- Microsoft has promised to fix Windows 11
- The company will make great efforts to iron out performance issues and fix bugs
- It’s acting based on ‘clear’ feedback from Windows 11 users and testers who aren’t happy with the current bugs in the desktop operating system
Microsoft has finally said that it will work hard to fully fix Windows 11, smooth out performance issues and fix bugs.
The Verge got the scoop here and reports that Windows engineers will focus on fixing the core issues with the desktop operating system. This will happen in a process called ‘swarming’ – which basically refers to bringing a bunch of software engineers together to work together on debugging and fine-tuning.
In short, this means that Microsoft is throwing everything it has at fixing Windows 11, and not before time.
Pavan Davuluri, who leads the Windows and Devices division at Microsoft, told The Verge: “The feedback we’re receiving from our community of passionate customers and Windows Insiders has been clear. We need to improve Windows in ways that are meaningful to people.
“This year, you’ll see us focus on addressing pain points we consistently hear from customers: improving system performance, reliability and the overall experience of Windows.”
Analysis: reputation recovery
Of course, it’s one thing to say this, and another thing to go through with it – and get results. I’m hoping we’ll start noticing differences in Windows 11 sooner rather than later, and the original goal, I’d imagine, is to stem the flow of bugs in the first place.
In this first month of 2026, we’ve witnessed a host of fresh gremlins scurrying around the innards of Windows 11, causing quite a bit of chaos for some users. In fact, some nasty bugs have been apparent, such as the error on startup, and reported hibernation issues with older PCs (and much more besides). A terrible start to a new year, all in all.
If Microsoft can bring Windows 11 back on a more even keel of updates, so that for example they don’t fix some problems while bringing in a bunch of new bugs, that would be a good start to this ‘swarming’ effort to fix Windows 11 and its fundamentals.
Performance tuning will also be key here, and that includes speeding up File Explorer and making it more responsive, as it’s been a long-complained about sluggish aspect of Windows 11.
I write about Windows pretty much daily, and one of the common themes that keeps coming up to me is how Microsoft is losing the trust of Windows 11 users because of all the brokenness, bugs, and sluggish performance.
Davuluri acknowledges this in one of his statements to The Verge, observing that: “Trust is earned over time, and we are committed to building it back with the Windows community.”
Trust is crucial when it comes to one of the other key areas of Windows 11 for Microsoft – AI. If the reputation of Windows 11 continues to suffer blow after blow – due to this error, or to performance failure – again and again the desktop operating system may never recover its status.
And if users have no faith whatsoever that Microsoft is keeping Windows 11 together and in a generally decent working order – how are they supposed to trust the AI agents that Microsoft so desperately wants to make one of the cornerstones of its operating system going forward? They won’t, and Microsoft’s AI plans will be derailed as a result—especially if those agents turn out to be buggy themselves.
AI has of course been a very controversial area for Windows 11. People feel that Microsoft is relentlessly pushing AI as the next big thing, bringing it to every corner of the operating system (more or less) with questionable benefits, and also at the cost of ignoring the basics and everything wrong with Windows 11.
This is Microsoft signaling that this is no longer the case. I just hope it turns out to be more than just signaling, and 2026 really turns out to be the year Microsoft turns Windows 11 quality assurance around – which will require a long-term strategy beyond “swarming” it should be noted – while beating back the performance demons lurking in certain parts of the OS.
I’ve already said that I think this year will be make-or-break for Windows 11, and it seems that Microsoft now realizes the gravity of this situation. The supporters of Linux in its various flavors certainly do, and they are waiting to exploit any further bugs.
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