Why Are New Windows 11 Emojis Missing? The Disappointing Problem with the 24H2 Update

Want the Amazing New Fingerprint Emoji in Windows 11? Your Ultimate Guide to Actually Using It.

Windows 11’s latest update brings new emojis, but you may not be able to find or use them easily. The new characters from Emoji 16.0 are technically included in the operating system, yet they are missing from the emoji keyboard and do not appear correctly in all applications, creating a confusing and inconsistent experience for users.

The Slow Arrival of Emoji 16.0

The Emoji 16.0 standard has finally appeared in Windows 11 with the 24H2 update, specifically rolling out with the August 2025 optional update (KB5064081) and the September 2025 Patch Tuesday security release. This arrival comes months after the same emojis became available on other major platforms like Android, iOS, and macOS. This delay highlights a recurring pattern where Windows lags behind in adopting new Unicode standards, leaving its users waiting for expressions that their friends on other devices are already using.

While the underlying support is now present, the implementation is incomplete. The new emojis, which include symbols like a fingerprint, a leafless tree, and a shovel, are not integrated into the Windows Emoji Panel, the pop-up keyboard accessed by pressing Win + . (period). This means there is no straightforward, system-wide way for a user to find and insert these new characters. You can only view them if they are pasted from another source, and even then, they only display correctly in a select few applications.

A Look Back at Emojis on Windows

To understand today’s inconsistency, it helps to look at the history of emojis and how Windows has handled them over the years.

The Beginning

Emojis first appeared in Japan in 1999, starting as a set of 176 simple icons for pagers. They quickly became a core part of digital communication in the country. However, since each mobile carrier had its own set, they were not cross-compatible.

Global Standardization

The need for a universal standard became clear. In 2010, the Unicode Consortium, the organization responsible for standardizing text and symbols across all software, officially added 722 emoji characters in Unicode 6.0. This was the pivotal moment that allowed emojis to work everywhere.

Platform Adoption

Apple was a major catalyst for global adoption when it added a dedicated emoji keyboard to iOS 5 in 2011. Google followed by adding native emoji support to Android in 2013.

Windows Catches Up

Microsoft’s journey was slower. Before 2013, emojis in Windows appeared as simple black-and-white symbols, if they appeared at all. Windows 8.1 was the first version to provide significant color emoji support with the introduction of the Segoe UI Emoji font.

The Emoji Panel

Windows 10 continued to expand the emoji set, but the introduction of the Emoji Panel in 2018 was the most important step for accessibility. For the first time, users had a simple, built-in tool to browse and insert emojis anywhere in the operating system.

Fluent Design

With Windows 11 in 2021, Microsoft introduced its Fluent Emoji, a redesigned set of icons with a modern, friendly look. These initially launched in 2D and were later updated with 3D effects and subtle animations, making them some of the most visually appealing emojis on any platform.

Despite this progress, the rollout of Emoji 16.0 shows that the underlying foundation of Windows still struggles with consistency.

What’s New in Emoji 16.0?

The latest update adds a small but interesting set of new characters. These are the seven new emojis that are technically supported in the latest version of Windows 11:

• Face with Bags Under Eyes
• Fingerprint
• Leafless Tree
• Root Vegetable
• Harp
• Shovel
• Splat

In addition to these, there is a new flag emoji for Sark, a small island in the English Channel. However, support for this flag is even rarer and currently seems to be exclusive to WhatsApp. This is a common issue with flag emojis, as their implementation can be politically sensitive and technically complex, leading many platforms to delay or omit them.

The core problem for Windows users is that none of these are searchable or selectable from the Emoji Panel. You can only see them if you copy them from a website that already displays them, like the official Unicode catalog, and paste them into a compatible application.

The Great Divide: Where Emojis Work and Where They Fail

The fragmented support for Emoji 16.0 is a direct result of the different technologies that applications use to display text and images on Windows. Some apps use modern frameworks that can access the latest fonts, while others are built on legacy systems that cannot.

Testing reveals a patchwork of compatibility across the operating system.

Apps with Full Support

Some applications render the new emojis perfectly. These apps typically use modern rendering engines or have their own built-in emoji sets.

