The first Windows 11 OS update for 2026 is now rolling out with important fixes — including one that impacts battery life on PCs with an NPU

2026 is officially off to the races as Microsoft's first Patch Tuesday for the year introduces new fixes and improvements on Windows 11. Update KB5074109 is now available via Windows Update for users on Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2, and includes some important fixes.

The first notable fix is one related PCs with an NPU. Turns out, there was an issue where some NPUs would remain powered on when the system was idle, which resulted in reduced battery life. That issue is now fixed as of this week's updates, which should mean better battery life on these PCs.

In addition to the NPU fix, Microsoft has also introduced a new behavior that "identifies devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices will receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, ensuring a safe and phased deployment.​​​​​​​"

Notably, there doesn't appear to be any new surface level features rolling out with the January security updates. Here's the complete changelog for KB5074109:

• [Compatibility] This update removes the following modem drivers: agrsm64.sys (x64), agrsm.sys (x86), smserl64.sys (x64) and smserial.sys (x86). Modem hardware dependent on these specific drivers will no longer work in Windows.
• [Networking (known issues)]
  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where mirrored networking in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) could fail causing “No route to host” errors and preventing access to corporate resources over VPN connections, even when the Windows host remained connected. This might occur after installing KB5067036.
  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where you might experience RemoteApp ​​​​​​​connection failures in Azure Virtual Desktop environments. This might occur after installing KB5070311.
• [Power & Battery] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where devices with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) might stay powered on when idle. This could affect power performance.
• [Secure Boot] Starting with this update, Windows quality updates include a subset of high confidence device targeting data that identifies devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices will receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, ensuring a safe and phased deployment.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
• [Windows Deployment Services (WDS)] This update introduces a change in behavior in which WDS will stop supporting hands-free deployment functionality by default. Detailed guidance for IT administrators is available in Windows Deployment Services (WDS) Hands‑Free Deployment Hardening Guidance.
• [WinSqlite3.dll] Fixed: The Windows core component, WinSqlite3.dll, has been updated. Previously, some security software might have detected this component as vulnerable.

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