Windows 11 KB5050094 is a pretty nice update. This update finally patches the DAC audio bug, which means you can once again use your audio hardware instead of switching to alternatives (recommended as a workaround by Microsoft, yes, seriously). But KB5050094 has its own share of issues, including a bug where the cursor behaves weirdly.

KB5050094 is an optional patch shipped on January 28, so you’re not going to get it automatically, but some of you may want to grab it because it fixes some of the long-standing issues. Unfortunately, while it does make Windows 11 24H2 more usable, it has some really annoying bugs.

Several users told Windows Latest that KB5050094 has an issue where the cursor keeps loading. In our tests, Windows Latest also observed that KB5050094 causes the cursor’s spinning circle to appear every half a minute or so. This happens frequently, and it’s so frequent that at one point, you might feel that Windows 11 is trying to load something.

The cursor could show the loading/spinning icon when you hover over apps on the taskbar or simply use the PC. In some cases, a spinning circle appears all the time, even when you are not doing anything on the PC. It can appear every 30 seconds, which is annoying but also worrying because it seems to imply something is happening on your system.

It’s worth noting that Windows 11 KB5050094 was supposed to fix a bug where the cursor would disappear when you try to edit the text field. This issue was first flagged by Windows Latest after we installed Windows 11 24H2.

It turns out that that cursor disappearing bug still exists, and the update has made it worse because it now also affects those in light mode. On top of it, there’s a new cursor-spinning bug.

Other problems in the January 2025 update

Windows 11 KB5050094 has several other problems as well.

For example, Windows Latest spotted that the patch makes it difficult to use File Explorer. We noticed that the File Explorer stopped working for some people. It’s not an isolated case because multiple people have some issues with File Explorer after the patch.

“I installed the latest Windows 11 Pro Update on 1-31-2025. When the system restarted I could no longer use Windows Explorer. This is on both my desktop and laptop. I happen to have GoodSync Explorer on my system, and they work fine,” one of the users noted in a Feedback Hub post spotted by Windows Latest.

Another user told Windows Latest that since they have installed Windows 11 24H2 KB5050094, Build 26100.3037, File Explorer fails to open.

Any Save As / Open / Browse dialogs also fail to open. Performance, especially at login is terrible, takes minutes just to login to the desktop after entering the password. Various desktop apps and programs tend to become unresponsive for minutes at a time and then become responsive.

“I had the same exact experience on two additional PCs with Windows 11 24H2 with this preview update installed. Uninstalling this update makes Windows behave normally again,” one of the affected users described their experience with Windows 11 January 2025 optional update.

Here is the complete list of issues flagged by users after Windows 11 24H2 update:

• Many users (around 10+ in discussions) said the cursor shows a spinning icon every 30 seconds, even when idle.
• Several users reported that Explorer stops working and folders break.
• Some users noted that audio devices vanish when using apps like Kodi.
• PC could get in a loop of Windows trying to install the same update again and again, but if you’re using ARM, you’ll get error 0x80070302.
• Hyper-V stops working during RDP.
• Some rare reports of increased idle RAM use and higher CPU/GPU temperatures.

What can you do? Well, since it’s an optional update, you can choose to skip and watch out for Windows 11’s February 2025 Patch Tuesday update. The Feb 2025 patch will also ship with DAC audio bug fixes, so if you’re looking for a fix for your audio issues, you can wait for the Feb patch and skip the January optional release.

However, I’m afraid the February 2025 Update could have similar bugs because it’s built on top of the buggy Windows 11 KB5050094 (Jan optional). In that case, we will test the upcoming February 2025 Update, which ships on Feb 11, so make sure you read our report before installing the patch.

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