
Microsoft has confirmed that USB audio devices may fail on some Windows systems after installing the KB5124008and KB5124012 September 2026 security updates.
This known issue affects only devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or later, and is limited to USB Audio Class 1.0 devices.
"After installing the September 8, 2026, Windows security update [..], some USB Audio Class 1.0 devices might fail to start or produce audio," Microsoft said in a Friday update to the release health dashboard.
Affected users reported seeing "This device cannot start (Code 10)." errors in Device Manager, no audio output, and unresponsive volume controls and sound settings.
Others said the impacted USB audio speakers fail only when using multichannel audio features, including 3D audio or 8-channel modes.