Microsoft has postponed its Windows 11 24H2 update on multiple machines due to several incompatibility issues. The team is working on fixes, but until then, don’t try and force the update.
It seems that Windows 11 is once more under the spotlight, this time due to problems caused by its latest update. Depending on your hardware and software configuration, you may face bugs, crashes, performance issues, freezes, blue screens (BSOD), or any kind of unusual behaviour. To avoid impacting more users, Microsoft added this version to its Safeguard holds.
Safeguard holds prevent a device with known issues from installing a new feature update until said bugs get fixed. If Windows is blocking you from updating, you can check the reason by clicking on Learn More under the update tab. Note that Microsoft doesn’t recommend forcing the update via manual installation or media creation tools. All you have to do is wait for each one to be fixed, and updates will automatically apply.
Currently, these are the known bugs and possible ways to resolve them:
- Asus: X415KA and X515KA laptops have been facing blue screens after installing the update. Due to this incompatibility, Microsoft has halted updates for these models until it or Asus release a firmware/system fix.
- Voicemeeter: Since the app installs drivers to be presented as an audio device to the OS, these drivers are somehow incompatible with the 24H2 update, causing once more blue screens. Removing the app or waiting for an update is your only solution. If you really need this functionality and the 24H2 update at the same time, try the Steel Series GG app. Though basic, the latter has similar capabilities.
- Safe Exam: Older versions of the university and organisational web browser are affected, meaning a simple Safe Exam update can fix the issue.
- Easy Anti-Cheat: Devices with Intel Alder Lake processors and vPro technology might experience blue screens, particularly if EAC drives are out of date. Updating your games and drivers could be a fix, although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen an issue like this. Intel’s 12th Gen processors caused headaches for Linux users by mistakenly banning players using the anti-cheat software back in the day.
- Fingerprint sensors: Some machines with biometric logins become unresponsive after locking them, forcing users to use Windows facial recognition or a PIN to open back the session. It’s not the biggest deal, but annoying nonetheless. A firmware or system update should fix this.
- Wallpaper customisation apps: Normal updates result in missing wallpapers and features at the best of times, but here you could experience crashes and error messages. The best solution is to update your app and wait for a fix.
- Intel Smart Sound Technology: Being a driver, Intel SST is deep enough into the system to cause blue screens when things go wrong. Thankfully, this issue is only linked to older versions of the driver, so updating to the latest should fix the issue.
- Asphalt 8 (Airborne): The racing game suffers from freezes in the latest Windows. Since you might not have realised you have it installed, you can simply uninstall the game to resume the update. Otherwise, players will need to wait for a fix before getting 24H2.
Z890 motherboards
To rub salt into the wound, El Chapuzas Informatico has identified that new Z890 motherboards aren’t playing nicely with the update. Supposedly, there’s a conflict between dedicated and integrated GPUs that cause crashes and reboots. Worse yet, it’s not confined to any particular brand, as both MSI and Gigabyte models are among the affected.
You’ll need to head into your BIOS and disable integrated graphics to fix this one, provided you have a discrete device installed. Generally, it’s not too bad of a solution, given iGPUs only really come in handy for troubleshooting in these scenarios, but it’s a faff nonetheless.
Although we’re waiting for fixes from first-party vendors, such a wide range of hardware is affected that it’s hard to pin the blame on anyone other than Microsoft. It doesn’t do well for the image of Windows 11, which is already debatably in tatters. Hopefully, 2025 will fare better for the operating system, considering that’s when we bid farewell to Windows 10 updates for good.