• Notepad and OneNote: These first-party Microsoft apps correctly display the new emojis. They use a modern rendering engine that pulls glyphs directly from the updated Segoe UI Emoji font.
• Microsoft Word and PowerPoint: Similar to Notepad, these applications in the Microsoft 365 suite leverage modern frameworks and show the new emojis without issue.
• WhatsApp (Desktop and Web): WhatsApp is a leader in emoji support because it does not rely on the operating system. It bundles its own custom emoji set, ensuring that every user sees the exact same icon regardless of whether they are on Windows, macOS, or a smartphone. This is why it can even display the rare Sark flag emoji.
• Gmail (Web): In a web browser, Gmail correctly displays the new emojis because Google has updated the font set it uses for the Gmail web interface.

Apps with No Support or Partial Support

Many other applications, including some from Microsoft, fail to render the new characters, showing the infamous blank rectangle, often called a “tofu” box.

• Outlook: The desktop version of Outlook does not display the new emojis. Its text editor is built on an older framework that has limited emoji support.
• Edge and Chrome Address Bars: While the main browser window might display emojis on a webpage, the address bars of both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome do not. These interface elements are built using a legacy UI framework that prevents the use of modern emoji fonts.
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Keep: Ironically, while Gmail works, Google’s other web-based productivity apps do not render the new emojis. This is because these services use a different font set (Google’s own Noto Color Emoji) which has not yet been updated on the web.
• Copilot and Phone Link: Newer Microsoft applications like the Copilot app and Phone Link also fail to show the new emojis. This is particularly disappointing, as users would expect modern apps to support modern features. Their interfaces are unfortunately still tied to some legacy UI components.
• Social Media: Support on social media is mixed. Facebook’s website renders the emojis correctly, but X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram do not. This depends entirely on whether those platforms have updated their own emoji rendering systems.

This inconsistency creates a frustrating experience. You might receive a message with a new emoji on your phone, but when you view it on your Windows PC, you see a blank box.

The Technology Behind an Emoji

Understanding why this happens requires a look under the hood at how Windows handles emojis. At their core, emojis are just Unicode characters—a number that represents a specific symbol. For that number to become a colorful picture, two things are needed: a font that contains a drawing for that number and a rendering engine that can display it.

The Segoe UI Emoji Font

On Windows, the primary emoji font is Segoe UI Emoji. It is Microsoft’s responsibility to update this font file whenever the Unicode Consortium releases new emojis. With the 24H2 update, Microsoft did update this font to include the drawings for Emoji 16.0. However, having the font is only half the battle.

Rendering Engines: The Real Source of Inconsistency

The other half of the equation is the rendering engine—the part of the application or operating system that draws the text on your screen. Windows has several different rendering engines, a result of decades of development.

DirectWrite

This is the modern engine. It is flexible, powerful, and can handle complex scripts and color fonts like Segoe UI Emoji. Applications like Notepad, Word, and modern parts of the Windows shell use DirectWrite, which is why they display the new emojis correctly.

GDI (Graphics Device Interface)

This is the original graphics engine from the earliest days of Windows. It is much more limited and was not designed for complex characters like emojis. Many older applications and even parts of the Windows interface itself (like title bars) still use GDI. These components cannot render the new emojis and show a blank box instead.

Application-Specific Engines

Many cross-platform applications, especially those built with web technologies (like Slack, Discord, and WhatsApp), bypass the Windows rendering system entirely. They bundle their own fonts and rendering engines to create a consistent look on every operating system. This is why they often have better and more reliable emoji support than native Windows apps.

The problem is that Windows is a mosaic of these different technologies. An application like Notepad is a perfect example of this split: the main text area uses the modern DirectWrite engine and shows the new emojis, but its title bar uses the legacy GDI engine and shows blank boxes. Until Microsoft can unify these disparate systems, the inconsistent emoji experience will continue.

When Will Full Emoji 16.0 Support Arrive?

While the new emojis are technically in Windows, full support means they are accessible to everyone through the Emoji Panel. Based on Microsoft’s past behavior, this integration will likely come in a future cumulative update.

For example, Emoji 15.1 was officially approved by Unicode in September 2023. However, those emojis did not appear in the Windows 11 Emoji Panel until the June 2024 update—a nine-month delay. If Microsoft follows a similar timeline for Emoji 16.0, users may have to wait until the middle of 2026 for full, easy access.

This slow cadence puts Windows at a disadvantage compared to Apple and Google, which typically integrate new emojis into their user-facing keyboards within a few months of the Unicode release. For users, it makes the Windows experience feel dated and less polished. The joy of using a new emoji is in sharing it, and that is difficult when a large portion of users cannot see it or type it themselves. Microsoft’s beautiful Fluent Emoji designs remain underutilized, visible in only a fraction of the places where users communicate.