August 2025 Patch Tuesday breaks Windows recovery: Reset and cloud recovery fail

Microsoft’s August Patch Tuesday has introduced a serious operational regression: on several supported Windows branches the built‑in Reset and recovery workflows can fail outright after installing the August 12, 2025 security updates, leaving users unable to complete “Reset this PC,” the new “Fix problems using Windows Update” cloud recovery flow, or remote wipes invoked via RemoteWipe CSP. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and says an out‑of‑band fix is being prepared, but until that update lands affected devices should avoid using those recovery options and take extra precautions to protect data and provisioning workflows.

Background / Overview​

Microsoft shipped the August 2025 cumulative security updates on August 12, 2025. Those rollups changed build numbers across Windows client branches (for example, Windows 11 24H2 moved to build 26100.4946 under KB5063878; Windows 11 23H2/22H2 and Windows 10 22H2 received their own KBs). The August packages are standard Patch Tuesday releases that bundle servicing stack (SSU) and LCU fixes, and they address a long list of security vulnerabilities—one report counted more than 100 fixes in the month’s rollup. (support.microsoft.com, bleepingcomputer.com)
Within days of the rollout multiple outlets and community trackers began reporting failures in Windows’ recovery flows for systems that had installed specific August KBs. Microsoft’s Release Health notice (published to its “known issues” tracking) makes the core problem bluntly clear: “After installing the August 2025 Windows security update … attempts to reset or recover the device might fail.” The company lists affected client versions and the originating KBs in the advisory and indicates the issue is Confirmed; an out‑of‑band repair is being prepared. (askwoody.com, bleepingcomputer.com)

• Affected client branches called out in Microsoft’s advisory include Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2, Windows 10 22H2 and several LTSC/IoT Enterprise SKUs. The originating KBs identified by community and Microsoft reporting include KB5063875 and KB5063709.
• Windows 11 24H2, which received KB5063878, appears not to share this specific Reset/Recovery regression; however, 24H2 users are seeing other, separate problems (installation/WSUS delivery errors and isolated storage reports), so it is not entirely “problem‑free.” Some outlets and community threads noted 24H2’s relative exemption from the reset regression as a reason why upgrading to 24H2 may be the safest option for some users. (support.microsoft.com, windowslatest.com)

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What exactly is failing?​

Which recovery actions are impacted​

Microsoft’s message lists three failure triggers that share code paths and are therefore affected by the regression:

• System → Recovery → Reset this PC (both “keep my files” and “remove everything” flows are implicated where the originating KB is installed).
• System → Recovery → Fix problems using Windows Update (the cloud recovery option that downloads and reinstalls Windows).
• RemoteWipe CSP calls (remote wipe / reset initiated by device management tools such as Microsoft Intune, which is a critical pathway for enterprise deprovisioning and re‑provisioning).

In practice, users who start these flows on impacted builds sometimes see the process run, reboot, then report “no changes were made” (the operation rolled back), or the process may fail silently and leave the device in its original state. That means a reset or cloud reimage that was intended to sanitize or repair a device does not succeed—and there’s no reliable in‑UI warning before the operation starts that it may fail. (windowslatest.com, bleepingcomputer.com)

Which builds and KBs to watch for​

Key technical identifiers confirmed in Microsoft documentation and independent reporting:

• KB5063875 — the cumulative update for Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2 (builds in the 22631/22621 family, e.g., 22631.5768). Systems that installed this KB are listed in Microsoft’s advisory as affected. (bleepingcomputer.com, en.wikipedia.org)
• KB5063709 — the August cumulative for Windows 10 (builds 19044.6216 / 19045.6216) that Microsoft lists against Windows 10 22H2/related LTSC and IoT SKUs. This KB is included in Microsoft’s affected platforms. (support.microsoft.com, neowin.net)
• KB5063878 — the Windows 11 24H2 cumulative update (build 26100.4946). At the time of reporting this KB is not implicated in the Reset/Recovery regression but has had different, separate issues (notably WSUS deployment errors and anecdotal storage reports). (support.microsoft.com, bleepingcomputer.com)

These identifiers are crucial for administrators and users who need to determine whether a device is running an impacted build. Use Settings → Windows Update → Update history to confirm the presence of those KB numbers, or query installed updates from PowerShell/WMIC if you manage devices at scale.

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Why this matters — impact and risks​

This isn’t a cosmetic bug. Recovery and reset features are the last line of defense when an installation is corrupted, when devices are prepared for resale, or when IT teams reprovision and sanitize corporate endpoints. When those flows fail:

• Home users who want to factory reset a PC to sell, hand down, or fully clean up their system may be unable to rely on the built‑in Reset workflow—and because Windows gives no upfront warning, users will discover the failure only after the process completes and rolls back.
• Enterprises and managed service providers are at higher risk: Remote wipe and reprovisioning workflows (e.g., Intune issuing a RemoteWipe CSP) are standard procedures for offboarding. A failed remote wipe can leave corporate data on devices still attached to a user or tenant, introducing compliance and security exposure.
• Help desks and MSPs face additional ticket volume and longer Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) because manual reimaging (bootable USB-based clean installs) or technician intervention becomes necessary when Reset fails.
• Data consistency and worst‑case recovery: while most reports indicate the reset simply fails and rolls back, any regression in recovery codepaths creates a non‑zero risk of leaving systems in an inconsistent or partially modified state. That raises the importance of verified backups.

