Cannot shut down Windows 11? Microsoft acknowledges issue, releases the fix
Microsoft's January 2026 update broke shutdown and Remote Desktop on some PCs, and the company has now pushed emergency patches to fix those issues
 "Cannot shut down Windows 11? Microsoft acknowledges issue, releases the fix")
Microsoft has confirmed that the January 2026 update for Windows 11 introduced multiple bugs, including one that stopped some PCs from shutting down properly. The company has now released an update to fix the issue. According to a report by Windows Latest, Microsoft has so far acknowledged three serious bugs linked to the January 2026 update: Remote Desktop login failures, shutdown issues on Windows 11 23H2, and Outlook Classic crashes. Of these, two have now received fixes.
What went wrong with the January 2026 update
On January 13, Microsoft released several updates, including:
- Windows 11 25H2 (KB5074109)
- Windows 11 23H2 (KB5073455)
- Windows Server 2025 and 2023 updates
- Windows 10 ESU update
Soon after, users started reporting multiple problems. Microsoft has now acknowledged three major issues:
- Remote Desktop connections failing
- Windows 11 23H2 failing to shut down
- Outlook Classic crashing when using POP accounts
Only the first two have been fixed so far.
Remote Desktop connections stopped working
After installing KB5074109 on Windows 11 25H2 and related updates, many users found that Remote Desktop connections were failing during sign-in. When users clicked “Connect,” the login process would break immediately, showing an authentication error.
Microsoft confirmed that the problem was caused by a failure in the credential prompt inside the Windows App, which is responsible for starting Remote Desktop sessions. The issue happened before a session was created, so user data was not affected.
Microsoft fixed this issue in an out-of-band update released on January 17.
Windows 11 shut down bug on version 23H2
Another bug affected a small number of PCs running Windows 11 version 23H2 with a feature called System Guard Secure Launch enabled. After installing KB5073455, clicking “Shut down” or “Hibernate” would not power off the system. Instead, the PC would restart.
This issue only affected Windows 11 23H2, which is no longer supported for regular consumers and is mainly used by enterprises. Microsoft said the bug impacted a very limited number of devices.
This shutdown problem has also been fixed through the emergency updates released on January 17.
Outlook crash
Microsoft also confirmed a third bug where Outlook Classic crashes when using POP email accounts. This issue has not yet been fixed, but the company is expected to release a patch soon.
What users should do
If you were affected by:
- Remote Desktop not working
- Windows 11 not shutting down on 23H2
You will need to manually download the emergency update from the Microsoft Update Catalog using the correct KB number for your Windows version.
If you are not facing these problems, there is no need to install the out-of-band update, as future regular updates will include these fixes automatically.