How Microsoft has already made three major mistakes in 2026
Microsoft’s troubled start to 2026 includes the controversial renaming of Microsoft 365 to Microsoft 365 Copilot, security vulnerabilities in Copilot, and a Windows 11 update that disrupted popular apps like Notepad, highlighting significant stability and security issues. Picture: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
Image: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
It’s no secret that Microsoft has made a terrible start to 2026, with three major missteps in January alone.
First, it was the renaming of Microsoft 365 to a rather unoriginal Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Next, major problems were discovered with Copilot (Microsoft’s AI assistant), and then the latest Windows 11 update broke the widely used Notepad app.
With Microsoft 365 Copilot, the tech giant said the name was changed because of its integration with Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot: A Name Change Amidst Security Concerns and System Instability
It’s not the first time Microsoft has altered the name of its office-based offering. In 2020, it rebranded from Microsoft to Microsoft 365.
The new Microsoft 365 Copilot offering has Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, plus OneNote, Loop, Whiteboard, Clipchamp, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
Most system apps in 2026 already come with integrated AI features, and basing a name change on this seems rather pointless. In fact, Microsoft 365 Copilot has gone so far the other way that the AI features can in many cases slow down workflows because the user interface has become so cluttered.
With the Copilot problem, it emerged that hackers were able to bypass Copilot’s security measures to steal private data from users.
As for the problems with Windows 11, scores of Windows users reported that their apps Notepad, Outlook, OneDrive, and Dropbox stopped working after the latest update.
The update, which was released on January 13, has been seen as the cause of all the problems users are experiencing.
Since that first update of the year, there have been updates on January 17 and again on January 24. This latest update, which sounds like a name Elon Musk would come up with, is called KB5078127.
Three OS updates in a month may not raise any alarms, but it’s not a good look either.
Incredibly, one of the main fixes for apps not working after any of the updates is to uninstall the update. That seems to suggest the latest updates are anything but stable.
Worrying times indeed for Microsoft. At least February is a short month.