I’ve been testing a lot of $500 to $600 laptops recently from companies like Acer, Lenovo, and HP, many of which take a more conventional Windows approach to rivaling the MacBook Neo by offering better specs at lower prices. They all have 16 GB of RAM and use more powerful chips, too. But none challenge the MacBook Neo in display quality and chassis materials. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for something like the HP OmniBook 3, but it doesn’t play for the same audience as the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.
The Wrong Direction
Inevitably there would be a company that thinks it can ride on the success of the MacBook Neo without understanding what makes it tick. Last week, Microsoft announced two versions of its Surface Laptop for Business PCs: a higher-end 13.8-inch model and a cheaper 13-inch device. The 13.8-inch model is a more standard refresh, implementing Intel’s new Core Ultra X7 368H Panther Lake chip—and most notably, it still starts with 16 GB of RAM.
The smaller 13-inch model is where things get problematic. Despite its starting price of $1,200, that configuration only comes with 8 GB of RAM. Don’t get too caught up in the price, since business PCs always come with an up charge. The starting RAM is the eyebrow-raising spec. Unlike the new Dell XPS 13, Microsoft isn’t tricking this out with a thinner chassis and an upgraded screen—it’s just giving you less computing power and calling it good.
And to be fair, this “optional” 8 GB model is coming later this year, separate from the 16 GB and 24 GB versions. But it’s hard to imagine Microsoft being willing to sell an 8 GB laptop in 2026 if Apple hadn’t paved the way. While there’s no 2025 Surface Laptop 13 for Business for direct comparison, the consumer version of the Surface Laptop 13 started with 16 GB of RAM. This feels like a straight generational downgrade.
I’ve been testing a lot of $500 to $600 laptops recently from companies like Acer, Lenovo, and HP, many of which take a more conventional Windows approach to rivaling the MacBook Neo by offering better specs at lower prices. They all have 16 GB of RAM and use more powerful chips, too. But none challenge the MacBook Neo in display quality and chassis materials. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for something like the HP OmniBook 3, but it doesn’t play for the same audience as the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.
The Wrong Direction
Inevitably there would be a company that thinks it can ride on the success of the MacBook Neo without understanding what makes it tick. Last week, Microsoft announced two versions of its Surface Laptop for Business PCs: a higher-end 13.8-inch model and a cheaper 13-inch device. The 13.8-inch model is a more standard refresh, implementing Intel’s new Core Ultra X7 368H Panther Lake chip—and most notably, it still starts with 16 GB of RAM.
The smaller 13-inch model is where things get problematic. Despite its starting price of $1,200, that configuration only comes with 8 GB of RAM. Don’t get too caught up in the price, since business PCs always come with an up charge. The starting RAM is the eyebrow-raising spec. Unlike the new Dell XPS 13, Microsoft isn’t tricking this out with a thinner chassis and an upgraded screen—it’s just giving you less computing power and calling it good.
And to be fair, this “optional” 8 GB model is coming later this year, separate from the 16 GB and 24 GB versions. But it’s hard to imagine Microsoft being willing to sell an 8 GB laptop in 2026 if Apple hadn’t paved the way. While there’s no 2025 Surface Laptop 13 for Business for direct comparison, the consumer version of the Surface Laptop 13 started with 16 GB of RAM. This feels like a straight generational downgrade.
Microsoft Surface Laptop for Business, 13-inch.
#Targets #Set #MacBook #Neolaptop,laptops,shopping,microsoft,apple,mac,windows,surface,computers,pcs">Everyone Has Their Targets Set on the MacBook Neo
Yet it’s only $699 (or $599 for students). The XPS 13 makes similar trade-offs as the MacBook Neo. First, it starts with only 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It also starts with a slower Intel Core 5 processor (note: not Intel Core Ultra). I’ll be interested to find how the performance and battery life stack up against the MacBook Neo, but Dell is clearly taking notes from Apple, which used a slower iPhone chip in the Neo instead of an M-series laptop-grade processor.
What’s nice about the Dell XPS 13, though, is that you can scale it up appropriately. The MacBook Neo is capped in both storage and memory, but the XPS 13 can be configured up to 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.
