Possible issue with KB5083769: BITS/SOAP download timeouts and bitsadmin freeze

Question

Possible issue with KB5083769: BITS/SOAP download timeouts and bitsadmin freeze

CHIHARU SHIBATA 15

I would like to report a potential issue related to the April 2026 cumulative update (KB5083769).

After applying KB5083769, some PCs started experiencing failures in our application's auto-update download process.

Our application supports two download methods:

BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service)
SOAP Web Service

When the issue occurs, both methods fail. Specifically, the download requests time out regardless of which method is selected.

Additionally, during the failure state, we observe that the following command becomes unresponsive (appears to freeze):

bitsadmin /list /allusers

A system reboot temporarily resolves the issue. Immediately after restarting, downloads succeed. However, after leaving the system idle for some time (approximately several tens of minutes), the download failures reoccur.

After uninstalling KB5083769, the issue no longer occurs. Even after several hours, downloads continue to work normally.

Based on these observations, we suspect that KB5083769 may contain a defect affecting BITS or related networking components.

This behavior appears to be similar to previously reported issues:

We would appreciate any guidance or confirmation regarding this issue.

JJ IT 25 Reputation points

2026-04-29T19:23:35.4333333+00:00

Related observation: there are separate reports of KB5083769 causing Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) hangs after systems remain idle. In those cases, bitsadmin commands freeze, downloads time out, and functionality returns only after reboot, then fails again after additional idle time. Uninstalling KB5083769 resolves the behavior. This suggests a potential idle-state or background-service deadlock introduced with this update that may be related to other idle-triggered freeze scenarios.

https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-kb5083769-update-breaks-bits-and-causes-system-freezes/
Aaron M 5 Reputation points

2026-04-30T17:08:00.85+00:00
I can corroborate this. We are an MSP managing 90+ Windows 11 25H2 endpoints and started seeing a cluster of related issues on 6 machines following KB5083769 installation on April 14th.

Symptoms across affected machines included:

Outlook Classic stopping email delivery to the inbox across all configured accounts with no error displayed — closing and reopening Outlook temporarily resolved it but the issue would recur

NinjaOne Backup file/folder jobs failing silently

DISM failing with networking errors

Windows Explorer network browsing and Network Discovery broken

All machines run the same software stack deployed via NinjaOne RMM and received the patch at the same time. Different client networks, different hardware. The remaining 84+ machines on the same stack were unaffected.

Uninstalling KB5083769 and rebooting fully resolved every symptom on every machine we were able to test. Your BITS theory aligns with what we observed — BITS is the common thread across Outlook OAB downloads, our backup agent, DISM, and Windows Update, which would explain why four completely unrelated services failed simultaneously.

For the one machine past the 10-day rollback window, we are looking at temporarily disabling the BITS service as a stopgap based on the workaround mentioned in this thread.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-04-30T21:12:06.21+00:00

Yes, I now note my Network Discovery is broken (and the service giving timeout errors).
Mikael S 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T12:52:27.93+00:00

I am using Xbox app for windows, playing Call if Duty no longer works since can not synchronize account while starting up game. It freezes. I had 2 weeks of troubles until in realize have to remove KB5083769, unfortunately it could not be removed, had to reinstall windows. In the process my backup did not work (also related to same KB5083769) so after reinstalled windows I found all my personal documents that was supposed to be backupped were missing on the backup drive.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-12T17:53:46.1433333+00:00

Adding my comment to both the original post and mine further below/above.

The fixes delivered this "Patch Tuesday" would appear to have resolved the issues for me. Immediately after applying them and rebooting, Outlook successfully downloads the Address Book, eMails arrive in a timely manner, Powershell Bits commands no longer hang, BITS Service responds to Stop/Start commands.

As an aside, the additional issue of failing Network Discovery also appears to have been resolved.

Fingers crossed ;-)

(To clarify, this is on a machine that it was not possible to uninstall KB5083769)
CHIHARU SHIBATA 15 Reputation points

2026-05-14T01:07:53.9966667+00:00

Thanks, Bob.

Although this is still based on a single observation (N=1), after applying the May 2026 Windows Update, the download functionality of our application appears to be working correctly again.

I also reviewed the changes included in KB5089549 (May 2026 update): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/may-12-2026-kb5089549-os-builds-26200-8457-and-26100-8457-28ec2a99-4bbe-481d-a340-5c6cf18d9acb

The following item seems potentially relevant:

[Connectivity] This update improves the reliability of Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) notifications to help prevent the service from becoming unresponsive.

