Microsoft warns of problems with provisioning packages in Windows 11 2022 Update

The problems with Windows 11 2022 Update keep on popping up, and now Microsoft has issued a warning that "provisioning packages might not work as expected".

What this means in practice is that the Windows 11 OOBE (Out of Box Experience) may not complete, or it might cause unexpected restarts. Microsoft warns that the likes of businesses and schools are most likely to be affected by the issues.

See also:

• Microsoft updates its mitigation advice for Exchange Server zero-day vulnerabilities
• Windows 11 2022 Update is causing Remote Desktop problems
• Microsoft makes Windows 11 2022 Update available to more people

It is only a couple of weeks since Microsoft started the rollout of Windows 11 2022 Update (or Windows 11 22H2 -- the company is happy to use both names), but problems have been appearing thick and fast. There have been issues for NVIDIA users (this was later fixed), a safeguard block because of blue screen issues, another block because of printer problems and, most recently, Remote Desktop problems.

Writing about the latest issue in a message on the release health page for Windows 11, Microsoft says:

Using provisioning packages on Windows 11, version 22H2 (also called Windows 11 2022 Update) might not work as expected. Windows might only be partially configured, and the Out Of Box Experience might not finish or might restart unexpectedly. Provisioning packages are .PPKG files which are used to help configure new devices for use on business or school networks. Provisioning packages which are applied during initial setup are most likely to be impacted by this issue. For more information on provisioning packages, please see Provisioning packages for Windows. Note: Provisioning Windows devices using Windows Autopilot is not affected by this issue.

While the problems are far from ideal, there is some good news for some people. Microsoft points out: "Windows devices used by consumers in their home or small offices are not likely to be affected by this issue".

The work around is a fairly obvious one, as the company explains:

If you can provision the Windows device before upgrading to Windows 11, version 22H2, this will prevent the issue.

Microsoft says that it is working on a fix which will be provided in a future update.

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