Windows Defender Firewall not starting if changing Systemlanguage

[Malex17]

Initial situation: We're using the Windows 21 and 22H2 (englisch, international = en-GB) as Baseimage and are integrating a couple of Languagepacks via offline imaging (cab, lip and lxps)

During the inital installation phase, depending on the operational site, the Systemlanguage is changed to another language (for e.g. de-DE).

This worked for YEARS without any problems.

Since August / September 2022 this constellation is not working anymore. If the Language is set to another than en-GB some services are just not starting anymore. (e.g. Windows Defender Firewall)

Currently our workaround is to change the systemlanguage back to en-GB.

Reinstalling the LanguagePacks offline or online does NOT solve this problem. 

[#2]

@Malex17 

We have exactly the same problem, the installation of the language packs is not a problem, but as soon as the language is changed, the firewall no longer works. (And a Firewall reset is also not possible)

We install the CAB files during the task sequence and then apply the language with the Language Settings xml.

I have also found other people who encounter this problem but no solution so far:
https://superuser.com/questions/1749465/windows-21h2-defender-firewall-service-not-starting-when-non...
https://www.reddit.com/r/SCCM/comments/xwlxkb/language_packs_issues_with_windows_10_21h2/

[#3]

@Malex17 I have the same issue and discovered this yesterday when upgrading machines from Win10 20H2 and 21H2 to 22H2. Tried everything to get Windows Defender Firewall running again but nothing worked. This morning I upgraded two test machines from 21H2 to 22H2 while closely monitoring the SMSTS.LOG and running a ping. After the OS upgrade everything was still fine, but after the language packs installed (nl-NL, fr-FR, en-US) and the machines rebooted with nl-NL as default system language, they could no longer be reached over the network. After the TS completed I checked the machines and they both failed to start the Windows Defender Firewall. If I change the default system language to en-GB, set it as default language for new user accounts and the welcome screen and reboot, ONLY THEN does the Windows Defender Firewall start.

This is a big issue and we need a solution ASAP. We have over 2500 machines that need to be upgraded to 22H2 by the beginning of May and this is a blocking issue!

From what I read in the other threads, people are able to solve it by using an older build of 22H2 and patching it in the TS prior to installing the language packs, but that is quite the hassle and not a good solution imo.

[#4]

@Malex17 I found a workaround in the topic at Reddit and confirmed it fixes the issue. 

I downloaded Windows 10 22H2 from October, created an Operating System Upgrade Package in SCCM and used this image for the upgrade. I then applied all my language packs in the TS (EN, NL, FR), rebooted the machine and then applied the LCU (Latest Cumulative Update) which in this case was KB5021233. After applying the patch and rebooting the pc, the Windows Defender Firewall is working fine again when the pc boots with NL set as system language.

I have now started a new test with the 22H2 from December and the LCU from Januari (KB5022282).

[#5]

Meanwhile I've got an answer from Microsoft Support. This issue should be fixed with the December Update.

I've tested with KB5022282 (post-install) on 21H2 and it seems it's fixed.

I will do another tests with an updated Image. 

[#6]

I noticed something similar. When I install the update it works. However when I download and install e.g. the January image, which means no Windows CU updates are installed, it doesn't work on my side.

[#7]

I've exported the Updated Language packs (Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers -Name *lang*) with this script https://github.com/mjmeans/Appx-Backup (the script does not export the license.xml, you'll have to copy it manually) and imported them into the image.
That seems to be the trick.