Microsoft’s first major Windows 11 update of the year has introduced a string of stability and compatibility problems that went from annoying to blocking for many users — and Microsoft has already been forced into emergency out-of-band patches while some serious issues remain under investigation.
This class of regressions also intersects with other hardware/driver incompatibilities — users have reported BSODs tied to Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers and certain Western Digital SSDs in the same update window. Those are actively being triaged by hardware vendors and Microsoft.
Background
Microsoft released the January 13, 2026 security update for Windows (first shipped as KB5074109) as part of Patch Tuesday, addressing more than a hundred vulnerabilities and a high-profile, actively exploited desktop window manager flaw. Within days, enterprise and managed environments began reporting hard failures: systems that would not shut down or hibernate, Remote Desktop credential and sign-in failures, and other regression behavior. Microsoft published out‑of‑band (OOB) fixes on January 17, 2026 (notably KB5077797 and KB5077744) to address several of these critical regressions but acknowledged multiple ongoing issues and pushed guidance and rollbacks for affected customers. This article examines the five major categories of bugs tied to the January updates, explains what Microsoft has done, evaluates real-world risk, and provides step‑by‑step mitigation and recovery guidance for end users and IT administrators.What changed in the January updates
The January security release (KB5074109) was intended to close many security holes and harden components (including AI-related components), but the rapid rollout produced collateral damage that impacted both user‑mode and kernel behavior on multiple builds of Windows 11. Microsoft’s own support notes and the immediate OOB releases make clear this was not a narrow bugfix: it affected a broad set of scenarios across 23H2, 24H2 and 25H2 tracks and, in some cases, Windows Server editions. At a high level:- The initial update fixed 100+ vulnerabilities and component issues (a security-first release).
- Customer reports flagged power state regressions (shutdown/hibernate), Remote Desktop authentication failures, Outlook hangs for classic profiles using PSTs stored on cloud‑backed storage, sleep/S3 breakage on older systems, and application compatibility regressions impacting clipboard, fingerprint sensors, and anti‑cheat modules.
- Microsoft issued urgent OOB patches on January 17 to correct several of the most damaging regressions, but not all symptoms were immediately resolved and several remain categorized as “investigating”.
Five major bugs to understand now
1. Shutdown, hibernation and Remote Desktop sign‑in failures (enterprise impact)
Microsoft confirmed a class of devices with Secure Launch enabled were restarting instead of performing a clean shutdown or entering hibernation after installing the January 13 updates. This behavior was severe enough for some IT environments to see managed devices remain powered or fail to fully shut down. Microsoft addressed this in OOB update KB5077797 for Windows 11 version 23H2 and related OOB updates for 24H2/25H2. Closely related were credential prompt failures and authentication errors affecting Remote Desktop connections, particularly for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 scenarios. Microsoft confirmed those failures and pushed targeted fixes in KB5077744. The company recommended Known Issue Rollback (KIR) and, for enterprise-managed devices, applying special Group Policy downloads while the root causes are worked. Why this matters: servers and managed endpoints that cannot shut down cleanly or accept RDP connections can break business continuity and remote administration workflows. Microsoft’s OOB response reduced the blast radius, but IT teams should verify that affected systems actually received and applied the OOB packages and KIR settings.2. Outlook Classic (POP/PST) hangs and lost Sent Items when PSTs live on OneDrive
After the January 13 update, users with classic Outlook profiles (POP accounts or PSTs) who store PST files on OneDrive reported Outlook freezing, processes remaining alive after the UI closed, sent messages not being recorded in Sent Items, and message redownload loops. Microsoft published an advisory stating the issue and suggested workarounds: use webmail, move PSTs out of OneDrive, or uninstall the problematic update until a fix is released. The problem has real business impact for users and small organizations that rely on PST workflows and OneDrive synchronization. Microsoft’s current status for that bug is “investigating,” and there is no universal in-place fix available at the time of writing. Users relying on PSTs in OneDrive should assume risk until Microsoft ships a specific remediation.3. Sleep, S3 power state failures and 'screen goes blank but system stays on'
Those with older hardware that use the traditional S3 sleep state — reported that the display would go dark when entering sleep but the machine would not fully enter the low power state, leaving the device drawing power and often requiring a hard reboot to recover. Early reporting ties this to the January 13 update (KB5074109) and Microsoft indicated a fix was forthcoming; in the meantime, unplugging certain USB peripherals (for example, webcams) was reported by some users as a temporary partial workaround. Why this matters: Modern Standby (S0) devices are less impacted, but the S3 sleep st older laptops and desktop systems; failing to achieve the expected sleep/low‑power sy drain, lost unsaved work, and user frustration.4. Gaming and driver compatibility — Easy Anti‑Cheat conflicts and blue screens
User reports aggregated aunity threads describe conflicts between the update and anti-cheat modules such as Easy ducing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) events on affected systems — with multiple reports specifically naming Intel Alder Lake+ platforms as experiencing a higher incidence of crashes. Microsoft and game anti‑cheat veng, and users are seeing workarounds only when temporarily uninstalling updates or rolling back drivers.This class of regressions also intersects with other hardware/driver incompatibilities — users have reported BSODs tied to Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers and certain Western Digital SSDs in the same update window. Those are actively being triaged by hardware vendors and Microsoft.
5. Fragmented compatibility regressions: cache reporting, cursor disappearance, network issues and fingerprint sensor failures
Beyond the headline bugs, a wide range of smaller but disruptive regressions were reported in community threads and aggregate reporting:- A persistent delta of ~8.63 GB of “unremovable” cache appearing in storage reports that in practice can be cleared by Windows Update Cleanup but remains confusing to users.
- Mouse pointer vanishing in Chromium‑based browsers while typing in text fields.
- Intermittent inability to obtain a valid IP address after the update on some systems, breaking both Ethernet and Wi‑Fi connectivity for users until driver or firmware fixes are applied.
- Fingerprint sensor authentication becoming unreliable for some machines, forcing users back to PINs or passwords.
- Clipboard history reporting as empty despite populated items for certain profiles.
What Microsoft has done (and how they word it)
Microsoft reacted quickly to several of the most consequential problems. Significant actions include:- Publishing KB5074109 as the January security update (released January 13, 2026).
- Issuing out‑of‑band cumulative updates (KB5077797, KB5077744) on January 17 to address shutdown/hibernate and Remote Desktop authentication failures, respectively. Those OOB updates are cumulative and include previous security fixes plus targeted fixes for the most immediate regrerosoft.com](]) [*]Advising Known Issue Rollback...he-latest-windows-11-patch-t202601220006.html
