Microsoft fixes a confusing Recycle Bin bug in Windows with the latest update

Microsoft delivers a fix for a confusing Recycle Bin bug in Windows that made deleting items show the wrong file names in the confirmation dialog.

Microsoft released security updates for various versions of Windows yesterday as part of this month’s Patch Tuesday. Although new updates for Windows 11 don’t bring any monumental new features, they fixed some known issues that bugged users for some time and set the record for the most fixed vulnerabilities during a single Patch Tuesday.

One of the known bugs that appeared in previous updates was a Recycle Bin bug that made deleting a single item show the wrong file name in the confirmation dialog. Microsoft confirmed it back in June and has now finally addressed it. The fix landed with the July 14 security update, KB5099414, and later builds.

The bug itself was cosmetic, but it was confusing users. Deleting a file from the Recycle Bin would show its internal name, something like $Rxxxxx.ext, instead of the actual file name in the confirmation prompt. The Recycle Bin's list view showed the correct name the whole time, and restoring a file also used the correct name; it was only that one confirmation dialog that got it wrong.

Although the bug was essentially harmless, its scope was wide. It affected every supported client version going back to Windows 10 version 1607 and every supported server version back to Server 2012.

Here’s what Microsoft says about the fix:

“This issue was resolved by Windows updates released July 14, 2026 (KB5099414), and later. We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one. If your organization has installed an update released on July 14, 2026, or later, you do not need to use a Known Issue Rollback (KIR) or a special Group Policy to resolve this issue.”

So, if you were recently confused by the dialog, all you need to do now is simply install the latest update, and the bug should be gone.

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Posted Thursday 16 July 2026 at 7:48 am AEST (my time).

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