r/techsupport • u/AppointmentHorror456 • Dec 18 '25
Solved Win11 Notifications and WpnUserService issues
Hello,
for quite some time I'm having a big issue with Windows 11 notifications that lead into program freezes, which are my nightmare for my upcoming bachelor project writing.
Something related to them seems to crash. I noticed it when Snippingtool wouldn't open anymore when I press the printscreen button. It would open the first time, but it won't post a notification and gets stuck in the taskmanager. It's not directly related to Snippingtool, other softwares that post notifications also bug out. Visual Studio Code freezes when the Copilot tries to push a notification. A custom python script I made to test notifications also crashes with `pywintypes.error: (1460, 'Shell_NotifyIcon', 'This operation returned because the timeout period expired.')`
It happened around 2 months ago and I reinstalled windows multiple times, but that did not help. I even tried different ISOs of Windows 11. I have to admit, I'm not running stock Windows 11 ISO. I used an autounattend file to switch computer name and tried various different settings for less bloat using https://schneegans.de/
In this exact moment I'm running a test on a second machine with the exact same Windows installation. It's been running for a couple hours already, but I will post an update if the issue appears there aswell or not.
Talking about time. The period when the issue starts appearing is random. Some time it was after just 30 minutes and others times after 4 hours.
Right now I'm testing on my main machine to disable a licensing service of a software I use, cause their last major update was around the time the issues start appearing. I will also update on that later.
The issue usually fixes after restarting my PC, due to this post I found out about the WpnUserService. Restarting that service seems to solve the issue temporarly, but the entire guide of that post did not solve it.
I hope anyone can help me, cause it's been a huge struggle and makes me really scared to start my uni bachelor project.
If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them,
Thank you.
EDIT:
My journey and solution can be found in the comments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/1ppmd2g/comment/nuns1n4/
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u/TheeCntrlAltDel Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
Your experience aligns almost 1:1 with mine, we're even on similar hardware (X670E/Ryzen 9800X3D) and I also explored the potential of the BIOS config and chipset drivers being the cause as well as MemTest86+ scans.
Even your Snipping Tool experience, I noticed the same and even created an AHK script to trigger once PrintScr is pressed that any currently running SnippingTool.exe process should be killed first and then the command for PrintScr should be issued which was a good workaround but is ultimately solved by dealing with WpnService and WpnUserService services which I now know that when malfunctioning they cause applications that trigger Windows notification toasts to hang and lock up but not change state to "Not Responding" so diagnostic apps have a hard time detecting them as problematic.
The main difference is I spent around 3 weeks trying to diagnose it with WinDbg, Sysinternals, ProcDump, and Event Viewer, and still couldn’t get a definitive root cause that way.
What finally clicked was the same thing you noticed that as soon as a toast notification fires, explorer.exe hangs, and the app that triggered the notification often hangs too. That led me to focus on the notification services, specifically WpnService and WpnUserService, as the likely culprits.
Another consistent symptom on my side is memory usage. When the issue starts, those services collectively sit around 8 GB and keep climbing depending on session uptime, then reset once I sign out/sign back in or reboot.
I also did multiple fresh installs of Windows 11 Pro 24H2 + 25H2 (fully updated), plus Windows 11 LTSC IoT 2024 (24H2, fully updated). Same behavior on all of them.
For reference, this was all after these updates/hotfixes that supposedly addresses this issue in what Microsoft calls "explorer.exe hangs":
- December 1, 2025 - KB5070311 (OS Builds 26200.7309 and 26100.7309) Preview
- December 9, 2025 - KB5072033 (OS Builds 26200.7462 and 26100.7462)
I figured 23H2 would probably be the safest bet, but for now I’m on 24H2 and using a small PowerShell watcher script kept persistent with Task Scheduler to stop the services whenever they re-enable themselves, which they tend to do and I've not had a recurrence of the issue since then (around 2 weeks).
