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Windows 11 SE

Accessibility Conformance Report published by Microsoft

Conformance by level

Reported by the vendor. WCAG Level AA is the benchmark referenced by ADA Title II, Section 508 and the European Accessibility Act; Level AAA is optional and often left unevaluated.

Source: Download the original report from Microsoft (Word document). Or browse all of Microsoft's reports on Microsoft's own site.

These figures are extracted from that document. They are the vendor's own statements, not an independent assessment, and automated extraction can misread a table.

All reported criteria (50)

Conformance as stated by Microsoft in its published report.
CriterionNameLevel ConformanceRemarks from vendor
1.1.1 Non-text Content A Partially Supports When a screen reader user navigates the list of connected devices on the Windows Settings -> Bluetooth & Other Devices page, the information depicted by the device type icon is not read out. In most cases the user will be able to determine which device is represented based on the accessible category name and device name. However, in cases where this information is not sufficient, users may need to physically manipulate a device (such as by disconnecting it) to verify which device is being represented.
1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) A Supports
1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) A Not Applicable
1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) A Not Applicable
1.2.4 Captions (Live) AA Not Applicable
1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) AA Not Applicable
1.3.1 Info and Relationships A Partially Supports When using Remote Assistance, the visual headings of the different screens are not programmatic headings and are not announced for screen reader users.In Character Map, the role for characters is defined as "pane" instead of "button" which may be confusing to screen reader users. In various account setup flows including for face recognition and additional login security options, Narrator may announce page headings as though they are normal text. When a screen reader user accesses the left-hand navigation pane in File Explorer, the screen reader may report an incorrect number of items in the list. Users will need to inspect the list to determine how many items are present.A screen reader user who has enabled the Details Pane under the File Explorer View menu cannot inspect the "date taken" field of a photo. As a workaround, users can enable the Details folder view where this same field is displayed and is explorable. The Sign in experience masks the password, which can become visible with a toggle, but screen reader users are unable to access the password characters once unmasked.Tables in the System Information experience can’t be accessed with table shortcut keys for screen readers, but the table content can be navigated with shortcut keys to read row and column data.Task Manager columns do not provide sort order details to screen readers. The Photos experience doesn't provide keystroke instructions of using Ctrl+Space+Arrow to select photos in multi-view pane.
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence A Partially Supports When navigating the Out of Box experience (OOBE) with a keyboard, focus moves to the first interactive element in the view, which may force users to navigate backward to reach the non-interactive text and heading. Accessing legacy Windows app message box dialogs with Narrator results in focus being placed on a button at the bottom of the dialog. When using Narrator item navigation, forward navigation proceeds through other buttons then continues to the icon and text elements at the top of the dialog. In the item navigation order, the text is the last element even though it is located above the buttons.Windows Narrator item navigation will not reach the input switcher flyout in the user configuration setup wizard but can reach it if switched to use the arrow keys when input switching button has been activated.
1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics A Supports
1.3.4 Orientation AA Partially Supports The Out of Box experience (OOBE) does not adapt to portrait orientation.
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose AA Supports
1.4.1 Use of Color A Supports
1.4.2 Audio Control A Supports
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) AA Partially Supports In the Alarms and Clock app, button text against the background does not meet contrast requirements.In the Settings -> Accounts -> Access work or school -> Connect flow, the "Show more details" and "Next" button text does not meet minimum contrast standards.Hyperlinks in the User Account Control and “Open With…” dialogs do not meet the standard for text contrast. As a workaround for these issues, users can enable High Contrast mode for better visibility.Link colors in the Reset Windows Admin flows and DUI dialogs do not meet contrast requirementsEditing the Quick Actions Control Center view reduces the contrast on the text in the screen, making it difficult to read the item being edited. The experience is readable when using Contrast Themes from the Settings menu.
