After installing a recent security update for Windows 11, some devices refuse to shut down or go into sleep mode.
Several computers with Windows 11 have developed an acute fear of death. The systems refuse to shut down or even go into sleep mode. The new bug specifically affects systems running Windows 23H2 Enterprise or IoT, and is the result of Microsoft’s latest security update.
Update KB5073455, which was released on January 13, 2026, is the culprit. The update causes disobedience for certain systems with Secure Launch. When users try to shut down or put their device to sleep, the system chooses to restart instead. This is obviously disastrous for laptops, which continue to consume battery power as a result.
Secure Launch is a feature that uses virtualization to protect the operating system from firmware attacks at startup. Due to the error in the update, this security may not interact correctly with the shutdown process.
New update corrects old update
Microsoft fixed the problem on January 17, 2026 via a so-called out-of-band update: KB5077797. This update is available through the Microsoft Update Catalog and will also be integrated into future updates. Microsoft advises users to install the latest available update to avoid this and other errors.
That ironic situation has since become a tradition with Microsoft’s monthly updates. Quickly installing the latest update is necessary to keep systems secure and prevent problems, but at the same time it can be the cause of other problems.
Although Microsoft has chosen to limit the number of actively supported Windows versions since Windows 10, Redmond almost never manages to roll out an update without at least a small impact on a subset of users. The fact that this bug specifically affects enterprise versions of Windows 11 is all the more painful.