June 2026 Windows Update — Known Problems and Fixes

June's Windows update has been out for two days. Here's what's gone wrong and what you can do about it.

So far there's one issue worth flagging, and it's a cosmetic one. Nothing's broken in a way that stops your PC working. If you don't use custom folder icons, you can stop reading here and just install the update.

Custom folder icons have vanished

After installing June's update (KB5094126 on Windows 11, KB5094127 on Windows 10), some folders that had a custom icon are back to the plain yellow folder. Folders that displayed a custom name might show their real name instead. Your files are all still there and the folders open exactly as before. It's only the look that's changed.

This isn't a bug. Microsoft did it on purpose, and they've confirmed it. Windows now ignores the little hidden file that sets a folder's icon (it's called desktop.ini) when that file came from somewhere outside your PC. A downloaded folder, a network drive, an icon pack you grabbed off the internet. Windows tags anything that arrived from outside, and it now refuses to trust the icon instructions in those tagged files.

The reason is security. A dodgy desktop.ini file tucked inside a downloaded folder could be used to make hostile files look like safe, familiar ones. It's been a known weak spot for years. Closing it means the icons set by those outside files stop showing. A fair trade, but annoying if it's hit you.

Who this affects

You'll have noticed this if you use any of these:

• A downloaded icon pack or theme that gave your folders custom icons
• A network drive (a NAS box at home, or a shared server at work) where folders had icons set on them
• Folders you downloaded from the internet that came with their own icon files inside

If none of that sounds like you, your icons won't have changed.

How to get your icons back

Pick the fix that matches your situation. The first one covers most home users. The later ones are for network drives and for anyone comfortable digging into Windows settings.

1. Set the icon again yourself (easiest)

If the folder is on your own PC and you set the icon in the first place, just set it again. Windows trusts an icon you apply yourself locally, so re-doing it sticks.

1. Right-click the folder and choose Properties
2. Click the Customise tab at the top
3. Click Change Icon near the bottom
4. Pick your icon (click Browse if it's a file you saved), then click OK
5. Click OK again to close Properties

The icon comes straight back and stays put.

2. For icons on a network drive

If the folders live on a NAS or a work server, you need to tell Windows that the server is a place it can trust. Once it's trusted, Windows reads the icon instructions from it normally again.

1. Open the Start menu, type Internet Options, and click it when it appears
2. Go to the Security tab
3. Click Trusted sites, then click the Sites button
4. In the box, type the address of your server (for example \\NAS or \\servername), then click Add
5. Click Close, then OK

Your folder icons on that drive should come back after a restart.

3. Turn the protection off across the whole PC (advanced)

This last one switches the new protection off completely, so Windows goes back to reading icon files from anywhere. Only do this on your own home PC. Never on a work machine, because you'd be turning off a security fix that's there for a reason.

If your edition of Windows has the Group Policy editor (Pro and above):

1. Press the Windows key, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter
2. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer
3. Find Allow processing of desktop.ini files from all locations and double-click it
4. Set it to Enabled, click OK, and restart

On Windows Home, which has no Group Policy editor, you can do the same with a registry key instead. Under HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer, create a DWORD value called DisableDesktopIniMotwCheck and set it to 1, then restart. If that sentence means nothing to you, skip this option and use fix 1 or 2 instead. Editing the registry blind is how PCs end up on my bench.

Should you still install the update?

Yes. The icon thing is cosmetic, and the security side of this update is the part that matters. June's patch closes six zero-day holes, including ones in BitLocker and in the part of Windows that handles web traffic (HTTP.sys). Those are the sort of flaws attackers go looking for. Leaving them open to keep a custom icon is a bad trade.

Most people won't notice anything different. If you do see a missing icon and it bothers you, the fixes above sort it in a couple of minutes.

If the update has left your PC in a worse state than a missing icon, a stuck install, a machine that won't boot properly, anything like that, don't sit on it. Bring it in and I'll have a proper look. That's what local computer repair is for, and it usually costs less than you'd think.

Mark

Mark has been fixing computers since the late '90s and went self-employed in 2008. Based in St Helens since 2013, he works evenings and weekends from his home in Laffak — friendly, affordable repairs for PCs, laptops, and Macs. See reviews on Google