If the issue has indeed been resolved, I suspect this change may be related.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-14T10:04:04.6533333+00:00

Not to prolong the debate, but all four of my affected machines (three with KB5083769 still installed and one with it unistalled) now appear to have none of the symptoms of failure they exhibited after KB5083769 .

I came to the same conclusion about KB5089549, which is documented as superseding KB5083769 , and installing all the patches from the latter (if not already installed) plus "a few more".
Mike Meinz 6 Reputation points

2026-06-09T15:18:35.0666667+00:00

Over the weekend, I did an in-place repair upgrade to 2026-04 Preview Update (KB5083631) (26200.8328).

I also updated to Microsoft 365 Office (Version 2605 Build 16.0.20026.20140) 64-bit on June 8, 2026.

One of those actions solved the issue, my BITS queue is no longer being blocked. Monitoring the BITS queue (bitsadmin /monitor /refresh 2), I see the Outlook OAB download transferring and completing properly.

8 answers

Your answer

JJ IT 25 Reputation points

2026-04-29T19:23:35.4333333+00:00

Related observation: there are separate reports of KB5083769 causing Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) hangs after systems remain idle. In those cases, bitsadmin commands freeze, downloads time out, and functionality returns only after reboot, then fails again after additional idle time. Uninstalling KB5083769 resolves the behavior. This suggests a potential idle-state or background-service deadlock introduced with this update that may be related to other idle-triggered freeze scenarios.

https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-kb5083769-update-breaks-bits-and-causes-system-freezes/
Aaron M 5 Reputation points

2026-04-30T17:08:00.85+00:00

I can corroborate this. We are an MSP managing 90+ Windows 11 25H2 endpoints and started seeing a cluster of related issues on 6 machines following KB5083769 installation on April 14th.

Symptoms across affected machines included:

Outlook Classic stopping email delivery to the inbox across all configured accounts with no error displayed — closing and reopening Outlook temporarily resolved it but the issue would recur

NinjaOne Backup file/folder jobs failing silently

DISM failing with networking errors

Windows Explorer network browsing and Network Discovery broken

All machines run the same software stack deployed via NinjaOne RMM and received the patch at the same time. Different client networks, different hardware. The remaining 84+ machines on the same stack were unaffected.

Uninstalling KB5083769 and rebooting fully resolved every symptom on every machine we were able to test. Your BITS theory aligns with what we observed — BITS is the common thread across Outlook OAB downloads, our backup agent, DISM, and Windows Update, which would explain why four completely unrelated services failed simultaneously.

For the one machine past the 10-day rollback window, we are looking at temporarily disabling the BITS service as a stopgap based on the workaround mentioned in this thread.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-04-30T21:12:06.21+00:00

Yes, I now note my Network Discovery is broken (and the service giving timeout errors).
Mikael S 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T12:52:27.93+00:00

I am using Xbox app for windows, playing Call if Duty no longer works since can not synchronize account while starting up game. It freezes. I had 2 weeks of troubles until in realize have to remove KB5083769, unfortunately it could not be removed, had to reinstall windows. In the process my backup did not work (also related to same KB5083769) so after reinstalled windows I found all my personal documents that was supposed to be backupped were missing on the backup drive.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-12T17:53:46.1433333+00:00

Adding my comment to both the original post and mine further below/above.

The fixes delivered this "Patch Tuesday" would appear to have resolved the issues for me. Immediately after applying them and rebooting, Outlook successfully downloads the Address Book, eMails arrive in a timely manner, Powershell Bits commands no longer hang, BITS Service responds to Stop/Start commands.

As an aside, the additional issue of failing Network Discovery also appears to have been resolved.

Fingers crossed ;-)

(To clarify, this is on a machine that it was not possible to uninstall KB5083769)
CHIHARU SHIBATA 15 Reputation points

2026-05-14T01:07:53.9966667+00:00

Thanks, Bob.

Although this is still based on a single observation (N=1), after applying the May 2026 Windows Update, the download functionality of our application appears to be working correctly again.

I also reviewed the changes included in KB5089549 (May 2026 update): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/may-12-2026-kb5089549-os-builds-26200-8457-and-26100-8457-28ec2a99-4bbe-481d-a340-5c6cf18d9acb

The following item seems potentially relevant:

[Connectivity] This update improves the reliability of Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) notifications to help prevent the service from becoming unresponsive.

