What you need to know
- An issue with Windows 11 can prevent users from signing into their PCs after adding a new Microsoft account.
- The issue should resolve itself automatically "after a brief time," according to Microsoft.
- A fix for the bug is being applied through Microsoft's Known Issue Rollback, which can take up to 24 hours to reach devices.
A bug in Windows 11 can prevent users from signing in after they've added a new Microsoft account to a system. The problem can appear after installing the KB5016691 update that started rolling out in preview on August 25, 2022 (via Neowin). Only adding a Microsoft account can trigger the bug, so those using Active Directory domain user accounts or Azure Active Directory accounts should be unaffected.
The issue should resolve itself "after a brief time," according to Microsoft. Affected systems will only prevent sign-in after an initial restart or when someone signs out the first time.
Microsoft describes the issue in a support document:
"After installing KB5016691 and adding a new Microsoft account user in Windows, you might be unable to sign in for a brief time after the first restart or sign out. The issue only affects the newly added Microsoft account user and only for the first sign in."
The company notes that the bug only affects Microsoft accounts. It doesn't present an issue for Active Directory domain user accounts or Azure Active Directory accounts.
A resolution for the issue is propagating through Microsoft's Known Issue Rollback. It can take up to 24 hours for the fix to roll out to all consumer devices and non-managed business devices. Microsoft notes that restarting a PC may help the resolution apply faster.
Enterprise-managed devices will have to have the issue resolved through a special group policy. The same support document linked above walks through the steps for enterprise systems.
