Microsoft explains why the Snipping tool cannot be used

Yesterday we mentioned that the Snipping tool built into Windows 11 is abnormal. When multiple users use the Snipping tool, there will be a prompt that they cannot be opened.

After being reported by the media, Microsoft also issued a response to explain the specific situation, and according to Microsoft’s description, many applications were affected by the failure, such as input methods and touch keyboards.

The reason turned out to be the expiration of the digital certificates used by these applications. Because the system cannot complete the normal verification after the certificate expires, an error pops up directly.

At present, Microsoft has not been able to completely solve this problem. The affected users can restore the use of some applications after installing the KB5006746 update.

Microsoft added a description of this issue in the Windows 11 health dashboard. Specifically, the Microsoft digital certificate expires on October 31, 2021, and has not been updated.

This resulted in the inability to start from November 1st, such as the Snipping Tool, the account and login interface of the setting application in S mode, the touch keyboard, and the voice input panel.

As the investigation has not yet been completed, it is not clear how many applications are affected. If the user cannot start some of the built-in applications, the error is caused by this problem.

For example, the user interface of the input method editor may not be enabled normally due to this problem. The performance of these applications is basically the same as the error reported when the Snipping tool is started.