Microsoft’s first major Windows 11 update of 2026 quickly turned into a headache for users, after widespread reports emerged of systems failing to shut down properly and remote sign-in tools suddenly becoming unusable.

Microsoft Windows is the most popular desktop OS, and is the leading choice for a wide variety of creative users and gamers. It's powerful, flexible, versatile, and lets you do almost anything that's possible with your hardware, but it has its own share of pain points when it comes to core functionality.

Microsoft confirmed that the KB5074109 January Windows 11 security update causes the classic Outlook desktop client to freeze and hang for users with POP email accounts.