What is all the issues Microsoft have had with windows update since december 2025 to today?
Executive summary
Between December 2025 and early February 2026 Microsoft’s Windows update pipeline produced a chain of quality problems: a December security update that left some devices in an “improper state,” January security updates that caused boot failures on affected Windows 11 systems, multiple out‑of‑band releases to repair cloud‑storage and remote connection regressions, and broader user reports of input, Outlook and shutdown bugs — with Microsoft issuing fixes and advisories while leaving scope and hardware specifics murky [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. December 2025: a trimmed release cadence and a problematic security rollup
Microsoft publicly cut back non‑security preview servicing during the Western holidays in December 2025 while shipping its regular December security update KB5072033; that December servicing cadence change was intentional, but the December security update later became central to follow‑on failures after some devices failed to install it and rolled back into what Microsoft calls an “improper state” [1] [7] [2].
2. January 2026: boot failures traced to a failed December rollback
In January Microsoft acknowledged a limited number of Windows 11 devices failing to boot with UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME after installing the January Patch Tuesday cumulative (notably KB5074109), and linked those boot failures to devices that had previously failed the December security update and were left in an improper state after rollback — a chain reaction rather than a single isolated patch bug, according to Microsoft advisories and multiple reporting outlets [2] [3] [8] [9].
3. Functional regressions and emergency out‑of‑band fixes
The January updates also introduced regressions — credential prompts failing in some remote connection apps, applications becoming unresponsive or erroring when opening/saving files to cloud‑backed storage like OneDrive or Dropbox — prompting Microsoft to publish out‑of‑band (OOB) fixes (for example KB5078135 and the January out‑of‑band releases such as KB5077744 and KB5078127) to resolve those cloud‑storage and remote‑connection issues [10] [4].
4. User reports, third‑party coverage and disputed scope
Tech outlets and enterprise commentators documented further problems — keyboard and mouse malfunctions, Outlook POP failures, shutdown issues and claims that commercial PCs were “broken” by updates — while noting that Microsoft has not provided clear counts or hardware breakdowns; some admins on Microsoft Q&A also say they were affected despite Microsoft’s December‑update linkage, signalling uneven impact and unresolved questions about which CPU/chipset/OEM combos were vulnerable [5] [11] [12] [13].
5. Microsoft response, fixes and remaining transparency gaps
Microsoft issued multiple OOB patches and advisory updates that it says fix identified issues and recommends specific out‑of‑band updates for affected scenarios, but reporting highlights remaining transparency gaps: the company linked the boot failures to failed December rollbacks rather than the January patch alone, released emergency fixes for cloud‑file regressions, and promised deeper “Performance Fundamentals” work for 2026 — yet independent monitoring and IT admins still lacked precise impact metrics and hardware‑specific guidance at the time of reporting [4] [8] [6] [11].
6. How to read the narrative: failures of process or unlucky chains?
The available record shows a mix of causes: reduced December servicing cadence and a December security update that for some devices failed and rolled back, a January cumulative that exacerbated those already‑improper states, and a series of OOB fixes to patch functional regressions; journalists and commentators frame this as systemic quality erosion in Windows servicing, while Microsoft frames it as a limited, traceable interaction between specific failed installs and subsequent updates — both positions are supported in the public record, but precise scope, exact root causes per hardware, and how many systems were affected remain underreported [1] [2] [3] [4] [11].