Windows 11 January update causes shutdown problems, emergency fix rolled out

Microsoft has rolled out an emergency update after some Windows 11 users reported a strange and frustrating issue. Following a recent January update, certain systems were unable to shut down properly. Instead of powering off, affected PCs were restarting or staying switched on even after users selected shut down or hibernate. Also Read: Wikipedia Signs AI Access Deals With Microsoft, Meta, Perplexity: Here's Why

What Went Wrong

The issue surfaced after Microsoft released its first security update of the year for Windows 11. According to Microsoft, the problem mainly affected systems running Windows 11 version 23H2 with Secure Launch enabled. These were largely enterprise and IoT devices, not regular consumer laptops or desktops. Also Read: Forza Horizon 6 Release Date May Have Leaked Via In-Game Pre-Order Listing

Some users noticed that when they tried to shut down their PC, the system restarted instead. In a few cases, hibernation also did not work. Microsoft said the problem was caused by a recent January update and only affected a limited number of Windows 11 systems. Also Read: Is Microsoft Planning Large-Scale Layoffs This Month? Here’s What The Company Said

Emergency Fix Now Available

To address the issue, Microsoft released an out-of-band update on January 17. This emergency patch, identified as KB5077797, is meant to fix the shutdown and restart behaviour on affected systems.

Microsoft has clarified that the bug did not impact user data or overall system performance. However, the update is not being pushed automatically through Windows Update for everyone. Users who are affected will need to download and install it manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

If your system is not facing shutdown or restart problems, Microsoft says there is no immediate need to install this out-of-band update.

Temporary Workaround for Affected Users

For users still dealing with the issue, Microsoft has shared a temporary workaround. Until the fix is installed, affected users can shut down their PC by opening Command Prompt and running a manual shutdown command. This offers a temporary way to power off the system and avoid the issue.

That said, there is currently no workaround for the hibernation problem. Microsoft has advised users to save their work regularly to avoid losing progress if the system fails to enter hibernation and runs out of power.

Another Update-Related Hiccup

This is not the first time a Windows 11 update has caused unexpected issues. Over the past year, users have reported problems ranging from Task Manager glitches to File Explorer display bugs after updates meant to improve the experience.

Microsoft says it continues to investigate such issues and refine its update process. For now, users running Windows 11 23H2 with Secure Launch enabled are advised to check whether they are affected and install the emergency fix if needed.