Microsoft has officially acknowledged a new bug in Windows 11 that occurs on systems following the installation of a recent system update. As soon as applications play content with AC-3 audio decoding—commonly known as Dolby Digital—the program may crash unexpectedly.
Affected versions of Windows 11
According to the developer, the update identified as KB5124010, released on September 22, is responsible for the malfunction. The issue affects several generations of the Windows 11 operating system equally:
- Windows 11 Version 26H2
- Windows 11 Version 25H2
- Windows 11 Version 24H2
In all cases, the prerequisite for the crash is that KB5124010 has been installed on the respective machine. Patches have caused unwanted side effects in the past as well; for instance, crashes occurred on Windows 11 24H2 following system changes in connection with drivers.
Volume changes as a typical trigger
The AC-3 audio codec is used by default in numerous video formats, surround sound tracks, and TV recordings. The problem does not necessarily occur immediately upon opening an affected media file. According to reports, the crash of the respective application is often only triggered when users adjust the volume or modify other system audio settings during playback of Dolby Digital content.
For affected PC users, this represents a noticeable limitation in everyday use, especially when media players, video editing software, or streaming apps are used to play movies and series with surround sound.
What users can do now
Anyone experiencing sudden crashes of applications with multichannel audio after installing KB5124010 should avoid changing sound settings and system volume controls while playing AC-3 content for the time being, until Microsoft releases a fix. Microsoft occasionally provides short-term fixes for issues following system updates, as recently demonstrated by the out-of-band update KB5129195 for Windows 11.
In addition to the audio issue, there are reports of another bug in Windows 10 and Windows 11 where network credentials are lost after a system restart. According to manufacturer guidelines, recommended steps in these cases include setting up the network connection anew, updating to the hardware manufacturer’s OEM network drivers, adjusting the router configuration, and clearing stored entries in the Windows Credential Manager.
Sources: Borncity.com
