KB5040525 addresses many of Windows 10's most frustrating bugs

The most recent non-security update for Windows 10, called KB5040525 (build number 19045.4717), brings a host of fixes for various known problems, such as ones tied to Universal Print, Windows Backup, Group Policy, and more.

This update mainly concentrates on non-security fixes for your Windows operating system. One specific problem it addresses is related to MSIX applications. If you attempted to install such an application from an HTTPS URI link and found that it does not open, the probable reason would be an incomplete download, which has caused damage to the package.

The refresh also improves mobile device management (MDM) because the MDM client can now transmit additional information about the device, making it easier to recognize what model and who made this particular one.

Have you ever seen triangles or boxes quickly appear on your screen? This update also fixes this problem, which impacts browsers such as Microsoft Edge and other applications because of an issue with Direct Composition batched presentations. Moreover, the update ensures that Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles are current for people who use specific mobile operators.

There are fixes for more severe issues, such as one that might prevent your system from resuming hibernating after you turn on BitLocker. Another fix deals with a problem in Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC), where unsigned WDAC policies were copied to the EFI disk partition, which is only reserved for signed policies. And, if you have ever tried removing items from a folder context menu only to find out that new items were added instead, this update has a fix for it, too – it corrects the behavior when a third-party service implements a sync feature.

However, no update is perfect. A bug might prevent you from changing your user account profile picture, giving an error message with code 0x80070520. However, Microsoft knows about this and says it will fix it in the next version of Windows 11.

For people who appreciate organized registry keys, this release contains an unlisted fix that ensures the browser follows its value in the “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main” registry key.

Receiving this update is simple. Go to Settings > Windows Update, press “Check for updates,” and download KB5040525. Alternatively, you can manually obtain it from the Microsoft Update Catalog by selecting KB5040525 as a manual install package.

You can check out KB5040525’s full changelog here.