Microsoft pulls Windows 11 KB5039302 update causing reboot loops

Microsoft pulled the June Windows 11 KB5039302 update after finding that it causes some devices to restart repeatedly.

The KB5039302 update is the June preview update released this week, allowing consumers and the enterprise to test new bug fixes and changes before they go live for everyone as part of July's Patch Tuesday.

In a new post to the Windows Message Center, Microsoft says that after installing the KB5039302 update, some systems may reboot repeatedly.

"After installing updates released June 26, 2024 (KB5039302), some devices might fail to start," explains Microsoft.

"Affected systems might restart repeatedly and require recovery operations in order to restore normal use."

Microsoft says that the issue mostly affects devices utilizing virtual machine tools and virtualization features, such as CloudPC, DevBox, Azure Virtual Desktop. A Windows user also reported on Reddit the bug is affecting their VMware VMs.

The company says they have pulled the KB5039302 update to investigate what is causing the restarts, and Windows users will no longer see it offered in Windows Update and Windows Update for Business.

Microsoft says that Windows Home edition users are less likely to experience the issue as virtualization is not commonly used in those environments.

If you are affected by this faulty update, you will need to uninstall it via the Windows 11 Recovery Environment.

After a few failed reboots, Windows should automatically reboot into the Recovery environment, as shown below.

When at the above screen, click on on Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options,  then Uninstall Updates, and finally, click on Uninstall latest quality update.

You will then be prompted to confirm if you wish to uninstall the updates, which you should allow.

The KB5039302 will begin to uninstall, which may take some time, so please be patient.

When done, you will be prompted to reboot the computer, and now that the update is uninstalled, you should be able to boot into Windows 11 again.