New Windows 11 Bug Prevents Snipping Tool and Built-In Apps From Opening

A new bug has appeared for Windows 11 that prevents Microsoft's built-in applications like the Snipping tool, touch keyboard, and method editor from opening entirely. As reported by Microsoft, the issue surrounds an outdated digital certificate in Windows 11 that expired on October 31st.

All the following apps are affected by this bug:

  • Snipping Tool
  • Accounts page and landing page in the Settings app (S mode only)
  • Touch Keyboard, Voice Typing, and Emoji Panel
  • Input Method Editor user interface (IME UI)
  • Getting started and Tips

Microsoft already has a few workarounds in place that will hopefully mitigate the issues until a real fix comes around. For problems related to the Snipping Tool, The company recommends using the Print Screen key as a temporary replacement.

For issues pertaining to the touch keyboard, voice typing, emoji panel, input method editor, and tips applications, it is recommended to install the KB5006746 Windows Update.

However, this update has been available for 2 weeks already, so if you are on Windows 11, there's a very high chance you already have this Windows Update, especially if you are running a Ryzen processor since this update fixes an L3 cache problem with those CPUs.

For problems relating to S mode, there are no workarounds at the moment.

We expect the next Windows 11 cumulative update will fix all of these problems permanently since the solution is to simply update the outdated digital certificate. We don't know exactly when the next update will arrive, but we should be getting one on Tuesday in a week or two.

TOPICS
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

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  • Colif
    oh no, Getting started... what am I to do without that app?

    I kept using paint for screengrabs with 11, I had heard it was being removed but no, they updated its UI instead.
    Reply
  • alceryes
    Certificate expiration stopping apps from working?!? Really Microsoft?!?
    This is literally something where you know the exact time and date of expiration when the initial certificate is created!
    Reply