14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently confirmed a new bug in the majority of Windows 10 versions, explaining that devices connected through a Thunderbolt Dock could just stop working.
The company says that it all happens when the computer resumes from the Soft Off (S5) power state if Windows 10 version 1909 through 1709 is installed with Fast Startup enabled.
Microsoft claims that the bug only occurs when devices like keyboards, mice, and USB encryption keys are connected to a Thunderbolt Dock, adding that this only happens when the following steps are repeated:
| You connect the Thunderbolt Dock to the computer. Devices on the Thunderbolt Dock are enumerated. |
| You press the power button to put the system into a Soft Off (S5) power state. After the screen turns off, you remove the Thunderbolt Dock. |
| You wait for the S5 process to finish, plug in the Thunderbolt Dock, and then wait five seconds for the Thunderbolt Dock to become idle. |
| You power on the computer. Then, you check whether the mouse, keyboard, and USB key are functional. |
Small failure rate
There’s just a 5% failure rate for the devices attached to Thunderbolt Dock, and these could stop working even if they appear to be working correctly, with no issue whatsoever indicated in Device Manager.
Unfortunately, there’s no workaround other than restarting the device. Reconnecting the aforementioned accessories to the Thunderbolt Dock doesn’t make any difference, Microsoft says, so you need to save all your work and reboot the device.
There’s no word on a patch, for the time being, but Microsoft is most likely working on the full fix already, so expect it to land in a future cumulative update for the operating system. New cumulative updates for all Windows 10 versions are projected to land on December 12 on next month’s Patch Tuesday cycle.