Windows 11 users faced a frustrating problem this month: some devices would only restart instead of shutting down or hibernating. Microsoft has now released an emergency “out-of-band” update to fix these issues. The patch also restores remote login for affected Windows 10 and 11 devices.
The shutdown problem mainly affected Windows 11 machines using Secure Launch, a security feature that protects the system from firmware-level attacks during startup. Meanwhile, the remote login issue was caused by credential prompt failures, which blocked users from signing in through remote connection apps.
Despite the update, some issues from January 2026’s security release persist. Users have reported blank screens and crashes in Outlook Classic, according to sources. This follows similar problems in October, when Microsoft released an emergency fix for the Windows Recovery Environment.
For those still hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft continues to support Windows 10 through Extended Security Updates. This allows users to maintain security while delaying the move to the latest operating system.