January 19, 2026 Microsoft has been forced into damage-control mode after January’s Patch Tuesday updates triggered a string of Windows 11 failures, disrupting sign-ins, shutdowns and core productivity tools for millions of users.
Over the past few days, the company has quietly issued multiple emergency fixes to stabilize affected systems. Two of the most serious problems, widespread Remote Desktop login failures and shutdown issues on older Windows 11 machines, have now been patched. But at least one high-profile bug remains unresolved and several others have yet to be formally acknowledged.
The most disruptive issue hit users running Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, where Remote Desktop connections began failing after the January security update. Microsoft confirmed that “some users experienced sign-in failures during Remote Desktop connections,” affecting authentication across multiple Remote Desktop apps, including the Windows App. For many businesses and remote workers, the bug effectively locked users out of their own systems.
At the same time, users on Windows 11 23H2 encountered a different but equally frustrating problem. Affected PCs refused to shut down or enter hibernation, instead restarting unexpectedly. Microsoft said the issue impacted systems using Secure Launch and acknowledged that it began after the Jan. 13 security update.
Both of those failures are now addressed through out-of-band patches released outside Microsoft’s normal update schedule. However, the cleanup is far from over. Outlook Classic users running legacy POP email accounts are still dealing with a bug that can cause the app to freeze in the background, preventing it from reopening normally. Microsoft has acknowledged the Outlook issue but has not yet released a fix.
Meanwhile, Windows watchers say there are additional display and file system problems that Microsoft has not officially confirmed. According to reports, some users are seeing prolonged black screens during login, desktop backgrounds resetting to black and File Explorer failing to properly apply desktop.ini settings.
For now, Microsoft has released two emergency updates aimed at stopping the most critical failures: KB5077744, an out-of-band update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, fixes Remote Desktop connection failures.
KB5077797, targeting Windows 11 23H2, resolves the shutdown and hibernation restart bug.
Both updates are available through the Microsoft Update Catalog.
The episode adds to growing frustration among Windows users, who have increasingly come to expect post-update instability, particularly when security fixes collide with everyday workflows. While Microsoft says it will continue to investigate unresolved issues, the staggered nature of the fixes has left many users weighing whether installing future updates immediately is worth the risk.
