Microsoft confirms Windows 11 black screen issue

Microsoft has confirmed a Windows 11 issue where users may encounter a black screen or a failure of the desktop to load automatically after signing in. The problem primarily affects devices that installed the August 2026 non-security preview updates or later cumulative updates. The issue has been most frequently observed on Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) hosts utilizing FSLogix profile management technology.

Affected versions include Windows 11 26H1, 25H2, and 24H2. In some instances, the Windows Explorer process crashes during startup, preventing the taskbar, Start menu, and File Explorer from appearing. Microsoft noted that the problem appears to occur more frequently with certain existing user profiles.

To address the defect, Microsoft is utilizing a Known Issue Rollback (KIR) policy to disable the problematic change via Group Policy until a permanent code-level fix is released in a future update. As a temporary workaround, users can attempt to manually launch explorer.exe through the Task Manager.