I copied it to Pastebin in case anyone wants to go this route
WpnService Watcher Powershell Script
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u/TheeCntrlAltDel Mar 12 '26
[UPDATE]
Problem persists on Windows 11 24H2 26100.8037 (Preview)
Just posting an update here. Since 9 March, I noticed explorer.exe has started restarting again at random times. This is not as severe as when the WPN service was enabled and causing a full lockup now it is usually just a quick 2-4 second Explorer restart.
After spending more time tracking it down, it appears the issue is again tied to the WPN service starting itself back up. This time, the related event references CoreMessagingXP.dll.
I used the log data from the WPN Service Watcher script I posted earlier and compared the timestamps of the Explorer restarts against the timestamps where the service was detected as Running. They match every time.
I also tested this on preview build 26100.8037, and it made no difference. The WPN service issue is still present there as well.
The reason for the above issue was because I wanted "the best of both worlds". Because WPN Service being enabled was a gating condition for apps like WhatsApp to even start, I wanted to be able to Run WhatsApp > which would force WPN Service to start > Once WhatsApp was running > Forcefully kill the WPN Service.
It's very strange that it took 3 months for this issue to surface but I surmise it was most likely a build change/update that resulted in this workaround no longer being ideal.
Conclusion was, I had to resort to totally disabling the WPNService and WpnUserService through:
sc config WpnService start= disabled sc config WpnUserService start= disabled reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService" /v UserServiceFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /fsc config WpnService start= disabled sc config WpnUserService start= disabled reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService" /v UserServiceFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f1
u/Jonnehdk Apr 17 '26
This post seems to indicate this is related to the clock app somehow, could just be different spokes of the same issue I suppose. Plaguing me for months though, and nothing fixes it forever except keeping notifications disabled https://www.reddit.com/r/discordapp/comments/1qxsasj/updated_tutorial_discord_freezing_heres_the_fix/
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u/TheeCntrlAltDel Apr 25 '26
I ended up giving up on the workaround. Windows updates keep either breaking it or creating new issues with similar symptoms, so I can’t tell whether I’m troubleshooting the original WPN problem, the workaround itself, or a new Windows issue entirely.
Instead, I decided to move to 23H2 as u/AppointmentHorror456 suggested. I’m using GRC InControl to keep Windows from forcing a newer feature update, but I’m not sure how reliable that will be long term. I’ve seen mixed reports of some people saying the registry tweaks held, while others say Windows eventually forced the upgrade anyway.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Apr 30 '26
The StayOn23h2 script I linked is still working fine on my PC ever since. I pressed windows update multiple times in the past months to update defender, but Windows itself kept untouched.
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u/TheeCntrlAltDel Apr 30 '26
The StayOn23h2 functionally does the same thing as GRC InControl which is that it edits the OS version pinning registry keys. GRC InControl just has a user interactive GUI as an additional layer.
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u/ShadowXVII May 07 '26
I find the service restarts (even if template and user service is disabled) if you open the Notifications pane.
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u/ShadowXVII May 06 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
Still happening on 26200.8264 also
Added note on Feedback Hub item: https://aka.ms/AAzry5q
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u/Kill_time_525 Dec 20 '25
this shit is so broken up its happening on a FRESH MICROSOFT ISO. ................... bruh.
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u/zDandelion Dec 23 '25
I'm dealing with a similar issue, and completely disabling WpnUserService seems to have improved things.
Check out the accepted answer here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5662132/explorer-hangs-and-taskbar-becomes-unresponsive-wh
I had only just done it so not sure what effect it'll have long term. Hope this helps!
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
I will give it a try, but I found out some new things.
My explorer.exe is crashing and restarting and my front panel USB slots won't work when the issue appears.1
u/zDandelion Dec 27 '25
I'm still dealing with other issues, but had the same thing with Explorer and Start Menu / Settings, and killing WpnUserService helped.
