Microsoft reaches for yet another out-of-band patch to deal with latest update issue
Weren't these supposed to be 'atypical'?
Microsoft is preparing another out-of-band update to address its latest problematic update following reports of installation errors.
The update in question was a preview that failed to install on some devices. An error 0x80073712 was shown to affected users, along with the text: "Some update files are missing or have problems. We'll try to download the update again later."
Microsoft initially paused the update while it investigated the issue. The company's solution is an out-of-band update "to resolve this issue in the coming days."
Time is running out. While the preview is optional, April's security update is not, and whatever has gone wrong in the installation process for this patch requires fixing. However, affected users are unlikely to welcome another out-of-band update and may wonder why Microsoft did not test the patch more thoroughly before release.
It hasn't been a good year so far for Microsoft, with patches needed to fix other patches. It is less than two weeks since the last out-of-band patch for a Microsoft account sign-in problem introduced in the March update. In Microsoft's documentation, out-of-band releases are called "atypical," but right now they seem to be the new normal.
Windows boss Pavan Davuluri has pledged improvements to the reliability and stability of Microsoft's flagship operating system after first acknowledging problems in November 2025.
Turning the Windows ship is more akin to captaining a supertanker than a nimble yacht – the sheer scale of the Microsoft ecosystem means changes and updates take significant time to implement, requiring massive coordination across hardware, software, and enterprise users. However, almost half a year has now passed, and the company is still churning out updates containing errors that require fixes.
At some point, things have to improve. For users and admins dealing with the fallout, the question is when. ®