Last week, Microsoft released the first 2026 updates for Windows 11 with versions KB5074109 and KB5073455. At the same time, the company released related dynamic updates with versions KB5074108, KB5074208, and KB5073454.
Unfortunately for users, the first Patch Tuesday of the year presented some problems and Microsoft was forced to release urgent OOB updates to fix them with versions KB5077744 and KB5077797.
However, the first Patch Tuesday update of 2026 for Windows 11 25H2, and 24H2 (KB5074109) continues to cause issues with classic Outlook for some users. Microsoft initially did not provide a fix for the feature, but has since updated its documentation.
The unofficial solution is of course to uninstall the Windows update that leads to the problem, but the company added some details after further investigation.
The company explains in the updated support document:
“After the January 13, 2026 Windows updates, users with Outlook POP account profiles and profiles with PST files are reporting that Outlook hangs and does not shut down properly. This issue can occur for any Outlook profile that has PST files stored on OneDrive. Reported symptoms include:
Outlook hangs and displays "Not responding."
Unable to reopen Outlook without ending its process from Task Manager or restarting the computer.
Emails are not showing up in the Sent folder despite being sent.
Outlook is constantly running “retrieving email.”
While the company confirmed that it is continuing to investigate the problem, it provided solutions for administrators and those affected in general.
Affected platforms:
The company says:
This topic is being discussed in the forums if you would like to ask questions or share feedback here:
You can find the support article here on the official Microsoft website.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
I kindly ask anyone who knows. For software legality reasons, we want to remove the Outlook application at work with some free one. The obvious one is Thudebird for POP3 accounts, but for environmental reasons we would like the free version of outlook for windows. Is it compatible with POP3 accounts? Does it store locally on the PC or does it require an outlook.com account that only offers 5GB, which is not enough for us.
I would ask that we not start with the well-known things about advertising, personal data, etc. If any friend can clarify what I asked, I would appreciate it. Happy New Year to everyone
https://www.thunderbird.net/