KB5077181 is causing devices to restart over 15 times in an infinite loop. Users also report network issues and error codes.
It has just been a few days since Microsoft released KB5077181 (Build 26200.7840), and already, users are reporting critical issues following its installation. The most severe report that has appeared on Microsoft Learn Q&A involves an infinite boot loop where devices restarted more than 15 times before reaching a broken login screen. This issue was not isolated to just one device, but a number of them, all reported by the same user.
The affected systems frequently show a System Event Notification Service (SENS) error when trying to log in; the error explains that a specified procedure couldn’t be found, preventing login. Additional issues that have been reported include a complete loss of internet connectivity due to DHCP errors and installation failures that come up with the error codes 0x800f0983 and 0x800f0991. In the case of the latter error codes, one user reported that using the System File Checker tool (sfc /scannow) worked.
In the case of the DHCP error, the user reports that their network was connected to the Wi-Fi, but no internet was available. Some users have tried to fix their machines by removing the update, however, Windows 11 may still try to install it automatically; you could attempt to pause the update, but this is only temporary, so Microsoft needs to offer out-of-band updates for a lasting solution.
These disruptions follow on from widespread issues after the January Patch Tuesday was released. Microsoft released several updates afterwards to try to address people’s issues. In the post regarding the login failure, the user was told to “uninstall KB5077181 from the affected machines using Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or from recovery mode with wusa /uninstall /kb:5077181 /quiet /norestart. Once removed, the login loop and service error stop.”
Affected users should keep an eye on the Windows Release Health dashboard for official acknowledgment of the issues by Microsoft and the release of further updates that address these issues. In the meantime, uninstalling the update and pausing it is the best way forward.
