Windows 11's latest bug fix proves why the option to pause updates forever needed to arrive yesterday

A broken March Patch Tuesday update triggered "no internet" errors for Microsoft accounts, proving the value of Microsoft's upcoming option to pause updates forever.

People inside Microsoft may be fighting to get rid of Windows 11's Microsoft account requirement during setup, but Microsoft accounts are still important for accessing apps and services. Teams, Edge, Office, and other Microsoft apps require a Microsoft account that allows you to sign in and sync things seamlessly, at least that's how it's supposed to work.

A recent bug in Windows 11 caused an error for some users that blocked sign-in to Microsoft apps. The bug appeared on systems that had installed the March Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11.

Only those who used Microsoft accounts were affected, meaning people with Entra ID were able to sign in to the apps without issue.

Microsoft confirmed the issue last week and has since rolled out a fix in the form of an emergency out-of-band update, which is detailed in a support document:

• [Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive.
  
  Note: Only sign ins using Microsoft accounts are affected. Businesses using Microsoft Entra ID for app authentication will not experience this issue.

Fixing Windows 11 updates

Messy Windows updates are one of the pain points of Windows 11 that Microsoft has promised to reduce. Updates are supposed to improve performance, address security issues, and add or improve features. Unfortunately, Windows 11 updates have included several bugs lately, ranging from small annoyances to serious issues.

Microsoft has issued several out-of-band security updates this year to address issues that shipped to Windows 11, including the emergency fix released on March 21 specifically for the Microsoft account issue.

Microsoft shared last week that it will allow users to pause Windows updates forever. That option has been requested for years but has not been present since Windows 8.

Postponing updates forever would present other issues, such as a PC lacking protection from security patches. People will need to balance holding off on installing an update to avoid bugs with keeping their PCs secure.

If your PC works perfectly today, would you risk a security flaw just to avoid the next buggy Patch Tuesday? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 6:21 am AEST (my time).

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