1.4.4 Resize text AA Partially Supports Certain older Windows apps and app dialogs do not respond to system settings for resizing text. For example : - Notepad, Photos and Snipping Tool apps- Some start menu options- Clipboard History window- Dictation panel (Windows key + H)- Run dialog (Windows key + R)- Settings pages to change the user’s password or switch to a local account- System taskbar and associated flyouts- User configuration setup wizard- Sections of Character Map- Troubleshooting dialog of Microsoft Support Diagnostics Tool- Remote Assistance window in Remote Assistance app- Sections of System Information- Set Affinity dialog in Task Manager- Bluetooth and Devices, connected voice, music status Instead, a screen magnifier should be used to enlarge the text. Another workaround is for users to change the scale of their display in Settings ->System -> Display and adjusting the options for “Change the size of text, apps, and other items.” Also, instead of using the Snipping Tool, we recommend users transition to the Snip & Sketch app, which supports text scaling.Eye Control settings text can display improperly when zoomed above 200% in languages other than U.S English, such as German.The 'additional mouse settings' secondary window launched from the Mouse Settings screen does not support text scaling.Win UI Controls used throughout the shell and OS apps do not always handle text scaling appropriately.In the Windows Logon screen, the Language and Ease of Access menus do not respond to text scaling, and the Language tooltip and user profile name may be truncated when text scaling is enabled. Also, after invoking "How do I sign into another domain?" the user may be unable to view the content as it cannot be scrolled with the keyboard. Higher values of text scaling may hide more content.
1.4.5 Images of Text AA Supports
1.4.10 Reflow AA Partially Supports Note: Reflow is supported for the following combination of operating system settings: a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 and 100% DPI scaling
1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast AA Partially Supports Some buttons in various locations across Windows do not meet minimum contrast standards, including the "More" options in Clipboard History, buttons on the Account Controls dialog, toggle buttons in lock screen options, buttons in Language Settings page and the Close button in the Microsoft Account dialog.On the Graphics settings dialog box, the contrast ratio of the borderline control is less than 3:1.The Task Manager’s focus Indicators for the column headers don’t meet contrast requirements. Some selected list items in the Photos App don’t meet contrast against the background.In File Explorer, the item view expand/collapse carat, plus the highlight color of files being dragged and dropped to another location do not meet contrast requirements.Focus indicators in the OOBE Ease of Access menu don’t meet the required contrast.
1.4.12 Text Spacing AA Does Not Support Note: This is a standard optimized for Web text and is not supported holistically across Windows. Windows provides different assistive technologies such as Text Scaling and Display scaling to support users who require larger text and UI.
1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus AA Partially Supports Tooltips are not persistent and will dismiss after a predefined amount of time has elapsed and are not hoverable.
2.1.1 Keyboard A Partially Supports When changing your password:- the keyboard cannot access the contents in the "How do I sign into another domain" page- the 'Show password' button in the password edit field is not reachable with keyboard- Pressing ALT + F8 will display the password visually, but it will not be announced by screen reader. In the Japanese IME, the button to delete a candidate is not accessible by keyboard. As a workaround, the user can press Ctrl+Delete. In addition, the expressive input options can only be navigated with the Win+ keys.The Movies & TV app’s compact overlay (picture in picture) window can only be repositioned or resized with mouse, touch, or pen inputs; keyboard manipulation is not supported. Also, the Back button is not accessible with keyboard alone.The 3 buttons on the Dictation toolbar are not accessible via keyboard. Keyboard users should use the Windows key + H shortcut to start, stop, or close Dictation. If needed, users can enable dictation in the Settings app.Unable to access the Back button in People popup using keyboard.File Explorer has a keyboard navigational issue with the tooltips in Ribbon. Users will not be able to use regular keyboard navigation to access buttons like Home, Refresh, Options, Up to in the History window. But users can get to those options using keyboard shortcuts like Alt + Up Arrow for Up to This PC, F5 for refresh, Alt + H for Home.If a user adds multiple keyboards during OOBE while using Narrator, there is an announcement for a shortcut key to change