I’ve been testing a lot of $500 to $600 laptops recently from companies like Acer, Lenovo, and HP, many of which take a more conventional Windows approach to rivaling the MacBook Neo by offering better specs at lower prices. They all have 16 GB of RAM and use more powerful chips, too. But none challenge the MacBook Neo in display quality and chassis materials. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for something like the HP OmniBook 3, but it doesn’t play for the same audience as the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.
The Wrong Direction
Inevitably there would be a company that thinks it can ride on the success of the MacBook Neo without understanding what makes it tick. Last week, Microsoft announced two versions of its Surface Laptop for Business PCs: a higher-end 13.8-inch model and a cheaper 13-inch device. The 13.8-inch model is a more standard refresh, implementing Intel’s new Core Ultra X7 368H Panther Lake chip—and most notably, it still starts with 16 GB of RAM.
The smaller 13-inch model is where things get problematic. Despite its starting price of $1,200, that configuration only comes with 8 GB of RAM. Don’t get too caught up in the price, since business PCs always come with an up charge. The starting RAM is the eyebrow-raising spec. Unlike the new Dell XPS 13, Microsoft isn’t tricking this out with a thinner chassis and an upgraded screen—it’s just giving you less computing power and calling it good.
And to be fair, this “optional” 8 GB model is coming later this year, separate from the 16 GB and 24 GB versions. But it’s hard to imagine Microsoft being willing to sell an 8 GB laptop in 2026 if Apple hadn’t paved the way. While there’s no 2025 Surface Laptop 13 for Business for direct comparison, the consumer version of the Surface Laptop 13 started with 16 GB of RAM. This feels like a straight generational downgrade.
All three posts include coordinates pointing to where Computex is hosted in Taipei. Nvidia is holding a Computex keynote in Taipei at 8PM PT / 11PM ET on Sunday night, where it’s rumored to be announcing its new N1 and N1x laptop chips.
These Arm-powered Nvidia processors have been long-rumored, with reports earlier this year suggesting that both Lenovo and Dell have been preparing new laptops with the N1X chips. We first heard rumors about Nvidia’s laptop processors in 2023, and Dell CEO Michael Dell hinted at the possibility of an AI PC with Nvidia during an interview in 2024.
Nvidia’s entry into Windows on Arm will mean Qualcomm will no longer have an exclusive license for Microsoft’s Windows 11 Arm variant of its operating system. That’s good news for laptop competition, even if Qualcomm is trying to keep entry-level laptops affordable with its new Snapdragon C platform.
All three posts include coordinates pointing to where Computex is hosted in Taipei. Nvidia is holding a Computex keynote in Taipei at 8PM PT / 11PM ET on Sunday night, where it’s rumored to be announcing its new N1 and N1x laptop chips.
These Arm-powered Nvidia processors have been long-rumored, with reports earlier this year suggesting that both Lenovo and Dell have been preparing new laptops with the N1X chips. We first heard rumors about Nvidia’s laptop processors in 2023, and Dell CEO Michael Dell hinted at the possibility of an AI PC with Nvidia during an interview in 2024.
Nvidia’s entry into Windows on Arm will mean Qualcomm will no longer have an exclusive license for Microsoft’s Windows 11 Arm variant of its operating system. That’s good news for laptop competition, even if Qualcomm is trying to keep entry-level laptops affordable with its new Snapdragon C platform.
#Nvidia #Microsoft #Arm #teasing #Nvidias #N1X #laptop #processorsComputex,Gadgets,Laptops,Microsoft,News,Nvidia,Tech,Windows">Nvidia, Microsoft, and Arm are all teasing Nvidia’s new N1X laptop processors
It’s the world’s worst kept secret that Nvidia is about to announce its own Arm-powered laptop chips at Computex this weekend, and now Microsoft, Nvidia, and Arm are all openly teasing the announcement. The Windows and Nvidia GeForce accounts on X both posted “A new era of PC” earlier today, and now Arm has followed up with an identical post.