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What Microsoft has said and the expected timeline​

Microsoft classified the issue as Confirmed in Release Health and stated explicitly that it is working to release an out‑of‑band (OOB) update to remediate the regression “in the coming days.” Out‑of‑band fixes are the standard mechanism for addressing high‑impact regressions discovered between normal monthly updates. Multiple industry reporters (BleepingComputer, WindowsLatest, The Register) and community trackers echoed Microsoft’s statement and reported that a patch was being prepared; some outlets anticipated fixes could arrive as quickly as the afternoon of August 19, 2025. Administrators should watch Microsoft’s Release Health dashboard and their update channels for the OOB release. (bleepingcomputer.com, windowslatest.com, theregister.com)
Microsoft has also applied additional KIR (Known Issue Rollback) measures for separate WSUS/enterprise delivery errors introduced in the same August cycle, showing that the company is already using targeted mitigations for multiple issues that surfaced with these cumulative updates. That suggests the Reset/Recovery regression will likely be treated similarly with a focused servicing update or KIR policy.

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Confirmations and cross‑checks​

The key claims in this story have been cross‑verified with multiple independent sources and Microsoft documentation:

• Microsoft’s own support/KB pages confirm the August KBs and the builds they move systems to (for example KB5063709 details the Windows 10 build numbers).
• Independent reporting by BleepingComputer and WindowsLatest captured Microsoft’s Release Health wording and enumerated the affected KBs and builds; The Register and Heise ran corroborating coverage that emphasizes the operational impact and Microsoft’s response plan. (bleepingcomputer.com, windowslatest.com, theregister.com)
• Community and sysadmin trackers (AskWoody and major Windows forums) reproduced Microsoft’s Release Health message and published the Message IDs and the list of affected platforms—useful artifacts for administrators confirming the official advisory. (askwoody.com, windowsforum.com)

Where reporting diverges is on secondary claims—most notably anecdotal SSD/drive failures reported in a small subset of cases and concentrated in regions such as Japan. Those storage incidents are under active investigation, reported by a mixture of community posts and regional testers, but they are not yet universally confirmed by Microsoft as a general fault of the August updates. Treat those storage reports as anecdotal and unverified at scale until Microsoft or vendors publish a formal root cause or firmware advisory. (bleepingcomputer.com, heise.de)

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Practical guidance — immediate actions for users and admins​

If your devices have installed August 2025 updates, take the following precautions now.

For all users (home and pro)​

• Do NOT run Reset this PC or the Fix problems using Windows Update flow on devices that show KB5063875, KB5063709, or the affected build numbers in Update History. Wait for Microsoft’s OOB patch.
• Back up now. Create a verified backup of critical files and, if possible, create a full disk image (Macrium, Acronis, Veeam Endpoint). Do not rely on the Reset path for data preservation.
• Create recovery media. Build a Windows install USB (Media Creation Tool) and confirm you can boot to it. If you must rebuild a machine, clean install from official media is the reliable fallback.
• Check Update history: Settings → Windows Update → Update history to confirm which KBs are installed. Alternatively, run PowerShell or WMIC queries to enumerate installed hotfixes.

For IT administrators and MSPs​

• Hold reset/reimage operations for affected clients until Microsoft publishes the OOB fix. If a device must be sanitized quickly (e.g., for compliance or return‑to‑vendor), deploy a clean install from known good ISO/USB media rather than relying on the broken Reset flow.
• Test the OOB fix in a ringed deployment—use a pilot cohort before wide deployment and verify remote wipe and reset workflows work end‑to‑end. Expect the fix to arrive as a small servicing update or KIR.
• Keep WSUS/SCCM/Intune channels monitored for Known Issue Rollback policies and any additional advisories addressing WSUS delivery errors or storage workarounds. Microsoft has already rolled KIR mitigations for other August issues; watch for a similar policy to be deployed for the Reset regression.
• Communicate to stakeholders—ensure help desks, asset teams, and security/compliance owners understand the risk: remote wipe may fail, requiring manual rehab of devices that would otherwise have been reprovisioned.