the keyboard. If the user misses this announcement, they may have difficulties switching their keyboard due to an issue with focus shifting on actuation of the input indicator. Users can press the Windows logo key + Space shortcut to open the Input flyout which will allow switching the keyboard.In some Settings pages, the toggle buttons in the list entity item are not discoverable until user tabs.Access keys that use ALT are not functional in Paint. The workaround is to use CTRL for Accelerator keys.Notepad’s file, edit, format, view and help menu buttons must be accessed and expanded using their access keys, like Alt + F, to open the menu before navigation.Note: Inking features cannot be done with keyboard alone but are supported with a mouse and/or pen. The criterion doesn't require path-based gestures as input techniques to be supported with keyboard, but does encourage providing mouse input, which the experience does support.**Taskbar**There is no method for a keyboard user to change the order of apps currently running. As a workaround, a keyboard user can "set up" their taskbar when no applications are running by pinning apps in the desired order.After unpinning an app, keyboard focus is lost. Pressing Win+t keyboard shortcut brings the focus back to the Taskbar. The context menu containing the shortcut to Taskbar Settings, can't be invoked via keyboard. Alternatively, users can use the Win+i keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app and search for Taskbar settings page.Narrator primary activation key Caps + Enter doesn't work on items in Taskbar. For any running app on taskbar, keyboard focus is not visible on the context menu pop up of extended UI.
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap A Partially Supports In Character Map when Unicode is the selected character set, a keyboard user is unable to navigate backwards (Shift + Tab) from the Go to Unicode edit box. As a workaround, the user can Tab to loop around to the desired control.If the user opens the Windows File Explorer modal via a file input, makes no selection and instead cancels the modal, they will experience a keyboard trap. User will have to escape and re-enter Windows File Explorer.When the Common File Dialog (CFD) is used to select photos (e.g. from within an app like OneNote) using the Photos item at the bottom of the left pane, a user who tabs into the Photos section cannot shift-Tab out of it. Instead, users who want to access the left pane of the CFD need to press Tab to cycle around, or close the CFD and re-open it.In Taskbar, when focus lands on a running app users can press up arrow key to navigate to the extended UI. In the extended UI, pressing the escape key and tabbing will move the keyboard focus to "Show hidden icons" button. From there, pressing tab and shift + tab keys won't work. Users need to use arrow keys to navigate after dismissing the extended UI flyout.The Photos experience has a keyboard trap in the “Undo & See More” dialog when using Tab key.
2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts A Partially Supports Menu Key R is aligned as shortcut key for both Print & Properties controls in Performance Monitor
2.2.1 Timing Adjustable A Supports
2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide A Supports
2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold A Supports
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks A Supports Note: Keyboard shortcuts exist throughout the product for address bar, opening tabs, closing tabs, adding a favorite, opening favorites list, opening history, opening downloads, open new window, close window, start new in private session.
2.4.2 Page Titled A Supports
2.4.3 Focus Order A Partially Supports Certain experiences in Windows have issues with inconsistent keyboard focus order and focus placement. For example, the: - OOBE- People app's edit contact experience- Group Policy Managed Console’s page for Scope and Status- Windows Security/Device Performance and Health experience pages.- Settings and Ease of Access pages for Font, Language, Magnifier, and Focus Assist.- File Uploader control- File Explorer- System Tray’s speaker/volume control- Wireless Display/Cast- Keyboard focus lost after activating Video Editor button in Photos- Show available networks
2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) A Supports
2.4.5 Multiple Ways AA Supports
2.4.6 Headings and Labels AA Partially Supports The OOBE and the Movies & TV app do not provide consistent headings for assistive technologies.On the File Explorer -> File -> Frequent places menu, screen reader users may be unable to discern when the “pin” button is in focus. Several workarounds are available to pin or unpin files or folders from Quick Access, such as from the file / folder context menu.
