see the slow progress on the on-prem side of things.
With all that said, you personally are doing an amazing job and this blog is an absolute lifesaver
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+1
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The SPFx version radio silence is really something… No upgrades and no communications about it.
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+1
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+1
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+1
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+1
The SPFx is the most visible lack of update. All our clients would like to implement some of the many SPFx sample we can find on the web, but we have to say “this is not possible as MS don’t update their SPFx engine since … well, the covid times”. So we are stuck.
We can’t even add the very popular PnP Search to customise and give some “decent” search experience.
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+1
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The opening sentence of this article is confusing me:
The 26H1 feature update for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition has been released today and is included in the September 2025 CU for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition.
Should this read “is included in the June 2026 CU” ?
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Hi Tom,
yes of course. Fixed it. 🙂
Thanks!
Stefan
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Hello Stefan,
First of all, thank you for your article.
I share the frustration expressed in the other comments. I understand that Microsoft’s primary focus is now on the cloud, especially SharePoint Online and the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. However, it feels like SharePoint SE has been left behind and is missing features that should be considered essential. In its current state, the modern experience is simply not suitable for many real-world projects.
The first issue is customization. The modern experience offers very limited branding capabilities. There is no real way to customize the navigation, not even basic things like its size. Customizing themes, colors, or typography is unnecessarily complicated. Yes, Fluent UI Theme Designer exists, provided you can still find a working URL, but in the end you can only customize a handful of colors while the rest of the palette is generated automatically. We then have to explain and justify these choices to customers, even when they don’t match their corporate identity. It is also impossible to create simple layouts with properly aligned buttons, and JSON column formatting behaves differently depending on whether it is displayed in a list, a web part, or the classic experience.
The built-in modern web parts are another major disappointment. Legacy lists such as Announcements cannot even be displayed with the modern List web part, forcing many developers to build custom SPFx solutions just to fill this gap. The content web part doesn’t even allow table rows to be hidden. We eventually had to develop our own content editor in SPFx, and finding libraries compatible with SPFx 1.5 is already difficult enough. Search is another example: despite being one of SharePoint’s core strengths, there is still no modern search web part capable of meeting enterprise requirements such as refiners, advanced customization, and a proper search experience.
The roadmap for on-premises technologies is also discouraging. SharePoint 2010 Workflows were deprecated, replaced by Workflow Manager, then SharePoint Workflow Manager, now the Visual Studio feature for workflow devlopment themselves are deprecated. The answer is always the same: migrate to Power Automate. The same applies to Office Online Server, where the recommended solution is to move to Microsoft 365. These recommendations completely ignore organizations that intentionally chose SharePoint Server or SharePoint Subscription Edition because they need or want to remain fully on-premises.
Finally, I won’t repeat what John wrote about SPFx. I completely agree with his comments.
I don’t expect SharePoint SE to receive every cloud feature. However, I do expect Microsoft to continue investing in the core capabilities that make SharePoint a strong on-premises platform. Right now, it feels as though SharePoint SE is receiving just enough attention to remain supported, but not enough to remain competitive. To me, the lack of a roadmap is further proof…
Please don’t take them personally, I fully understand that these decisions are beyond your control. Thank you again for everything you do for the SharePoint community.
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Hi,
thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts!
I had a talk with the relevant people in the SharePoint Server product group based on the previous “wish list” for future feature update.
They committed to investing – but to ensure they have the right focus they ask customers to request a design change for each focus item through a support case.
Design Change requests are the main input for future feature updates.
A note on editing workflows in Visual Studio: at this time VS2022/2026 can be used. VS2022 is supported till 2032.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Hello,
First of all, thank you for posting and responding to my comment, really appreciate it.
Your feedback on how feature requests are prioritized is very interesting. Indeed, I couldn’t find a UserVoice or Feedback Portal dedicated to SharePoint SE. I think we can make a positive contribution to improving the product.
Could you provide more details on how to submit a Design Change Request? Is this available to all customers, or does it depend on the contract?
Thank you in advance,
Best regards,
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Hi Nco
to submit this request, please open a support case for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. In the case description, clearly indicate that you are requesting a product design change (feature request) and provide a detailed explanation of the functionality you would like to see implemented.
It is important to include a comprehensive description of the business impact caused by the absence of this feature. For example, consider outlining:
The more concrete and quantifiable the impact, the better the request can be evaluated.
Please also explicitly request that the design change proposal be submitted to the product group for consideration. The support engineer handling the case will guide the request through the appropriate process and ensure it is reviewed by the relevant teams.
Cheers,
Stefan