Microsoft’s Patch Fixes Are Breaking Windows, Forcing a Second Emergency Update
Microsoft’s own fixes have become its biggest problem, forcing the company to issue a second emergency patch this month. The unprecedented cycle of patch-break-patch began after the Jan. 13 Patch Tuesday introduced critical flaws.
An urgent fix on Jan. 17 failed, triggering debilitating new bugs, including file system issues with OneDrive and Dropbox, and freezing in Outlook. The bugs prompted the software giant to rush out a second out-of-band (OOB) update on Jan. 24, amid growing user frustration.
Microsoft has advised Windows users to update to the latest version despite the recent issues with its updates.
Flow of updates and accompanying bugs
Microsoft calls the second Tuesday of every month Patch Tuesday or Update Tuesday. It allows the company to consistently roll out security and non-security updates to Microsoft products. Aside from these fixed update days, which are always cumulative, specific critical issues can force Microsoft to release an OOB update before its next Update Tuesday.
In this case, the double emergency updates are not the issue. The issue stems from the root cause: a Microsoft update introduced a bug that was fixed, but the fix introduced another bug.
On Jan. 13, Microsoft released its first update of 2026, and many users installed it immediately. It addressed several known issues regarding compatibility, power, security, bootup, and networking. ZDNET also reports that this update addressed both exploited and unexploited vulnerabilities, including critical ones.
However, Windows users who installed the update began experiencing issues, especially those accessing Windows via its Remote Desktop Protocol. Microsoft wrote:
“[Remote Desktop] Fixed: After installing the January 2026 Windows security update (KB5074109), some users experienced sign-in failures during Remote Desktop connections. This issue affected authentication steps for different Remote Desktop applications on Windows, such as the Windows App.”
Others with the Jan. 13 update also experienced issues with shutting down and hibernating.
By Jan. 17, Windows quickly released an update to patch the patch. The update codenamed KB5077744 mainly targeted Windows 11 computers running versions 24H2 and 25H2.
While KB5077744 was supposed to fix the aforementioned issues on Windows, it introduced its own bugs. In its release notes, Microsoft noted that Windows users who had the KB5077744 update began experiencing file system issues.
Users reported being unable to open or upload files to OneDrive or Dropbox. Users also reported that Outlook froze, requiring a restart. Some users also reported redownloaded emails and missing sent items.
Consequently, on Jan. 24, Microsoft sent out the second emergency update of the month, tagged KB5078127. Users, especially those affected by previous bugs, are encouraged to install the new fix as soon as possible.
What to expect
So far, users have not reported any bugs from the Jan. 24 update. However, the several bugs that came with the Patch Tuesday and Jan. 17 updates raise questions about the quality of updates Microsoft releases.
From the famous blue screen showing “UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME” error to weird Outlook behaviors, many Windows users and IT admins have had a very stressful January. Many Windows users have taken to popular Reddit forums to share their complaints and frustrations, signaling growing dissatisfaction within the Windows community.
Microsoft’s next Patch Tuesday is slated for February 10. Whether another emergency update will be released before then is uncertain. But if it happens, and relates to bugs caused by previous ones, it will definitely spell big trouble for Microsoft’s reputation.
Also read: Microsoft will end support for Windows 11 24H2, Office 2021, and other products in 2026, tightening upgrade timelines.
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