Weekly Windows Wrap: Windows 11 is a dumpster fire — and only a fake Windows Phone can save us

Windows 11 is in a rough spot right now, at least when it comes to headlines and public perception. It feels like each week we cover an increasing number of negative stories.

I chatted last week about the need to hold a mirror up to Microsoft when the company needs to improve. That being said, it's tiring to write about bugs, issues, and systems crashing.

This weekend, I shared some of the reasons we love Windows 11 and still use it daily. I also asked for people from the community to chime in and share ways they enjoy Windows 11 and rely on the OS in their daily lives.

Unfortunately, that's largely where the good news ends. While I personally enjoy covering positive news, this past week was full of frustration and concerns for Windows 11 users.

Microsoft has had a disastrous January when it comes to Patch Tuesday updates. The company had to issue multiple emergency out of band updates and tell people to uninstall the KB5074109 update.

While it's common to run into issues after a Patch Tuesday, they are often related to niche use cases. That is not the case with some of the bugs that crept into Windows 11 recently.

One issue makes apps unusable when working with files saved to the cloud. Considering how hard Microsoft pushes OneDrive and integrates that cloud service into Windows 11, that's a significant issue.

Weekly Windows Wrap: The Big News

On a much happier note, Windows phone is back! Well, kind of. Note the capitalization. Windows Phone the OS is still dead. A company did announce a phone that can run Windows.

The NexPhone is a smartphone that runs Android, Linux, and Windows 11. In some ways, it fulfills the vision we got a taste of with Continuum. The device can run Android apps and then with a restart swap over to Windows 11.

The NexPhone is an Android phone that can become a Windows 11 PC when docked to a monitor, but it's also more than that. It also has a shell interface for Windows 11 that mimics the look and feel of Windows Phone.

Over the years, we've tried to find ways to talk about Windows Phone — many of us miss it. But you can only write so many stories about Android launchers and hardware that kind of looks like a Windows Phone.

The NexPhone is the first piece of Windows Phone-related news I've seen in a while to garner genuine interest and excitement from our readers.

I admit I'm concerned about the processor in the NexPhone. I also worry about how smoothly having multiple operating systems on a small device will go. But count me as intrigued.

Weekly Windows Wrap: How-tos

• Windows Terminal: 9 customizations I never skip on a new Windows 11 setup
• How to make your Windows 11 PC last longer with these 10 maintenance tips
• Windows 11 update KB5074109 is causing issues — and Microsoft now says to uninstall it
• Windows Sandbox keeps timing out with 0x800705b4 — widespread reports. Here's our fix.
• 12 easy ways to free space on your Windows 11 PC
• 2 Troubleshooting options to bypass the 0x800F0905 error when uninstalling updates on Windows 11

Several of our guides this week walk through how to handle the latest Windows 11 issues, including the 0x803f8001 error code caused by Windows 11 update KB5074109. Our how-to expert also shared some handy tips for maintaining and setting up your PC.

Sales on Windows 11 PCs

Windows 11 had another rough week, but there are still great PCs on sale and accessories that can improve your workflow.

Mid-range price, high performance

Save 9% ($120)

Lenovo Legion 5i laptop (15.1", GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, Intel Core i7-14700HX, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD): was $1,299.99 now $1,179.99 at Newegg

The Lenovo Legion 5i is a solid mid-range gaming laptop equipped with state-of-the-art, graphics-fidelity boosting hardware, including a GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU, an Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 15.1-inch OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, and more.

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Save 29% ($350)

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7: was $1,199.99 now $849.99 at Best Buy

"So, the Surface Laptop 7. It's basically perfect. It's peak clamshell form factor." ~ Zac Bowden, Senior Editor.

Windows Central review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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RTX 5060

Save 29% ($400)

ABS Flux II Aqua: was $1,399.99 now $999.99 at Newegg

The ABS Flux II Aqua features an Intel Core i5-14400F CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 5060 GPU, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It's a solid option for any gamers who want a smooth experience with less demanding games, and it's $400 cheaper than normal. You can take an additional 5% off the sale price by using code ABS5NOW at checkout.

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Best value tablet

Save 22% ($200)

Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch (2025) (512GB) (Ocean): was $899.99 now $699.99 at Amazon

"While it might miss out on some of the premium touches found in its larger sibling, its solid build quality, fantastic audio, and display, along with the impressive performance of its Snapdragon X Plus processor, make it a true standout in its category." ~ Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

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FHD visuals on-the-go

Save 30% ($30)

KYY Portable Monitor (15.6-inch, 1080p, FHD, USB-C): was $99.99 now $69.99 at Amazon

This is a fine 15.6-inch portable monitor fit for casual browsing or gaming handhelds, thanks to its 1920 × 1080 (FHD) resolution, 60Hz Refresh Rates, HDR support, eye-protecting Low blue‑light mode, and more.

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