Microsoft Warns New Windows 11 Patch Can Break Your PC's Audio
The latest security update for Windows 11 is inadvertently silencing some PCs due to a known bug affecting USB Audio Class 1.0 devices—reminiscent of prior USB audio glitches in Windows 11 24H2. Microsoft confirmed the bug in a support article, acknowledging that some USB audio devices may fail to start and/or produce no sound after applying its Patch Tuesday update for September 2026.
Contained within the newest update following Microsoft's standard Patch Tuesday rollout cadence for Windows 11 are KB5124008 and KB5124012. According to Microsoft, some PCs are exhibiting a range of symptoms that affect audio. These include:
- The device displays an error in Device Manager: "This device cannot start (Code 10).”
- No audio output.
- Volume controls are unresponsive or remain at zero.
- Sound settings are unresponsive or unavailable.
- Some devices might function in standard stereo configurations but fail when using multichannel audio features, including 8-channel or 3D audio modes. Some customers have reported that they're able to restore audio in these cases by switching to 2-channel mode.
Microsoft says it's working on a fix, but as of right now, there is no official workaround, temporary or otherwise. That said, Microsoft reports that some users have had some luck with switching to 2-channel mode.
It's also not clear how widespread this problem is. Adding to the frustration, one of the possible symptoms is that affected users can't get into their PC's sound settings to try and troubleshoot the issue. For users who are not aware of Microsoft's support article, it would be easy to assume there is a bigger issue with their PC.
Additionally, the bug may not be limited to audio devices. According to WindowsLatest, which spotted the known issue disclaimer, it may also affect microphones.
"Microsoft specifically ties the confirmed issue to USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, but the problems aren’t necessarily limited to speakers or basic audio playback. One user told me that microphones can also stop working on affected devices," the site says.