All three posts include coordinates pointing to where Computex is hosted in Taipei. Nvidia is holding a Computex keynote in Taipei at 8PM PT / 11PM ET on Sunday night, where it’s rumored to be announcing its new N1 and N1x laptop chips.
These Arm-powered Nvidia processors have been long-rumored, with reports earlier this year suggesting that both Lenovo and Dell have been preparing new laptops with the N1X chips. We first heard rumors about Nvidia’s laptop processors in 2023, and Dell CEO Michael Dell hinted at the possibility of an AI PC with Nvidia during an interview in 2024.
Nvidia’s entry into Windows on Arm will mean Qualcomm will no longer have an exclusive license for Microsoft’s Windows 11 Arm variant of its operating system. That’s good news for laptop competition, even if Qualcomm is trying to keep entry-level laptops affordable with its new Snapdragon C platform.
It’s the world’s worst kept secret that Nvidia is about to announce its own Arm-powered…
The performance boost on Geekbench is particularly striking, with the A16 scoring 50 to 100 percent faster than competing systems from AMD and Intel. It’s even faster than the Apple MacBook M4 Pro, the last Mac for which I have comparable benchmark scores. However, that Mac did beat the Asus on the Cinebench benchmark, but not by much, and the Asus now stands solidly in second place in my testing archive.
Graphics performance is much better than in previous generations of Snapdragon X chips, with frame rates quadrupling on average, depending on the test. That’s a dramatic and much-needed improvement for the CPU, and while no one will accuse the A16 of being a gaming rig, it does at least make for a workable experience with less taxing games and graphics-heavy workloads.
Beige Belies Performance
Photograph: Chris Null
I’m happy enough with how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme performs to sign off on its performance claims, but there’s a lot more to the Zenbook A16 than its CPU.
Under the hood, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E94100 CPU is complemented by 48 GB of RAM and a 1-TB SSD. The 16-inch touchscreen offers a solid resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, and it’s incredibly bright. A weight of 2.9 pounds is impressive (if not unheard of) for the 16-inch category, and at 0.65 inches (at its thickest), it has a svelte, quite portable carrying experience. Asus’s Ceraluminum technology (now with added magnesium) is used in the machine’s lid, base, and keyboard frame. That helps keep it thin and light, though when adjusted or touched, the screen shimmied more than I expected.
The performance boost on Geekbench is particularly striking, with the A16 scoring 50 to 100 percent faster than competing systems from AMD and Intel. It’s even faster than the Apple MacBook M4 Pro, the last Mac for which I have comparable benchmark scores. However, that Mac did beat the Asus on the Cinebench benchmark, but not by much, and the Asus now stands solidly in second place in my testing archive.
Graphics performance is much better than in previous generations of Snapdragon X chips, with frame rates quadrupling on average, depending on the test. That’s a dramatic and much-needed improvement for the CPU, and while no one will accuse the A16 of being a gaming rig, it does at least make for a workable experience with less taxing games and graphics-heavy workloads.
Beige Belies Performance
Photograph: Chris Null
I’m happy enough with how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme performs to sign off on its performance claims, but there’s a lot more to the Zenbook A16 than its CPU.
Under the hood, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E94100 CPU is complemented by 48 GB of RAM and a 1-TB SSD. The 16-inch touchscreen offers a solid resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, and it’s incredibly bright. A weight of 2.9 pounds is impressive (if not unheard of) for the 16-inch category, and at 0.65 inches (at its thickest), it has a svelte, quite portable carrying experience. Asus’s Ceraluminum technology (now with added magnesium) is used in the machine’s lid, base, and keyboard frame. That helps keep it thin and light, though when adjusted or touched, the screen shimmied more than I expected.
#Asus #Zenbook #Delivers #Great #Performance #Mediocre #Laptopasus,laptops,shopping,reviews,review,computers,qualcomm,windows">The Asus Zenbook 16 Delivers Great Performance in an Otherwise Mediocre Laptop
So, what’s not to like? Well, early compatibility problems slowed the initial uptake of Snapdragon X, and the CPU’s integrated graphics performance turned out to be pretty terrible. And to date, powerful onboard AI features just haven’t proven important, as most AI workloads are still being done in the cloud. With the second-generation X2, Qualcomm set out to deliver on the original promise of faster performance.
