The Patch Tuesday from July introduced a Windows 11 update that causes bootloops and malfunctions on some devices. Roughly 50 Reddit users faced issues caused by the patch (KB5015814).
Microsoft picks one Tuesday a month to announce the latest software updates. The day is known as Patch Tuesday.
July’s Patch Tuesday introduced KB5015814, an update for Windows 11. The update alters PowerShell to fix a security issue. In addition, the update introduces several features from the Windows preview of June 23.
Reddit users have reported on various problems following the update’s release. Some can’t finish the installation. Error codes 0x8000ffff and 0x80073701 are common. Four users claim that the update causes a bootloop, wherein a device shuts down and starts up endlessly.
Workaround
Microsoft has yet to respond to the issue. Some users managed to install the update by disabling .NET 3.5. The setting is available in the control panel of Windows 11. Click on ‘Programs and Features’, proceed to ‘Windows Features’ and uncheck .NET 3.5.
KB5015814 is automatically downloaded and installed via Windows Update. As a result, the update was pushed to an enormous amount of devices. We expect that most users are exempt from the problems reported. In any other case, Microsoft would have released a statement by now. The cause remains unknown.
Not the first, not the last
Microsoft’s patches regularly have unexpected consequences. January’s Patch Tuesday introduced a dramatic update for Windows Server 2012, 2019 and 2022. Domain controllers landed in a bootloop and Hyper-V was disabled on some devices.
Patch Tuesdays have an important role. Administrators of Windows devices in large environments typically prefer manual updates, as one faulty update can cost hours to days of recovery. Patch Tuesdays make it possible to personally decide wether to include an update or not.
Windows Autopatch
Despite its record, Microsoft is gaining more and more confidence in the stability of updates. On 12 July 2022, the tech giant introduced ‘Windows Autopatch‘, an enterprise version of Windows Update. Organizations with E3 or E5 licences for Microsoft 365 can opt to automatically receive updates for Windows 10, Windows 11, Office apps and Edge.
The tool was unimaginable five years ago. Updates caused so many problems that enterprise customers wouldn’t have taken an automatic system seriously. Meanwhile, Microsoft claims that new updates run flawlessly in 99.6 percent of customer environments (source: ‘Increase confidence with Autopatch‘). Although that percentage is rising, the issue in KB5015814 shows that Microsoft still has a long way to go.
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