Windows 11--most recently opened Explorer window keeps popping up into the foreground

I saw a slight change in this behaviour this morning. I don't know whether it's a one-off, or a result of an update (I'm on Win11Pro, 23H2).

While using Excel with a File Explorer window minimised, the Excel window unexpectedly vanished and the File Explorer window opened instead. After about a second, the File Explorer minimsed again and Excel reappeared. I am confident that this was not a result of anything I did - I was reading something at the time and not using the keyboard or mouse.

And - having said all that - File Explorer has just grabbed focus yet again, in the middle of me typing this post, and it did not minimise itself afterwards. So maybe this morning's episode with Excel was just a one-off.

Yep. I'm a Windows Insider, and have been testing their fix. Instead of popping up a window that steals focus, the fix now pops up a window for 1 frame then disappears, without stealing focus. An improvement that no longer interferes with my gaming and shouldn't interfere with productivity, but ... still not perfect.

I'd expect the release channel to get the fix when 23H2 releases later this year, even though I've tried to push for a quicker fix.

I find it crazy how Microsoft can't get windows in Microsoft Windows to work properly. Perhaps we should start calling it Microsoft Panes. Or, perhaps more accurately, Microsoft Pains.

This issue has a way of continually finding new ways to be disruptive to work flows. Latest thing I've noticed is that if I'm working with multiple opened Explorer windows, I'll be performing an operation on one Explorer window when another will suddenly pop in to take it's place. Extremely disruptive to work flow.

It is certainly disruptive. The way the explorer just pops up, sometimes multiple explorer windows, at various seemingly random times - even when nobody is touching keys or mouse, and especially while we're typing etc, is totally unsatisfactory.

I can understand unforeseen glitches in software. But for situations like this, there definitely needs to be accountability. They need to get a team not just on the case, but also need to have a representative say that the team is working on it, and have this issue sorted, within days. Not within many months. That is, have some formal communications, or at least some official communications from the 'top'.

Exactly. It's surreal to me that we are 8 months and 29 pages into this thread and virtually no communication about this significant program.

What can be confirmed: This is a Windows 11 Bug. Unfortunately nothing can be done from your end. This is strictly something Windows needs to fix. The strange part about it is that Windows refuses to address it.
Even after an update this still happens to not just you and I but every windows 11 user.

As of right now all you can do is close Windows Explorer when you are using any other application.

Here we are reading tea leaves in a desperate attempt to divine when Microsoft will one day/some day fix a serious productivity--and possible security--issue with Windows. This is pathetic.

If Microsoft had any regard for its users they would own up to the issue, make a public announcement, but they're not doing that, much less actually fixing it.