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The Start menu on HoloLens is where you'll open apps, see important status info, and access tools like the camera.

Wherever you are in HoloLens 2, you can always open the Start menu by using Start gesture. On HoloLens 2, the Start gesture is to tap the Start icon that appears on your wrist. You can also open the Start menu using your voice by saying "Go to Start".

At the top of the Start menu, you'll see status indicators for Wi-Fi, battery, volume, and a clock. On HoloLens 2 there is also a listening indicator that shows whether the device is speech enabled and is listening for voice commands. At the bottom you'll find the Photo and Video buttons which allow you to take photos and video recordings. There is also a Connect button that allows you to project what you see to another device using Miracast.

The Start menu has a Pinned apps list and an All apps list.

• The Pinned apps list shows apps that have been pinned. You can add and remove apps from the Pinned apps list using the context menu that appears when you select and hold on an app tile.

• The All apps list shows all apps that are installed on the device. Select the All apps button on the right side of the Start menu to get to the list.

On both app lists, use the Page up and Page down buttons on the right side of the Start menu to page through all the apps in the list. Both app lists will automatically open to the page that was last used during a device session.

To open an app from the Start menu, simply select an app tile. You can also say the name of an app to open it.

When you open an app from the Start menu, one of the following will happen, depending on how the app is designed:

• An app window is placed. The app is then loaded in the window and you can use it like a touch screen.

• A 3D app launcher for an immersive app is placed. You need to then select the launcher to open the immersive app.

• An app window is placed which acts as a launcher for an immersive app. The immersive app will proceed to launch automatically.

App windows and app launchers placed in mixed reality home will stay around until you decide to remove them. They give you a convenient shortcut in the world to use those app windows or to launch immersive apps without having to open them again from the Start menu.

Apps on HoloLens can use app window view or immersive view. With app window view the app simply shows its content inside a window. With immersive view an app takes you away from mixed realty home where it can then display its content in the physical environment all around you. Apps can also choose to use both views.

On HoloLens 2, in addition to using app windows in mixed reality home, you can also use one app window at a time inside an immersive app. You can also put an app window into Follow me mode where it will stay in front of you as you walk around. When you open an app window while inside an immersive app, it will open in Follow me mode automatically. You can move, resize, and rotate app windows directly using your hands in both mixed reality home and inside an immersive app.

To close an app that uses an app window, simply close the app window with the Close button on the title bar. You can also look at the window and say "Close".

To exit an app that uses immersive view, use the Start gesture to bring up the Start menu, then select the Mixed reality home button.

If an immersive app is in a broken state and you need to restart it, you can make sure the app is first completely shut down by closing its launcher in mixed reality home, then launching it from the Start menu.

With Windows Holographic, version 21H1, we're introducing a new version of the Settings app. The new Settings app includes new features and expanded settings for HoloLens 2 in the following areas: Sound, Power & sleep, Network & Internet, Apps, Accounts, Ease of Access, and more.

New features and settings

• Settings search: search for settings from the Settings homepage using keywords or the setting's name.

• System > Color calibration

• Select an alternative color profile for your HoloLens 2 display.

• System > Sound :

  • Input and output audio devices: independently choose your input and output audio devices (for example, listen to audio via Bluetooth headphones or use a USB-C microphone for audio input).

  • App volume: independently adjust the volume of each app. See per app volume control.

• System > Power & sleep : choose when the device should go to sleep after a period of inactivity.

• System > Battery : manually enable battery saver mode or set a battery threshold at which point battery saver mode turns on automatically.

• Devices > USB : you can disable USB connections by default.

• Network & Internet :-

  • USB-C Ethernet adapters will now appear in Network & Internet.

  • USB-C Ethernet adapter settings are now available, including its IP address.

  • You can now enable airplane mode on HoloLens 2.

• Apps : you can reset the default apps used for file and link types. For more information see Default app picker.

• Accounts > Other users: device owners can add users, upgrade standard users to device owners, downgrade device owners to standard users, and remove users.

• Ease of Access : change text size and some visual effects.

Known Issues

• Previously placed Settings windows will be removed (see note above).

• You can no longer rename your device with the Settings app. IT admins can rename devices by using the Windows Autopilot for HoloLens 2 device name template or the MDM DevDetail CSP Ext/Microsoft/DNSComputerName node.

• The Ethernet page shows a virtual Ethernet device ("UsbNcm") at all times.

• Battery usage for the new Microsoft Edge may not be accurate, due to its nature as a Win32 desktop application supported by a UWP adapter layer (no fix anticipated soon).

HoloLens 2 supports multiple users from the same Azure AD tenant. To use this feature, you must use an account that belongs to your organization to set up the device. Subsequently, other users from the same tenant can sign in to the device from the sign-in screen or by tapping the user tile on the Start panel. Only one user can be signed in at a time. When a user signs in, HoloLens 2 signs out the previous user.

All users can use the apps installed on the device. However, each user has their own app data and preferences. Removing an app from the device removes it for all users.

Devices set up with Azure AD accounts will not allow signing in to the device with a Microsoft Account. All subsequent accounts used must be Azure AD accounts from the same tenant as the device. You may still sign in using a Microsoft Account to apps that support it (such as the Microsoft Store). To change from using Azure AD accounts to Microsoft Accounts for signing in to the device, you must reflash the device.

Previously the sign-in screen showed only the most recently signed in user, and an 'Other user' entry point. We have received customer feedback that it's not sufficient if multiple users have signed into the device. They were still required to retype their username etc.

Introduced in Windows Holographic, version 21H1, when selecting Other user which is located to the right of the PIN entry field, the Sign-in screen will display multiple users with have previously signed into the device. This allows users to select their user profile and then sign-in using their Windows Hello credentials. A new user can also be added to the device from this other users page via the Add account button.

When in the Other users menu, the Other users button will display the last user signed into the device. Select this button to return to the sign-in screen for this user.

You can remove a user from the device by going to Settings > Accounts > Other people. This action also reclaims space by removing all of that user's app data from the device.