But what exactly does “faster” mean? As with most claims in the PC computing space, it’s all about the benchmarks. On the Zenbook A16, the tests I ran indeed showcased exemplary performance from the X2 Elite Extreme, in some of the most widely used benchmarking tools, namely Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. (I don’t have enough competitive Cinebench 2026 results to make wide comparisons yet on that benchmark.)
The performance boost on Geekbench is particularly striking, with the A16 scoring 50 to 100 percent faster than competing systems from AMD and Intel. It’s even faster than the Apple MacBook M4 Pro, the last Mac for which I have comparable benchmark scores. However, that Mac did beat the Asus on the Cinebench benchmark, but not by much, and the Asus now stands solidly in second place in my testing archive.
Graphics performance is much better than in previous generations of Snapdragon X chips, with frame rates quadrupling on average, depending on the test. That’s a dramatic and much-needed improvement for the CPU, and while no one will accuse the A16 of being a gaming rig, it does at least make for a workable experience with less taxing games and graphics-heavy workloads.
Beige Belies Performance
Photograph: Chris Null
I’m happy enough with how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme performs to sign off on its performance claims, but there’s a lot more to the Zenbook A16 than its CPU.
Under the hood, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E94100 CPU is complemented by 48 GB of RAM and a 1-TB SSD. The 16-inch touchscreen offers a solid resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, and it’s incredibly bright. A weight of 2.9 pounds is impressive (if not unheard of) for the 16-inch category, and at 0.65 inches (at its thickest), it has a svelte, quite portable carrying experience. Asus’s Ceraluminum technology (now with added magnesium) is used in the machine’s lid, base, and keyboard frame. That helps keep it thin and light, though when adjusted or touched, the screen shimmied more than I expected.
Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you to quickly run commands, open websites, search files, and more. Windows 11 Insiders can enable the new Run menu by going to Settings > System > Advanced and turning the option on. An early version of the redesigned Run menu started appearing in preview builds last year.
“We’ve collaborated tightly with partners across the platform to get these UI surfaces loading snappy,” Microsoft’s blog post says. “Improvements we’ve made to the platform don’t just make Run fast, but they help make the whole OS more efficient.”
Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you to quickly run commands, open websites, search files, and more. Windows 11 Insiders can enable the new Run menu by going to Settings > System > Advanced and turning the option on. An early version of the redesigned Run menu started appearing in preview builds last year.
“We’ve collaborated tightly with partners across the platform to get these UI surfaces loading snappy,” Microsoft’s blog post says. “Improvements we’ve made to the platform don’t just make Run fast, but they help make the whole OS more efficient.”
#Microsoft #tests #redesigned #Windows #Run #menu #dark #modeMicrosoft,News,Tech,Windows">Microsoft tests redesigned Windows 11 Run menu with dark mode and more
In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft says it decided to drop the Run menu’s “Browse” button — a shortcut to user files — after finding “very low usage.” Instead, Microsoft added support for a new “~\” command, which leads to your user directory.
Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you to quickly run commands, open websites, search files, and more. Windows 11 Insiders can enable the new Run menu by going to Settings > System > Advanced and turning the option on. An early version of the redesigned Run menu started appearing in preview builds last year.
“We’ve collaborated tightly with partners across the platform to get these UI surfaces loading snappy,” Microsoft’s blog post says. “Improvements we’ve made to the platform don’t just make Run fast, but they help make the whole OS more efficient.”
Last month, Microsoft announced a slew of upcoming changes to improve Windows 11 and address some of users’ most common complaints about the platform. Chief among the company’s planned fixes was making updates less disruptive. In its blog post on Friday, Microsoft says you’ll be able to “extend the pause end date as many times as you need” and that there are “no limits” on how many times you can reset to another 35-day window. If you don’t re-pause updates at the end of the 35-day period, updates will run as usual.
The changes to Windows Update also include more detailed titles for driver updates, which will now include the device class they apply to, such as display, audio, or battery.
