Forum Discussion
Windows 11 magnifier broken
Randomly you launch the magnifier, and immediately your PC slows to a crawl, almost frozen, can't move the mouse, it only updates its position once every three or four seconds.
Then after about twenty seconds, the PC goes back to normal, except the magnifier will not launch at all, even through settings, the button does nothing.
It persist with a reboot - If you try to launch the magnifier, it happens again.
this problem occurs with all nvidia driver updates since Feb this year.
6 Replies
Let me clear some air for you. I depend on Magnifier to use the computer and this is what I have found so far.
They May 2026 Feature Update fixed the magnifier's lens mode (which I only use) and it made it to be very performant. But, alongside it it brought another issue (I am not sure if it was brought with this one or with an earlier update -- I swear I had it before this update but I can't prove it), which is the one OP describes. It is not a driver issue because if you trigger something to open UAC, it will switch immediately to full-screen magnifier mode and the mouse behaves normally, and the magnifier works. Then you have to close the ghost task of magnifier to use it again.
Or at least, AFAICS, it is not a driver issue.
But yesterday, I installed the latest Security Update (KB5094126), which it acted like a reverse patch of May 2026 for the case of magnifier's lens mode. What I mean is that after the update, all the issues that May 2026 update fixed were back! I was so happy for not even a month and they took it away from me:/
To the people saying it's an Nvidia driver problem - It isn't. You're not helping. Learn the difference between proof and just guessing based on reading a few comments in a forum. If you install Windows from the ISO released in December 2025, the problem goes away. But if you update it after that the problem comes back. Rolling back your Nvidia driver makes no difference. Get your facts straight. Microsoft needs to fix this, no one else, and trying to deflect responsibility is only going to mean this takes longer for Microsoft to "Un-Break" it. It's not an Nvidia bug, it's a Windows 11 bug introduced by Windows Update. So frustrating how people are derailing the investigation with careless assumptions.
This is a really interesting bug you’ve uncovered. You're right to point directly at the NVIDIA drivers—based on a deep dive into recent developer forums, you are not alone, and this is almost certainly a bug in the driver itself, not a problem with your Windows installation.
Roll back or uninstall recent NVIDIA drivers.
One of the recent updates definitely broke magnifier - Exactly the same symptoms, happens intermittently, infrequently, as if it conflicts with some new daily scheduled task. It only happens if you launch it from the shortcut (Win and +), and when it happens the mouse curser freezes and only updates once every three seconds or so. After about ten seconds everything unfreezes, but magnifier no longer works - You then have to end the Microsoft Screen Magnifier task in the task manager for it to work again. It's really frustrating that Microsoft won't acknowledge that they have broken it, leaving visually impaired users in the dark, not knowing if Microsoft are even aware of it. If you break something, fix it quickly. We don't pay $350NZD for an OS that is broken by mandatory updates, only for it to be left broken. It's really stressful for disabled users like me who rely on it, and it's not good enough.
This following post was locked, so no one else could report having the same problem -
https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/1sjr6k7/microsoft_please_fix_windows_magnifier_windows/
and it's mentioned in this Youtuber's video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUmxlhdeYMU
But everyone is still waiting.
Ensure your Windows 11 is fully updated, as Microsoft may have released patches addressing compatibility issues.