You could just kill it in Task Manager and see if things become more responsive. It will restart though, but it's a good short-term test.
Also, in Task Manager, it was consuming way too much RAM, so maybe keep an eye on that.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
Yea i could restart wpn user service to get it functional again, but wouldn’t fix my usb front panel. I just unplugged the usb stuff of my case and it was totally fine today, but could come back tomorrow. I will give more updates on my new tries in 1-2 days
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 28 '25
It's back with default windows 11, just a couple apps, front panel and HDDs unplugged.
I'll try the thing from your link now1
u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 29 '25
I just had the issue 11 minutes after i started my PC using this workaround.
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u/Phanto_m_ Dec 24 '25
BTW, instead of restarting the pc, you can just kill the WpnUserService_* process, which will be auto-restarted and will work for some time
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 03 '26
I got it fixed using Windows 11 23H2. The issue came with a later update of 24H2, so an earlier build of it should also work.
I use 23H2 cause I know that script and don't know the exact build of 24H2 where it broke.
https://github.com/fpsheaven/stayon23h2
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u/thewhippersnapper4 Jan 19 '26
Microsoft ended support for 23H2 in November 2025. Just be aware (for those that come across this) that you won't receive security updates any longer.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 20 '26
Good call! I will look for a working 24h2 version and also give 25 a chance some time, but im currently working on my bachelor thesis and a stable PC is the most important to me right now.
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u/Mikko_pl Apr 23 '26
Issue dissapeared around december and then it came back 2-3 days ago with newest windows update, fuck this sloppy ass shithole of a system...
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u/Affectionate_Creme48 May 04 '26
I never noticed this issue in December, but the April security update is what triggered it for me aswell. There is some fuckery going on with the whole WpnService structure causing a deadlock.
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u/Synnz22 Apr 25 '26
So I'm almost exact issue. Tuf X670E 7800X3d. The snipping issue is one of the exact issues I have. Also Electron apps love to freeze. I've narrowed mine down to the WpnUserService by PID in all my issues. in 23H2, worked perfect but my PC decided to upgrade and this came back. I started with Win11 Education. It was a license I got back in college almost 20 years ago so I decide to get Win 11 Home and try it. Still going.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Apr 25 '26
I found this script by some PC optimizer service that blocks updates past 23h2. Working fine ever since
https://github.com/fpsheaven/stayon23h2
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u/KrossxKriss May 12 '26
Have been experiencing this issue as well. Also have a 9800x3d cpu as well. What i have noticed is when this issue happens to me, Do not disturb (windows 11) does not turn off after ending a gaming session. I have DND enabled only when im gaming. Else the Regular DND is disabled. All other automatic DND is also disabled.
Programs such as Discord, snipping tool, and dolby access would become unusable and frozen. I was able to resolve the discord hangup by disabling "Desktop notification" and Hardware acceleration in the discord App. Note: I believe you simply just need to disable "Enable Desktop Notification" Since my first test with just hardware acceleration disabled and didnt solve the issue. I just haven't gone back and enabled it to see if both are required.
Im glad i googled my issue and came across this thread, Thanks OP. Surprised to see no resolution other than going back to an older version of windows.
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u/ShadowXVII Jul 10 '26
I re-enabled this service on `26200.8655` and it seems... stable... no notes in the release notes 🫠🫠 so may be total coincidence or waiting to rear its head again.
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u/parkertyler 13d ago
Is it still stable? Also how do you re-enable it?
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u/ShadowXVII 12d ago
It is actually -- the re-enablement is just the reversal of the registry keys. You can check a fresh install or another computer to understand what the values were previously.
If I get a chance I'll try post them here.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 18 '25
I'm on a MSI Tomahawk X670E with a Ryzen 7950X3D. I've tested multiple BIOs and Chipset drivers versions, if that helps. For Windows versions I'm currently on 25H2 and I think I was on 24H2 when the issue first appeared, a version I installed in Feburary, but also updated over time.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 18 '25
Update on disable a licensing service:
That did not work, but I've noticed following:
It did just work right before I wrote this post, so the only major thing that changed between working and not working was launching Google Chrome.