If the issue has indeed been resolved, I suspect this change may be related.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-14T10:04:04.6533333+00:00

Not to prolong the debate, but all four of my affected machines (three with KB5083769 still installed and one with it unistalled) now appear to have none of the symptoms of failure they exhibited after KB5083769 .

I came to the same conclusion about KB5089549, which is documented as superseding KB5083769 , and installing all the patches from the latter (if not already installed) plus "a few more".
Mike Meinz 6 Reputation points

2026-06-09T15:18:35.0666667+00:00

Over the weekend, I did an in-place repair upgrade to 2026-04 Preview Update (KB5083631) (26200.8328).

I also updated to Microsoft 365 Office (Version 2605 Build 16.0.20026.20140) 64-bit on June 8, 2026.

One of those actions solved the issue, my BITS queue is no longer being blocked. Monitoring the BITS queue (bitsadmin /monitor /refresh 2), I see the Outlook OAB download transferring and completing properly.

Answer 1

KB5083769 is not mentioned in the available information, and there is no documented issue in the context that matches Windows 11 April 2026 cumulative update behavior, BITS timeouts, or bitsadmin freezing after idle time.

However, there are some relevant points about BITS behavior and known issues in general that can help frame the situation and what to do next:

BITS is a core Windows component used for background file transfers and is also used by other components such as Windows Update and Outlook OAB downloads. It is designed to handle interruptions and resume transfers automatically.
- Overview and intended behavior are described in Background Intelligent Transfer Service documentation.
When BITS is malfunctioning or its state becomes corrupted, symptoms can include:
- Inability to download files using BITS-dependent components.
- Crashes or hangs in processes interacting with BITS.
- In older versions (e.g., Windows Vista), corruption of BITS state files could even stop the host process for Windows services and break Windows Update, requiring a repair tool or update to fix the corruption.
There are known historical issues where BITS-related bugs were confirmed by Microsoft and fixed via updates, for example:
- A BITS client resetting TCP connections on Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2.
- Inability to download via BITS when using certificate-based authentication on Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista.
For Outlook OAB downloads over HTTP(S), BITS policies and service state can directly affect download success. If BITS is throttled or stopped, downloads fail until configuration or service state is corrected.

Given that:

The issue appears only after installing KB5083769.
Both BITS-based and SOAP-based downloads time out.
bitsadmin /list /allusers freezes during the failure state.
A reboot temporarily restores normal behavior, and uninstalling KB5083769 removes the problem.

This pattern is consistent with a regression or defect in BITS or a related networking/service component introduced by that update, similar in nature (though not identical) to past BITS-related issues that were later acknowledged and fixed.

Recommended next steps based on the patterns in the provided material:

Collect and preserve diagnostics
- Capture event logs (Application, System) around the time of the timeouts and bitsadmin freeze.
- Note exact OS build, edition, and architecture, and confirm that the issue is reproducible only with KB5083769 installed.
- Document the idle time before failure, and whether any sleep/modern standby or network changes occur in that window.
Validate BITS service state and policies when the issue occurs
- Confirm that the Background Intelligent Transfer Service is running when downloads fail (similar to the guidance for OAB downloads).
- Check for BITS-related policies under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\BITS and verify whether throttling or other constraints are being applied that might interact badly with the update.
Use supported repair paths if system corruption is suspected
- Past issues with BITS state corruption on older Windows versions required a repair tool or update; on current Windows versions, the supported approach for systemic update-related corruption is to perform an in-place repair/reinstall of the current Windows version using official guidance (reinstalling the current version of Windows while keeping files and apps). This has been used in other update-failure scenarios when SFC/DISM did not show problems.
Engage official support channels
- Because this appears to be a new regression tied to a specific cumulative update and affects core servicing components (BITS/networking), it should be escalated through official Microsoft support or the appropriate feedback channel for Windows updates, providing the diagnostics and reproduction steps above. Historical BITS issues in the context were confirmed and tracked by Microsoft in this way.

Until an official fix or updated guidance is available, the only fully supported mitigations indicated by the patterns in the context are:

Uninstalling the problematic cumulative update (as already tested) where acceptable from a security/compliance standpoint, or
Reinstalling/repairing the current Windows version and then re-evaluating behavior with or without the update, under guidance from support.

References:

Answer 2

Jonty Mees 5

I can confirm this is happening on my Windows 11 machine also.

