Microsoft halts Windows 11 update on some Dell PCs

Microsoft pauses June Windows 11 update on select Dell PCs

Microsoft is blocking this month’s Windows 11 security updates on some Dell systems after reports of unexpected shutdowns, performance degradation, and battery problems.

The company says the issue is linked to the KB5101650 cumulative update released this Tuesday for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 devices, and currently impacts only certain Dell PCs.

Intel power driver conflict behind the bug

According to Microsoft, the behavior traces back to a change first introduced in the June 23, 2026 Windows preview update KB5095093.

“After installing the June 23, 2026, Windows preview update (KB5095093), a limited number of Dell devices might display a yellow exclamation point in Device Manager next to the Intel Innovation Platform Framework Processor Participant driver,” Microsoft said.

“These devices can potentially experience unexpected shutdowns, poor performance, increased heat, and battery drain.”

Microsoft attributes the failures to an incompatibility between:

• the new Windows USB-C Connection Manager interface added in KB5095093, and
• the Intel Innovation Platform Framework (IPF) Processor Participant driver used on affected Dell hardware.

The Intel IPF Processor Participant driver is described as a core system-level hardware driver that manages system power and thermals by tuning processor cooling, power consumption, and thermal performance. When the conflict occurs, Device Manager shows a yellow exclamation mark next to the Processor Participant driver entry.

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Update block and pending fix

Because of the incompatibility, Microsoft has placed a safeguard hold on the latest cumulative update for impacted systems and will stop pushing KB5101650 to those Dell devices until a fix is ready.

“Microsoft plans to release a resolution for affected devices in the coming days,” the company said in an update to the Windows release health dashboard. The company is working with Dell to resolve the problem.

Other recent Windows fixes

Microsoft has also shipped a couple of unrelated fixes in recent weeks.

The company addressed a known issue that caused the Copilot Chat or Copilot buttons to disappear from Classic Outlook for Windows for users with the Copilot Chat (Basic) license.

Earlier this month, it also restored GIF functionality in the Emoji Panel for Windows 11 users, after Google’s Tenor GIF search engine retired its application programming interface (API) and shut down the service.