2.4.7 Focus Visible AA Partially Supports Within Character Map, keyboard focus may appear to be in up to 3 places at once (such as on the Font combo box, the Select button, and the character selection panel). As a workaround, users can use the Tab and arrow keys to navigate and determine where focus is; observing the location of the "dotted line" focus rectangle may also be helpful.Upon invoking Ctrl+Alt+Del, initial keyboard focus is not visible on the Lock button. The user can press the arrow keys to make the focus visible.In some areas of the Settings experience (reset my PC, and the “Recovery” advanced setup page), if you launch a dialog with a keyboard, the keyboard focus indicator is not visible, or is not visible when it lands on disabled controls.When the Taskbar setting to 'Automatically hide' is enabled, keyboard focus on the taskbar is not visible after closing start menu and pressing the tab key.Visual Focus Indicator is not clearly visible in: - In Character Map, the select & font combo boxes both have focus simultaneously- Task Manager’s grid elements- System Information’s File, Edit, View & Help controls - Paint’s canvas after ‘Edit Colors’ button selected
2.5.1 Pointer Gestures A Supports
2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation A Partially Supports In Snip and Sketch app, a few controls like 'Auto copy to download', 'Save snips', 'Multiple Windows' and 'Snip outline' toggle switches are not following 'Up/Down' event under 'Pointer Cancellation' using mouse.
2.5.3 Label in Name A Supports
2.5.4 Motion Actuation A Supports
3.1.1 Language of Page A Supports
3.1.2 Language of Parts AA Supports
3.2.1 On Focus A Partially Supports Character Map -> Group by combo box -> Ideographs by Radicals, after closing "Ideographs by Radicals" pop up using Esc key, focus incorrectly lands on "Reset" button instead of "Group by" combo box.The Media Player’s entire Video pane closes when pressing Esc in the volume popup.
3.2.2 On Input A Partially Supports Using the Win+F key to open the feedback hub also takes a screen shot without alerting users that the shortcut both opens feedback and performs a screen grab action.Keyboard users may have difficulty editing the “Date Taken” field of pictures in File Explorer since selecting a date with the Enter key will save that value. Instead, users can press the Space key to select a date.In User Account Control (UAC), the “PIN setup Windows” -> ‘Include Letters and Symbols' check box. Press space to change the state. Focus jumps to 'New PIN' edit and it is announced. New state of the checkbox is not announced.In Settings ->Network & Internet -> Wifi, when selecting an available network, the “Connect Automatically’ checkbox automatically connects to the network when checked and focus moves immediately to the next item in the list.
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation AA Supports
3.2.4 Consistent Identification AA Supports
3.3.1 Error Identification A Partially Supports In User Account Control (UAC), Narrator does not automatically announce error messages that appear when no detail or incorrect detail is provided. Users have to item navigate to know what the error message is.
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions A Partially Supports In the Out of Box experience (OOBE), the field labels within the sign-in flows may not completely describe the input requirements. Additional context is provided on the page as plain text accessible via screen reader item navigation.The Media Player has form fields without associated labels.
3.3.3 Error Suggestion AA Supports
3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) AA Partially Supports In OOBE, most pages do not have a back button. Adjustments can be made, post setup completion through Settings.
4.1.1 Parsing A Partially Supports In File Explorer, Narrator does not follow the system focus into the list box for any header button.
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value A Partially Supports The Characters pane within Character Map does not have a name provided for the view.Within the “Pen & Windows Ink” settings page, a screen reader user reviewing the Pen Shortcuts section will not hear a name for any secondary form items that appear in the section. Instead, users will hear the value of the item selected in the secondary form field. Users should treat any unnamed field they encounter as a refinement of the function defined in the immediately preceding (named) field.
4.1.3 Status Messages AA Partially Supports There are scenarios where screen readers do not announce a status message, so a user will need to manually search for message visually provided. For example:- The number of search results when adding preferred languages in Settings- Spot fix and red eye button prompts in Photos- Activating Pin Requirements button- Certain types of notification badge updates if the underlying app is not a Windows Universal app.- The Settings experience for System storage data of temporary files and local disk. - The Recovery and Go back to Earlier Build flows in Settings.

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This report is dated February 9, 2022. An ACR can be quietly replaced at any time, and the published date is the only signal a buyer gets. We will email you when this one is updated.

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