diff --git a/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.cpp b/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.cpp
index 12ac7ad508..9b5437041b 100644
--- a/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.cpp
+++ b/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.cpp
@@ -112,26 +112,16 @@ OutputCellIterator::OutputCellIterator(const std::wstring_view utf16Text, const
 // - This is an iterator over legacy colors only. The text is not modified.
 // Arguments:
 // - legacyAttrs - One legacy color item per cell
-// - unused - useless bool to change function signature for legacyAttrs constructor because the C++ compiler in
-//             razzle cannot distinguish between a std::wstring_view and a std::basic_string_view<WORD>
-// NOTE: This one internally casts to wchar_t because Razzle sees WORD and wchar_t as the same type
-//       despite that Visual Studio build can tell the difference.
-#pragma warning(push)
-#pragma warning(suppress : 26490)
-// Suppresses reinterpret_cast. We're only doing this because Windows doesn't understand the type difference between wchar_t and DWORD.
-// It is not worth trying to separate that out further or risking performance over this particular warning here.
-// TODO GH 2673 - Investigate real wchar_t flag in Windows and resolve this audit issue
-OutputCellIterator::OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<WORD> legacyAttrs, const bool /*unused*/) noexcept :
+OutputCellIterator::OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<WORD> legacyAttrs) noexcept :
     _mode(Mode::LegacyAttr),
     _currentView(s_GenerateViewLegacyAttr(legacyAttrs.at(0))),
-    _run(std::wstring_view(reinterpret_cast<const wchar_t*>(legacyAttrs.data()), legacyAttrs.size())),
+    _run(legacyAttrs),
     _attr(InvalidTextAttribute),
     _distance(0),
     _pos(0),
     _fillLimit(0)
 {
 }
-#pragma warning(pop)
 
 // Routine Description:
 // - This is an iterator over legacy cell data. We will use the unicode text and the legacy color attribute.
@@ -198,7 +188,7 @@ OutputCellIterator::operator bool() const noexcept
         }
         case Mode::LegacyAttr:
         {
-            return _pos < std::get<std::wstring_view>(_run).length();
+            return _pos < std::get<std::basic_string_view<WORD>>(_run).length();
         }
         default:
             FAIL_FAST_HR(E_NOTIMPL);
@@ -295,7 +285,7 @@ OutputCellIterator& OutputCellIterator::operator++()
         _pos++;
         if (operator bool())
         {
-            _currentView = s_GenerateViewLegacyAttr(std::get<std::wstring_view>(_run).at(_pos));
+            _currentView = s_GenerateViewLegacyAttr(std::get<std::basic_string_view<WORD>>(_run).at(_pos));
         }
         break;
     }
diff --git a/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.hpp b/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.hpp
index 02f6aefa54..0d4b866e7c 100644
--- a/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.hpp
+++ b/src/buffer/out/OutputCellIterator.hpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ public:
     OutputCellIterator(const CHAR_INFO& charInfo, const size_t fillLimit = 0) noexcept;
     OutputCellIterator(const std::wstring_view utf16Text);
     OutputCellIterator(const std::wstring_view utf16Text, const TextAttribute attribute);
-    OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<WORD> legacyAttributes, const bool unused) noexcept;
+    OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<WORD> legacyAttributes) noexcept;
     OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<CHAR_INFO> charInfos) noexcept;
     OutputCellIterator(const std::basic_string_view<OutputCell> cells);
     ~OutputCellIterator() = default;
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ private:
 
     std::variant<
         std::wstring_view,
+        std::basic_string_view<WORD>,
         std::basic_string_view<CHAR_INFO>,
         std::basic_string_view<OutputCell>,
         std::monostate>
diff --git a/src/host/_output.cpp b/src/host/_output.cpp
index 67ad7fedf3..65413033a4 100644
--- a/src/host/_output.cpp
+++ b/src/host/_output.cpp
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ void WriteToScreen(SCREEN_INFORMATION& screenInfo, const Viewport& region)
         return E_INVALIDARG;
     }
 
-    const OutputCellIterator it(attrs, true);
+    const OutputCellIterator it(attrs);
     const auto done = screenInfo.Write(it, target);
 
     used = done.GetCellDistance(it);
diff --git a/src/host/ut_host/OutputCellIteratorTests.cpp b/src/host/ut_host/OutputCellIteratorTests.cpp
index 6f35855852..4d22fabb17 100644
--- a/src/host/ut_host/OutputCellIteratorTests.cpp
+++ b/src/host/ut_host/OutputCellIteratorTests.cpp
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ class OutputCellIteratorTests
         const std::vector<WORD> colors{ FOREGROUND_GREEN, FOREGROUND_RED | BACKGROUND_BLUE, FOREGROUND_BLUE | FOREGROUND_INTENSITY, BACKGROUND_GREEN };
         const std::basic_string_view<WORD> view{ colors.data(), colors.size() };
 
-        OutputCellIterator it(view, false);
+        OutputCellIterator it(view);
 
         for (const auto& color : colors)
         {
diff --git a/src/project.inc b/src/project.inc
index fa480e3221..c083d8b82c 100644
--- a/src/project.inc
+++ b/src/project.inc
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 # -------------------------------------
 
 UNICODE                 = 1
-C_DEFINES               = $(C_DEFINES) -DUNICODE -D_UNICODE
+C_DEFINES               = $(C_DEFINES) -DUNICODE -D_UNICODE -DFMT_HEADER_ONLY
 
 # -------------------------------------
 # CRT Configuration
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ C_DEFINES               = $(C_DEFINES) -DUNICODE -D_UNICODE
 
 USE_UNICRT              = 1
 USE_MSVCRT              = 1
+NO_WCHAR_T              = 1 # use native wchar_t
 
 USE_STL                 = 1
 STL_VER                 = STL_VER_CURRENT
diff --git a/src/project.unittest.inc b/src/project.unittest.inc
index 13b0caa9f4..8d625b78e8 100644
--- a/src/project.unittest.inc
+++ b/src/project.unittest.inc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 # Preprocessor Settings
 # -------------------------------------
 
-C_DEFINES               = $(C_DEFINES) -DINLINE_TEST_METHOD_MARKUP -DUNIT_TESTING
+C_DEFINES               = $(C_DEFINES) -DINLINE_TEST_METHOD_MARKUP -DUNIT_TESTING -DFMT_HEADER_ONLY
 
 # -------------------------------------
 # Program Information