Microsoft Explains Why GIFs Stopped Working in Windows 11

GIFs in the Windows 11 emoji panel recently stopped working for some users, but Microsoft says the problem was not caused by a Windows bug.

The company clarified that the issue came from a third-party service dependency. Windows 11 previously relied on Tenor, Google’s GIF service, to show animated GIFs inside the emoji panel.

Tenor API Shutdown Broke GIFs in Windows 11

Tenor recently retired the API used by Windows 11. After that change, the emoji panel started showing a “service is not available” error when users tried to access GIFs.

This made the issue look like a Windows problem, especially because it appeared inside a built-in Windows 11 feature. However, Microsoft says the backend service used to provide GIFs was no longer available.

Microsoft Moves Windows 11 GIFs To GIPHY

Microsoft has already released a fix for the broken GIF experience. Windows 11 now uses GIPHY as the new GIF provider instead of Tenor.

The change was included in the KB5095093 update, which Microsoft released on June 23, 2026.

After installing the update, users should once again see GIFs in the Windows 11 emoji panel. The GIF results now come from GIPHY rather than Tenor.

How To Fix The Windows 11 GIF Error

Users who still see the “service is not available” message need to install the latest Windows 11 C-release update from Windows Update.

Once the update has been installed, the GIF panel should start showing GIPHY results.

Windows 11 Versions Affected

The issue affects Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1.

Microsoft says most Windows 11 users could eventually run into the problem if they do not install the latest updates. That is because the old Tenor API dependency no longer works, meaning older builds cannot continue using the previous GIF backend.

This is not a security issue, but it does affect a visible part of the Windows 11 user experience.

More Windows 11 Changes Are Coming

The GIF fix comes as Microsoft continues to push users toward newer Windows 11 releases.

In other Windows news, Microsoft has warned users to upgrade from Windows 11 version 24H2 as its support window draws closer to the end. The company has also recently explained what caused a decades-old lock file error in Windows.

For now, users affected by the broken emoji panel GIFs should install the latest Windows 11 update to restore the feature.

Via Neowin