Additionally, Windows 11 will now always have options in the power menu to restart or shut down without running updates, as well as the option to skip updates when setting up a new Windows device. Microsoft is also “unifying the update experience” to bunch together updates so users don’t have to reboot as frequently. Instead, “updates will download in the background, then will wait for a coordinated installation and restart.”
Last month, Microsoft announced a slew of upcoming changes to improve Windows 11 and address some of users’ most common complaints about the platform. Chief among the company’s planned fixes was making updates less disruptive. In its blog post on Friday, Microsoft says you’ll be able to “extend the pause end date as many times as you need” and that there are “no limits” on how many times you can reset to another 35-day window. If you don’t re-pause updates at the end of the 35-day period, updates will run as usual.
The changes to Windows Update also include more detailed titles for driver updates, which will now include the device class they apply to, such as display, audio, or battery.
Additionally, Windows 11 will now always have options in the power menu to restart or shut down without running updates, as well as the option to skip updates when setting up a new Windows device. Microsoft is also “unifying the update experience” to bunch together updates so users don’t have to reboot as frequently. Instead, “updates will download in the background, then will wait for a coordinated installation and restart.”
#Microsoft #pause #Windows #Updates #indefinitely #days #timeMicrosoft,News,Tech,Windows">Microsoft will let you pause Windows Updates indefinitely, 35 days at a time
Windows users will no longer be forced to run automatic updates in the middle of a game or a busy day. Microsoft is rolling out some long-awaited changes to Windows Update to users on its Dev and Experimental Windows Insider channels, including the ability to indefinitely delay updates up to 35 days at a time.
Last month, Microsoft announced a slew of upcoming changes to improve Windows 11 and address some of users’ most common complaints about the platform. Chief among the company’s planned fixes was making updates less disruptive. In its blog post on Friday, Microsoft says you’ll be able to “extend the pause end date as many times as you need” and that there are “no limits” on how many times you can reset to another 35-day window. If you don’t re-pause updates at the end of the 35-day period, updates will run as usual.
The changes to Windows Update also include more detailed titles for driver updates, which will now include the device class they apply to, such as display, audio, or battery.
Additionally, Windows 11 will now always have options in the power menu to restart or shut down without running updates, as well as the option to skip updates when setting up a new Windows device. Microsoft is also “unifying the update experience” to bunch together updates so users don’t have to reboot as frequently. Instead, “updates will download in the background, then will wait for a coordinated installation and restart.”
It’s the second such incident of a high-profile and widely used open source project being shut out from its customers due to a seemingly abrupt account termination from Microsoft, with popular encryption software VeraCrypt facing a similar circumstance. Both developers said Microsoft locked them out of their accounts without first alerting them.
In the case of VeraCrypt, which is used by hundreds of thousands of users to encrypt files and operating systems, its developer Mounir Idrassi told TechCrunch that being locked out of his account means he is unable to update the software in time for a crucial certificate authority expiry, which he said may prevent some users from booting up.
Donenfeld, the WireGuard developer, told TechCrunch in an email: “If there were a critical vulnerability to fix right now — there isn’t! I just mean hypothetically — then users would be totally exposed.”
WireGuard is an open source VPN software used around the world to connect devices over the internet. WireGuard’s code is highly popular for its simplicity and security, as it serves as the foundation of many VPN implementations and commercial services that rely on its code, like Proton and Tailscale.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch in an email that he has spent the past few weeks modernizing WireGuard’s Windows code and was ready to send a copy update to Microsoft for checks before it can ship out to users, but was met with an “access restricted” error when logging into the developer portion of his Microsoft account.
Despite going through the process to verify his driver’s license or passport with Microsoft (the third party Microsoft uses for verification said he was “verified”), Donenfeld said his access was still suspended.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch that he found a page on Microsoft’s website saying that the company had been carrying out “mandatory account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who have not completed account verification since April 2024,” but that the verification program had since closed.
Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Program allows developers like Donenfeld and VeraCrypt’s Idrassi to “deploy hardware and device drivers for Windows PCs and other devices.” The ability to develop and release drivers for Windows users is restricted to known and vetted developers, as drivers can grant vast access to an operating system and its data and are known to be abused by hackers for that reason.
