Windows Update Problems: Outlook Freezes with POP Mail Accounts
Microsoft's January security updates for Windows 11 also appear to be disrupting Outlook. Microsoft is investigating problems with POP mail accounts.
(Image: heise online / dmk)
The security updates that Microsoft released on the January Patch Day for Windows 11 are causing further unwanted side effects. Classic Outlook can freeze or hang when managing POP3 email accounts with it.
Microsoft has now admitted this in a support article. The cause appears to be the update KB5074109 for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, which Microsoft released on the Patch Day in the night before Wednesday last week.
Outlook problems after Patch Day
“After Windows 11 has been updated with the January updates, users with Outlook POP account profiles report that Outlook does not close correctly. This means that Outlook does not restart after it has been closed,” Microsoft writes. “Additionally, some users report Outlook hanging or freezing,” the developers add. It is an “emerging issue” for which Microsoft does not yet know all the symptoms.
The Outlook and Windows teams are still investigating the problem. There is a discussion in Microsoft's Learn forums about the issue. Affected users can ask questions or provide feedback there. There is no solution yet. The accepted solution in the forum so far is to uninstall the January security update. However, this is not a good idea, as the updates seal security vulnerabilities that are already being attacked in the wild.
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The January patches had already caused further disruptions. For example, Windows 11 23H2, which is only supported in the Enterprise and Edu areas, could no longer correctly enter sleep mode or shut down after installing the security updates. Almost all supported Windows versions for desktop and server complained about connection issues of the Windows app with Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop after applying the Patch Day software patches.
Microsoft therefore pushed out out-of-band updates over the weekend. These are available for various Windows versions and correct the problems of the Windows app with remote desktop connections. The developers have also delivered another out-of-band update for Windows 11 23H2 to contain the issues with shutting down and hibernation.
(dmk)