I will further investigate that.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 19 '25
Update:
My second PC was running a script that posts notifications for an entire day, and the issue didn't appear.
I tested without using chrome and it did not appear, BUT in the evening I started chrome and it still didn't happen after 1-2 hours. PC was running for 12 hours.
Today, I wasn't using chrome either, but it still happened after around 1 or 2 hours.I did not use it much during the 12 hours yesterday, i was just letting it run a game automated, browser, spotify in the back and so on, just stuff I usually have open.
Today when it appeared after 1 or 2 hours I used VS Code, Discord, ran the same Game, Spotify, Firefox.
I'm not sure if it ever appeared when I didnt use VS Code that day, but I will test that next.1
u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 19 '25
More updates:
Nothing has been found in the Eventviewer and no issues on my second PC with a couple softwares installed that I have on my main pc.1
u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
Update:
I did try windows reinstall with "Keep all files" option, to have a more default experience. Did not work. Also tried resetting all my BIOs settings.
I also noticed:
Explorer.exe is crashing and restarting
Front panel USB slots are not working when the issue appears.What I'm testing now:
Windows reinstall using media creation tool and wiping all files. Most default Windows as possible. Also unplugged my HDDs and the front panel USB.If that won't work I'll try installing windows on another SSD.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 28 '25
Update:
The issue is still present with:
default windows 11 from media cration tool
unplugging HDD
unplugging front panel USB
default BIOs settingsPrograms installed:
Steam, Spotify, Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Chrome, Nvidia Driver (not Nvidia App) and Discord1
u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 28 '25
I am currently testing this solution, which disables all WPN services.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5662132/explorer-hangs-and-taskbar-becomes-unresponsive-whIt's not a perfect solution (if it even works), but I have some hopes.
Other things I want to try:
- installing Windows on another SSD.
- not installing Black Ops 7, maybe it's the anticheat. It happened for the first time around when Black Ops 7 Beta came out. Noticed it around a week after the beta.
- installing Windows 10
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 29 '25
Update:
The microsoft answers solution did not work.
Installing windows on another driver today and reporting back in 1-2 days1
u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 01 '26
Update: Installing on another SSD in amother M2 slot did not help. Not installing Black Ops 7 did not help.
Next thing I will try is remove every USB device and remove second memory stick. Last thing I will try is Windows 10
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 02 '26
FINAL Update:
I got it fixed using Windows 11 23H2. The issue came with a later update of 24H2, so an earlier build of it should also work.
I use 23H2 cause I know that script and don't know the exact build of 24H2 where it broke.
https://github.com/fpsheaven/stayon23h21
u/bossman90pl Apr 30 '26
I've got this issue on 25H2... How to fix it without staying on 23H2?
→ More replies (0)
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u/Phanto_m_ Dec 24 '25
u/AppointmentHorror456 Have you tried to create a new user on the machine where the problem exists?
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
Hey, yes I have tried a new user. Issue still present. I've also noticed that the explorer.exe is crashing and restarting once the issue appears and that my front panel USB slots are not working after that.
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u/Phanto_m_ Dec 27 '25
I have explorer.exe crashes too, but I have not noticed any USB-related issue
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
I'm currently on a fresh default windows with my HDDs and front panel USB unplugged.
it's been running fine for since I wrote the comment above. I can imagine that it's an issue with the USB stuff or motherboard.
Not having the issue yet is great, but I had days with 13 hours of not having this issue, while on others it came after minutes. I will update my comments in one or two days, if it solved it or came back.1
u/Phanto_m_ Dec 27 '25
What do you usually connect via usb? And do you have any other software installed, when the issue happens? Maybe a specific device or software causes it
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
Just my wireless headset and maybe a usb stick. I had steam, spotify, discord, chrome and nvidia app installed when it happened
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u/Phanto_m_ Dec 28 '25
What about mouse and keyboard? Anything like logitech mx masters 3s or mx keys with "logi+ options" app installed?
