Microsoft confirms app freezes with IME in Windows 11 2022 Update

Microsoft has updated the official Windows 11 Health Dashboard documentation with details about a newly found issue in the latest Windows 11 update. According to the software giant, Windows 11 2022 Update users might experience problems with app freezing when changing IME (Input Method Editor) input modes.

Windows IME or Input Method Editor is a built-in tool that allows users to enter text in languages hard to represent on a standard QWERTY keyboard. The Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other East Asian languages have larger numbers of characters that require customers to use combinations of keys processed and interpreted by the IME. Per Microsoft's findings, turning on, off, or changing input modes causes apps to become unresponsive on Windows 11 2022 Update.

The problem does not affect customers with Windows 10 and the initial release of Windows 11. Also, it will not bother you if you only use English or other languages with Latin or Cyrillic scripts. Those who rely on Windows IME can mitigate the problem by installing the freshly released KB5020044 update. It adds some "Moment 2" features to Windows 11 and fixes other non-security issues, like those related to gaming on 22H2.

If installing a preview update is not an option, Microsoft says you can workaround the issue by changing the input mode with the IME mode icon in the taskbar. Apps freeze only when using keyboard shortcuts to manage the IME.

Microsoft confirms app freezes with IME in Windows 11 2022 Update