That account verification process meant that developers were required to upload their government-issued ID before they were allowed to publish potentially highly sensitive code to the broader Windows user base.
“Microsoft never sent me any notification at all about this. I’ve looked in every inbox in every spam folder in every mail log, and zero, nothing, zilch,” Donenfeld said.
The Windows Hardware Program’s verification program has “now concluded” and developers who have not uploaded their documents had their accounts “suspended,” the page reads, meaning that these accounts can no longer send updates.
Donenfeld said that he was referred to Microsoft’s executive support team, which handles customer service and account requests for high-profile individuals, which confirmed his appeal had been received but that they had to wait as long as 60 days for review.
By late Wednesday, there was a glimmer of hope in Donenfeld’s case. He told TechCrunch that he was finally in contact with Microsoft and that hopefully the issue would be resolved soon.
Microsoft did not immediately comment when reached by TechCrunch.
Donenfeld and Idrassi are not alone, with the account lockout issues affecting others as well.
Windscribe, a maker of VPN and other consumer privacy tools, said in a post on X that it had also been locked out of its Partner Center account. The company said it had a verified account for over eight years in order to sign its drivers.
“We’ve been trying to resolve this for over a month, and getting nowhere. Support is non-existent,” Windscribe said in its post. “Anyone know a human with a brain that still works at Microsoft and can help?”
It’s the second such incident of a high-profile and widely used open source project being shut out from its customers due to a seemingly abrupt account termination from Microsoft, with popular encryption software VeraCrypt facing a similar circumstance. Both developers said Microsoft locked them out of their accounts without first alerting them.
In the case of VeraCrypt, which is used by hundreds of thousands of users to encrypt files and operating systems, its developer Mounir Idrassi told TechCrunch that being locked out of his account means he is unable to update the software in time for a crucial certificate authority expiry, which he said may prevent some users from booting up.
Donenfeld, the WireGuard developer, told TechCrunch in an email: “If there were a critical vulnerability to fix right now — there isn’t! I just mean hypothetically — then users would be totally exposed.”
WireGuard is an open source VPN software used around the world to connect devices over the internet. WireGuard’s code is highly popular for its simplicity and security, as it serves as the foundation of many VPN implementations and commercial services that rely on its code, like Proton and Tailscale.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch in an email that he has spent the past few weeks modernizing WireGuard’s Windows code and was ready to send a copy update to Microsoft for checks before it can ship out to users, but was met with an “access restricted” error when logging into the developer portion of his Microsoft account.
Despite going through the process to verify his driver’s license or passport with Microsoft (the third party Microsoft uses for verification said he was “verified”), Donenfeld said his access was still suspended.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch that he found a page on Microsoft’s website saying that the company had been carrying out “mandatory account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who have not completed account verification since April 2024,” but that the verification program had since closed.
Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Program allows developers like Donenfeld and VeraCrypt’s Idrassi to “deploy hardware and device drivers for Windows PCs and other devices.” The ability to develop and release drivers for Windows users is restricted to known and vetted developers, as drivers can grant vast access to an operating system and its data and are known to be abused by hackers for that reason.
That account verification process meant that developers were required to upload their government-issued ID before they were allowed to publish potentially highly sensitive code to the broader Windows user base.
“Microsoft never sent me any notification at all about this. I’ve looked in every inbox in every spam folder in every mail log, and zero, nothing, zilch,” Donenfeld said.
The Windows Hardware Program’s verification program has “now concluded” and developers who have not uploaded their documents had their accounts “suspended,” the page reads, meaning that these accounts can no longer send updates.
Donenfeld said that he was referred to Microsoft’s executive support team, which handles customer service and account requests for high-profile individuals, which confirmed his appeal had been received but that they had to wait as long as 60 days for review.
By late Wednesday, there was a glimmer of hope in Donenfeld’s case. He told TechCrunch that he was finally in contact with Microsoft and that hopefully the issue would be resolved soon.
Microsoft did not immediately comment when reached by TechCrunch.
Donenfeld and Idrassi are not alone, with the account lockout issues affecting others as well.
