Dell laptops reportedly hit by nasty bug causing repeated crashes, and this time it's not Windows 11's fault here's what's causing it, and how to fix it

Date:
Tue, 12 May 2026 10:48:05 +0000

Description:
Don't blame Windows 11 for your Dell laptop crashing ironically it's a nasty bug with Dell's SupportAssist app.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter There are multiple reports of a nasty bug affecting Dell laptops It's seemingly caused by a recent update to Dell's SupportAssist app Affected laptops keep crashing every half an hour or so, but there's a fix in either removing or disabling the offending support services If you have a Dell laptop running Windows 11 and you've been experiencing it regularly crashing every half an hour or so, you aren't alone by any means and thankfully there appears to be a solution.

After a tip from a reader, Neowin picked up that there are multiple reports
on the Dell community forum complaining that the laptop maker's SupportAssist software is bugged, and causing crashes where the PC completely freezes with
a Black Screen of Death (BSOD). There are a number of reports on Dell's
forum, and also on Reddit , noting that the issue is hitting fleets of PCs
(in the business world), as well as individual laptops, including Alienware gaming notebooks (there are a couple of cases mentioned, including for
example an Alienware M16 R2). Latest Videos From You may like New Windows 11 update fixes bug causing black-screen crashes with some GPUs Windows 11 has a patch for bug that breaks
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Essentially, any laptop with SupportAssist installed could be prone to this bug, and going by the number of complaints, it's not uncommon though it
isn't clear how widespread the glitch is exactly.

Seemingly this has been caused by a recent update to Dell SupportAssist, and if you've encountered BSOD crashes and reboots happening regularly with your device, there is a solution that seems to have worked for most folks. How to deal with Dell SupportAssist crashes (Image credit: Dell) There are multiple reports of laptop owners or IT admins who have fixed this issue, and they all come back to the same solution: removing SupportAssist or disabling the service.

If you're reaching the end of your tether due to crashes and want to get rid of SupportAssist, that's as simple as heading into Settings and going to the Apps panel, then into the list of 'Installed apps'. Scroll down to find Dell SupportAssist, click the ellipsis (three-dot icon) on the right, and select 'Uninstall'. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
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You're not quite done, though, as there's also a Dell SupportAssist Remediation app at which the finger of blame is actually being pointed by many so you need to remove that as well. Some folks suggest removing everything pertaining to SupportAssist, which means ditching a third service, Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin, too.

After you're done with those, reboot your PC and hopefully you'll find the crashes are no longer happening. If you only removed the main app, and not
all three, and that doesn't cure the issue, it's worth trying ditching them all. Remember that without SupportAssist, you will have to manually search
for and apply any laptop firmware updates (from Dell's support website).

You can always reinstall these apps at a later date, once we hear from Dell that SupportAssist is fixed. Of course, remember that we haven't heard anything official from Dell yet, so this problem isn't confirmed and ditto for the solution. But, going by most reports, removing SupportAssist works (although do note that I've seen the odd comment complaining that a laptop is still crashing even after ditching the app). What to read next A critical Windows 11 bug has locked some users out of the C: drive Apple's MacBook Neo triumph could also be great news for Windows 11 laptops Microsoft just released an update I actually want to install and you should too

Another route suggested by some is to try merely disabling Dell SupportAssist Remediation (rather than engaging in any uninstallation). Do this by typing the following into the search box in the Windows 11 taskbar: services.msc Press Enter and this will pop up the services panel showing all local running services, so you'll need to scroll down and find Dell SupportAssist Remediation. Right-click on it, then select 'Properties', and in the panel that appears, in the dropdown menu called 'Startup type', select 'Disabled' (you can reenable it later by changing it back to 'Automatic').

Neowin also observes that this bug has seemingly cropped up before last year in fact, where a different cure was found to work. This involved opening SupportAssist and running the 'scan hardware' option, and after that process had finished it seemingly did the trick (though it may take a while).

In the meantime, we'll just have to wait to hear from Dell about what might
be going on here, but there's an obvious irony about an app that facilitates technical support causing a show-stopping problem on some laptops.

As one Redditor put it : "The irony of SupportAssist being the cause. I'm so glad I'm no longer in IT." The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget: Apple MacBook Neo 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 5. Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16 Follow TechRadar on Google News and add
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows-laptops/dell-laptops-reportedly-hi t-by-nasty-bug-causing-repeated-crashes-and-this-time-its-not-windows-11s-faul t-heres-whats-causing-it-and-how-to-fix-it


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