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Technical analysis — plausible root causes​

Microsoft’s servicing pipeline is complex: monthly cumulative updates bundle multiple payloads (LCU + SSU) and interact with delivery mechanisms (Windows Update, WSUS, Update Catalog) and device management APIs. The Reset/Recovery flows invoke code paths that mount local images, orchestrate component replacement, and in the case of cloud recovery download and mount WinPE or system images from guarded stores. A small metadata or servicing stack regression—introduced in the August cumulative or its associated SSU—could cause the recovery orchestration to abort and roll back, resulting in the observed behavior. That hypothesis aligns with the pattern: the failure affects specific client branches that share servicing packaging and variant behavior rather than being uniformly distributed across all Windows versions. (windowsforum.com, elevenforum.com)
For the separate storage/SSD anecdotes, those are more likely to be hardware/firmware interaction edge cases. Changes in I/O scheduling, caching behavior, or a driver/firmware negotiation path altered by the update can expose latent firmware bugs (especially in low‑margin DRAM‑less NVMe controllers). Those interactions are highly hardware and workload dependent, which explains regionally clustered reports and why vendors must triage with telemetry. Until vendors or Microsoft publish a vendor‑identified root cause and corrective firmware or driver updates, treat storage incidents as potential but not established systemic regressions.

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Strengths and Microsoft’s response — what went right​

• Microsoft surfaced and acknowledged the issue reasonably quickly, publishing a Release Health message and identifying the affected client families and originating KBs. That transparency is essential for administrators to take defensive actions. Independent reporting and community trackers corroborated the message, giving sysadmins verifiable indicators to act on. (bleepingcomputer.com, askwoody.com)
• The company already used Known Issue Rollback (KIR) for other August delivery problems (WSUS/WSUS‑delivered installs and WUSA network share installs), which is a modern and fast mitigation mechanism that can be applied server‑side without requiring an MSI/LCU roll. That capability reduces friction for organizations to mitigate widely impactful delivery regressions without full client reimaging.

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Weaknesses and risks — what’s worrying​

• The broken Reset/Recovery flows strike at a fundamental reliability expectation: users rely on Reset to remedy corrupted installs and to sanitize devices. A regressed recovery flow increases operational risk and can undermine confidence in the update process.
• Windows does not proactively warn users that Reset or cloud recovery are known to fail when those KBs are installed; the advisory lives in Release Health and KB pages and is not surfaced in the Reset UI itself. That disconnect risks users unknowingly starting failing operations and losing time or creating confusion for nontechnical users.
• The coincident timing of other August issues (WSUS delivery errors, isolated storage reports) multiplies administrative overhead and raises the bar for careful testing. For organizations that automatically push Patch Tuesday rollups, these regressions can cause spike in helpdesk tickets and remediation costs. (bleepingcomputer.com, heise.de)

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Recommendations — short and long term​

• Short term: avoid Reset/Recovery flows on affected builds; prepare recovery media; take verified backups now; and stage the OOB fix in a controlled pilot ASAP when Microsoft releases it.
• Mid term: revise update rings and deployment gates to prioritize builds that have rapidly verifiable KIRs or out‑of‑band fixes, and consider delaying non‑critical patches by a week in environments where reset/reprovision reliability is business‑critical.
• Long term: Microsoft and enterprise IT should pursue improved in‑UI telemetry and clearer pre‑operation warnings for critical actions like Reset or RemoteWipe when underlying servicing metadata or component versions are known to be problematic. End users and IT need clearer guardrails when a platform-level feature is regressed by a security rollup.

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What we don’t (yet) know — flagged uncertainties​

• Reports of SSD failures tied to the August rollup are limited and regionally clustered; they are not yet fully corroborated by Microsoft as a general outcome of the update. Until Microsoft or the drive vendors provide a definitive root cause and affected firmware revisions, treat storage failure claims as provisional and avoid presenting them as established fact. (heise.de, bleepingcomputer.com)
• The precise internal code change that triggered the Reset/Recovery regression has not been published; the most plausible explanations involve servicing stack or metadata regressions, but that is an informed hypothesis rather than a Microsoft‑stated root cause. This article flags that uncertainty and recommends administrators rely on Microsoft’s OOB fix and post‑mortem communication for definitive technical remediation details.

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Bottom line​

The August 2025 Patch Tuesday rollups bring important security fixes—but a serious regression that prevents Reset and cloud recovery on several widely used Windows branches makes this month’s servicing cycle a high‑risk event for anyone who depends on those flows. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, identified the affected KBs and builds, and is preparing an out‑of‑band fix; that response is appropriate but the immediate risk remains real. Until Microsoft ships the patch, do not trust the built‑in Reset flows on affected machines—back up data, prepare recovery media, and, for corporate fleets, hold reprovisioning or remote wipe operations until you’ve verified the OOB fix in a test ring. For users who can upgrade safely, Windows 11 24H2 is not implicated in this particular reset/recovery regression (though it has its own, separate issues to be mindful of), which is one practical reason some IT teams will choose to accelerate 24H2 migration while the fixes are rolled out. (bleepingcomputer.com, windowslatest.com)
The next 72 hours will be decisive: watch Microsoft’s Release Health dashboard and your update channels for the OOB patch and deploy it to a pilot group immediately. Until then, the safest posture is caution, verified backups, and the knowledge that a single monthly rollup can, when something slips through QA, materially change how you recover a PC.

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Source: PCWorld August update breaks PC resets and recoveries on Windows 10 and 11