Windscribe, a maker of VPN and other consumer privacy tools, said in a post on X that it had also been locked out of its Partner Center account. The company said it had a verified account for over eight years in order to sign its drivers.
“We’ve been trying to resolve this for over a month, and getting nowhere. Support is non-existent,” Windscribe said in its post. “Anyone know a human with a brain that still works at Microsoft and can help?”
WireGuard, the major software project and VPN that underpins popular security software including Mullvad and others, has found itself locked out of a key part of its Microsoft developer’s account and unable to ship software updates to Windows users.
Jason Donenfeld, the creator of the open source WireGuard VPN software, told TechCrunch that he has been locked out of his Microsoft developer account, and as a result cannot sign drivers or ship updates for WireGuard for Windows users, which are critical for its software to run. Donenfeld said in a post on X on Wednesday that the account termination stopped a WireGuard update from shipping.
It’s the second such incident of a high-profile and widely used open source project being shut out from its customers due to a seemingly abrupt account termination from Microsoft, with popular encryption software VeraCrypt facing a similar circumstance. Both developers said Microsoft locked them out of their accounts without first alerting them.
In the case of VeraCrypt, which is used by hundreds of thousands of users to encrypt files and operating systems, its developer Mounir Idrassi told TechCrunch that being locked out of his account means he is unable to update the software in time for a crucial certificate authority expiry, which he said may prevent some users from booting up.
Donenfeld, the WireGuard developer, told TechCrunch in an email: “If there were a critical vulnerability to fix right now — there isn’t! I just mean hypothetically — then users would be totally exposed.”
WireGuard is an open source VPN software used around the world to connect devices over the internet. WireGuard’s code is highly popular for its simplicity and security, as it serves as the foundation of many VPN implementations and commercial services that rely on its code, like Proton and Tailscale.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch in an email that he has spent the past few weeks modernizing WireGuard’s Windows code and was ready to send a copy update to Microsoft for checks before it can ship out to users, but was met with an “access restricted” error when logging into the developer portion of his Microsoft account.
Despite going through the process to verify his driver’s license or passport with Microsoft (the third party Microsoft uses for verification said he was “verified”), Donenfeld said his access was still suspended.
Donenfeld told TechCrunch that he found a page on Microsoft’s website saying that the company had been carrying out “mandatory account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who have not completed account verification since April 2024,” but that the verification program had since closed.
Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Program allows developers like Donenfeld and VeraCrypt’s Idrassi to “deploy hardware and device drivers for Windows PCs and other devices.” The ability to develop and release drivers for Windows users is restricted to known and vetted developers, as drivers can grant vast access to an operating system and its data and are known to be abused by hackers for that reason.
That account verification process meant that developers were required to upload their government-issued ID before they were allowed to publish potentially highly sensitive code to the broader Windows user base.
“Microsoft never sent me any notification at all about this. I’ve looked in every inbox in every spam folder in every mail log, and zero, nothing, zilch,” Donenfeld said.
The Windows Hardware Program’s verification program has “now concluded” and developers who have not uploaded their documents had their accounts “suspended,” the page reads, meaning that these accounts can no longer send updates.
Donenfeld said that he was referred to Microsoft’s executive support team, which handles customer service and account requests for high-profile individuals, which confirmed his appeal had been received but that they had to wait as long as 60 days for review.
By late Wednesday, there was a glimmer of hope in Donenfeld’s case. He told TechCrunch that he was finally in contact with Microsoft and that hopefully the issue would be resolved soon.
Microsoft did not immediately comment when reached by TechCrunch.
Donenfeld and Idrassi are not alone, with the account lockout issues affecting others as well.
Windscribe, a maker of VPN and other consumer privacy tools, said in a post on X that it had also been locked out of its Partner Center account. The company said it had a verified account for over eight years in order to sign its drivers.
“We’ve been trying to resolve this for over a month, and getting nowhere. Support is non-existent,” Windscribe said in its post. “Anyone know a human with a brain that still works at Microsoft and can help?”
.jpg?ssl=1 "Lenovo’s Latest Wacky Concepts Include a Laptop With a Built-In Portable Monitor")