It causes Outlook to stop synching mail with Exchange on-premise and Microsoft 365 mailboxes, as it makes the offline address book download hang (which uses BITS)

Uninstalling KB5083769 and rebooting resolves the issue.

0 comments

Answer 3

Bob 30

I have 4 different (h/w and configuration) Win11 machines, all of which exhibit the exact same symptoms as above, which include.

Outlook Address Book download stalls.
Bitsadmin Powershell commands fail to get a response.
Shutdown is slow
Event log indicates that the BITS service isn't responding to a shutdown (at Shutdown) "The Background Intelligent Transfer Service service did not shut down properly after receiving a pre-shutdown control." Message started directly after KB5083769 install.
BITS Service is shown as running, but won't respond to Stop/Start etc. in Services tab.

Repair install and Clean image on two machines failed to fix (and have "baked in" the issue, since KB5083769 is rolled-up in the latest Microsoft imaging download!).

Uninstall of KB5083769 on one of the remaining (un-reimaged) machines immediately removed all the symptoms.

Something in KB5083769 has "killed" the BITS Service.

Tried to raise with MS Support with protracted diagnosis before escalation to tier 2, with a promise to update me. The Service Request has now been (arbitrarily) closed as "resolved", but with no notification to me at all. I'm going through hoops (so far unsuccessfuly) to get it re-opened or re-recorded.

It is, at least, encouraging to see someone has exactly the same issues!

Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-02T14:23:56.21+00:00

Well, I've now raised 4 successive service requests. two have made it to tier 2 support with full information but subsequently closed, two were closed summarily by tier 1. All four were closed without resolution, and without further contact from Microsoft (other than, for three of them) an email to tell me they had been closed as resolved!

I hope someone else has formally reported the issues, because jumping through hoops to raise another request is getting very wearing. (There is apparently no way of re-opening a given request).

Frankly, the support process sucks!
Mikael S 0 Reputation points

2026-05-03T18:10:48.83+00:00

I had problems for 2 weeks now, can no longer play Call of Duty. Problems seems related to windows updatte a few weeks ago. I updated BIOS, later also reinstalled whole Windows, game only run occasionally one of 10 times or less than that.
Bob 30 Reputation points

2026-05-12T17:54:07.8033333+00:00

Adding my comment to both the original post and mine further below/above.

The fixes delivered this "Patch Tuesday" would appear to have resolved the issues for me. Immediately after applying them and rebooting, Outlook successfully downloads the Address Book, eMails arrive in a timely manner, Powershell Bits commands no longer hang, BITS Service responds to Stop/Start commands.

As an aside, the additional issue of failing Network Discovery also appears to have been resolved.

Fingers crossed ;-)(To clarify, this is on a machine that it was not possible to uninstall KB5083769)

Answer 4

Hart, Edgar 't 5

These steps seemed to have solved the problem so far..

Disable network adapter
Reboot
Cmd.exe as "Administator"
- bitsadmin /RESET /ALLUSERS
- bitsadmin /LIST /ALLUSERS /VERBOSE
Enable network adapter
Reboot

Hart, Edgar 't 5 Reputation points

2026-05-01T17:42:03.0666667+00:00

Or not... sorry
Neelesh Mistry 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T12:39:23.15+00:00

Hello Hart. Thanks for solve my Windows BITS service problem after restarting my pc. I will keep check again if any issues. Thanks for your help.

Answer 5

This is a machine translation by Copilot.

The April 2026 security update introduced several internal changes to Windows.

For example, Microsoft officially confirmed that some backup applications stopped working because the update added new protections to vulnerable kernel drivers:

April 2026 Windows security updates introduce protections to known vulnerable kernel drivers

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/april-2026-windows-security-updates-introduce-protections-to-known-vulnerable-kernel-drivers-1f8aaf7c-d4ac-4e02-be1d-b63c1b1aa9d0

Key points from the article:

After installing Windows updates released on or after April 14, 2026, certain third-party backup applications that rely on the kernel driver psmounterex.sys might experience failures when attempting to mount or manage disk images.

What should I expect going forward? The psmounterex.sys driver will remain on the Microsoft vulnerable driver blocklist. Applications that depend on this driver will continue to experience failures until they are updated to a newer version that includes the required protections. If your backup software relies on this driver, update your backup software. Contact your application vendor if you are unsure whether your version is affected.