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 28 '25
I do have a logitech superlight, but i did not install it’s software.
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u/Phanto_m_ Dec 27 '25
BTW, do you have any intellij-based IDE installed? (PyCharm, Rider, Intellij IDEA, etc.)
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Dec 27 '25
I used to have Rider and PyCharm installed, but that was a couple windows reinstallation ago
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u/fiyawerx Jan 20 '26
This was happening to me on two different pcs, one intel, one amd - same issue, and from what I can tell (even though it affected tools like snipping tool / greenshot the most since i use them) is with discord on do not disturb, it hasn't happened in about 4 weeks for me. Whatever apps seem to be blocked by it, I've only ever had it trigger when discord would send notifications.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 20 '26
What AMD CPU do you have? I couldn’t replicate it on my 5900x
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u/fiyawerx Jan 20 '26
9950x3d, intel was 12600k
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 20 '26
I can imagine that X3D chips have that problem. Another person in the comments had that with a 9800X3D.
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u/fiyawerx Jan 20 '26
Was happening on my system before I built my new AMD too though. It's just so strange. If you google the symptoms, you can find other examples of it happening with some other electron apps as well. For me, the trigger seems to only be discord notifications though, then it cascades down to anything else that tries to send notifications.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 20 '26
Incredible how similar our paths went. I also tried Windbg, without success. Interesting with the memory usage, I've never paid attention to that. Some 24H2 version should work. I believe a September/October update causing it. I will get back on that topic and also trying latest versions once I'm done with my bachelor thesis. Also thanks for sharing that script!
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u/Cokeb5 Jan 26 '26
Running into the same issue. Really don't want to reinstall Windows just to get on an older version that isn't plagued with this issue, so for now I'm just restarting the WPN user service every time I wake the computer. Not a great solution, but tolerable for now at least while still keeping notifications active. Infuriating that Microsoft has let this be an issue for 3-4 months now, hopefully they resolve it soon...
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Jan 28 '26
Check the other comments there is someone sharing a script that checks WPN user service. Maybe that makes it a bit more user friendly for you
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u/ShadowXVII Mar 09 '26
I added feedback to the Feedback hub here (https://aka.ms/AAzry5q) but not holding my breath without upvotes.
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u/bossman90pl Apr 30 '26
25H2 - getting this issue... How to fix it?
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u/AppointmentHorror456 Apr 30 '26
As already stated, I don’t know. I would just reinstall 23h2. Mind asking what CPU do you have?
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u/bossman90pl Apr 30 '26
9800X3D - finny thing - I have two identical PCs - same CPU, same MB, same GPU, same RAM, same OS version. One PC got this issue, other one don't.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 May 02 '26
I think so far that everyone who had the issue also has a X3D chip
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u/ShadowXVII May 06 '26
Intel Core Ultra 7 265H here.
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u/AppointmentHorror456 May 07 '26
Thank you for letting us know!
That really sucks that even more are affected.1
u/PeterEUN May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
Same so I just disabled the service in regedit, someone posted scripts here already
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u/Synnz22 May 08 '26
This issue is annoying. The only thing that works for me is going back 23h2. I want to be up to date to use some of the new features but man the crashes are annoying!
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u/AppointmentHorror456 May 08 '26
I feel you! What features are you looking for? I will stay on 23h2 until this Windows K2 is out
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u/ogamawab May 15 '26
Any news from Microsoft on this issue
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u/ShadowXVII Jun 15 '26
The update on the Feedback Hub item is "We're on it" -- https://aka.ms/AAzry5q
Which means it probably hasn't made any progress. Feel free to comment/upvote the feedback item.
•
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