January’s compulsory Windows security update set out to close holes — and instead opened a new chapter of headaches for users and admins.
Microsoft has acknowledged a growing list of problems tied to the January 2026 Windows update and has pushed emergency “out‑of‑band” fixes to knock down the most severe ones. You can monitor progress on the Microsoft Release Health dashboard, which the company is using to track and publish known issues and mitigations.
What’s failing and who’s affected
The faults run from mildly annoying to business‑stopping:
- Some Windows 11 systems using Secure Launch would not shut down or hibernate — devices instead restarted when users tried to power off. Microsoft issued an emergency update to address this.
- Remote desktop and other remote‑login scenarios on affected Windows 10 and 11 machines could fail because credential prompts don’t appear correctly. That fix landed alongside the shutdown patch.
- Classic Outlook and other apps can freeze when opening or saving files stored in cloud‑backed folders (OneDrive, Dropbox). If you keep a PST file on OneDrive, Outlook may become unresponsive until you kill the process or reboot. Microsoft’s current guidance: move PST files out of cloud sync folders and use webmail as a temporary workaround.
- A regression in sleep/wake behavior (desktop S3 sleep path) is waking some PCs immediately after they try to sleep — killing battery life on laptops and confusing power management routines.
- Reports also mention blank screens, keyboard/mouse input failures, and compatibility troubles with certain payroll and graphics applications after the KB5074109 update.
- Check the Microsoft Release Health page for the latest acknowledged issues and any published mitigations.
- If Outlook freezes when accessing files stored in OneDrive or similar, move PST files out of synced folders immediately. Using webmail as a temporary measure can keep mail flowing until a fix arrives.
- Install Microsoft’s out‑of‑band update if it’s offered — the emergency patch addressed the shutdown/hibernate and remote credential issues for many users.
- If you manage updates centrally, consider delaying or staging the January patches on non‑critical machines until Microsoft marks them resolved. If you need help reducing the noise and clutter in Windows 11 25H2 while you wait, consult guidance on cleaning up Windows 11 settings and unwanted components (/news/clean-up-windows-11-25h2).
- For laptops suffering from the sleep regression, a temporary workaround can be to adjust power plans or disable hybrid sleep while Microsoft sorts a permanent resolution.
Microsoft has acknowledged several of these problems publicly and says it’s working on additional fixes; however, not every reported issue is listed on the Release Health page yet.
Why this matters now
This patch was mandatory — meaning it attempted to install automatically for many machines. That makes the blast radius large: home users, small businesses and enterprises that rely on automated update management all saw hits. For organizations with tightly coupled workflows (for example, payroll or graphics suites that rely on specific drivers or services), an update that breaks a single dependency can halt operations.
It’s also a reminder of a pattern: last year produced multiple rough updates for Windows, including the October incidents that triggered BitLocker recovery prompts on some corporate fleets. If you manage a fleet, that history matters when you decide how quickly to roll patches out in production. For more on previous update fallout and enterprise headaches, see our note about October’s BitLocker problems (/news/windows-bitlocker-recovery-update-warning).
Practical steps you can take right now
If you’re seeing problems, try the following in order of least to most disruptive:
If a mission‑critical app fails after the update (payroll, graphics or other line‑of‑business software), coordinate with your vendor — they may already have compatibility notes or hotfixes.
A broader nudge for admins and power users
Automatic security updates are vital, but this episode highlights the tradeoffs organizations face between patch speed and stability. Staged rollouts, robust backup and recovery plans, and clear rollback procedures matter more than ever. And for regular users: avoid storing live mail stores (PST/OST) inside actively syncing cloud folders — it’s a fragile pattern even with no update involved.
Microsoft has been shipping more frequent emergency fixes; keep an eye on the Release Health page and your update settings. If you’re trying to get a handle on system behavior or want to reduce surprise changes while troubleshooting, the cleanup and configuration checklist for Windows 11 25H2 can be a helpful companion (/news/clean-up-windows-11-25h2).
This story is developing; check Microsoft’s official release health updates and your device update history for the latest patches and advisories.