Users with a Pro Max Plus MB16250 or MB18250 should contact Support via the Get Help Now button. Your issue is likely related to an issue that is under investigation. Inform the agent to view Dell Knowledge Article 000492904 to identify the issue and to aid with providing a workaround. If the issue remains unresolved after they assist with the workaround, then Support will provide the appropriate next steps.

@DELL-Daniel V​ thank you. According to Dell's tech support, they stated:

Sure thing, this will be the workaround to resolve this issue

 

Open Control Panel

Click Uninstall a Program

Click View installed updates option

Check which hot fixes are installed on the computer.

 

If any of the hot fixes listed below are installed on the computer, uninstall them and reboot the computer:

KB5089549

KB5089573

KB5094126

KB5095093

 

Install the pass 2026-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 24H2 KB5079473 (select the correct file for the CPU that is installed in the computer) and reboot.

Visit the hotfix download website: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5079473

Search for KB5079473 and download the file base on your computer.

Install the hotfix and reboot computer, the operating system version will be 26200.8037(25H2) or 26100.8037(24H2)

Warning: After installing the hotfix, pause Windows Update (this is to avoid updating to a newer failed hotfix version).

I'll post back here after trying that.

@DELL-Daniel V​ Nobody can view this article.

@Galxz​ This is a Dell internal article as the issue is still under investigation. There may be a public article released in the future once the resolution is confirmed, but I wouldn't know when that may be. 

@DELL-Daniel V​ My workplace is a university, so I checked with our college-level IT on this. Below was their feedback regarding the workaround proposed by Dell. But first, I must mention that our Windows 11 updates come directly from Microsoft. We used to have a WSUS server, but Microsoft ignores those settings now for EAD-joined systems. So we no longer have control to filter updates.

The response:

Their workaround is not acceptable. If I understand correctly, they want you to go back to Mar. 2026 Cumulative update. That would open the computer up to numerous security vulnerabilities that have been patch in the past 7 months.

 

Additionally, the KB’s they listed to remove are May & June’s Cumulative update, which shouldn’t be on the computer anymore as they would have been superseded/replaced by every cumulative update after that and should be at Oct. Cumulative now.

 

Those troubleshooting steps seem old/outdated.

I also agree that this would open our systems up to additional vulnerabilities. Just look at the hornet's nest from the latest news regarding PHP vulnerabilities, and heaven forbid something happens with a past un-patched version of Windows 11 that affects our users. Also, pausing updates until Microsoft/Dell resolve this puts our systems at risks for zero day exploits and misses out on Microsoft's patch Tursday for everything else.

How can Dell resolve this with Microsoft?

is the latest dell bios update related to this issue that many of us are struggling with since summer? right now my only workaround was to disable turboboost entirely but I hope an update from dell finds a permanent solution to this problem.

@dbiciusca​ I've been working with our Dell rep and a Dell support manager and staff member. They stated the 10/23 BIOS/Firmware update (3.5.2) is supposed to address this crashing issue. However, the notes online just reference security updates. So I'm a bit confused. I ran this update on one of the two systems to see if it helps. I'll report back my findings, but time will tell if that helps.

Same issue on our MB16250, 13 months and still unresolved

We have a Dell Pro Max 16 Plus (MB16250), bought in September 2025, with the same random hard freezes and crashes described here. The screen stays on, the mouse and keyboard stop responding, and the only way out is holding the power button. It has done this since the first weeks we owned it.

Here is what has been done so far, with our IT provider and Dell support:

• Operating system wiped and reloaded
• Newer drivers from Dell, plus a memory error repair
• BIOS updated, including advisory ET005326
• Motherboard replaced by a Dell onsite technician
• About 7 weeks at Dell’s repair depot, where the memory was replaced and the system reloaded
• Firmware and driver updates and log collection on a Dell support call in October 2026

None of it has held. The laptop sometimes freezes the first day after a repair, and sometimes it runs a month or two before the crashes return.

Dell staff have said in these threads that the issue is under investigation by Microsoft and Intel and is tracked in internal KB 000492904. The only workaround we have been offered elsewhere is rolling Windows back to the March 2026 update and pausing updates, which we will not do on a business machine.

Our case is escalated, but still has no owner or decision. We are asking Dell to replace the unit, and to consider a different model if Dell and Intel do not have a confirmed fix for the MB16250 yet.

@DELL-Daniel V @DELL-Cares @DELL-Nat M, can you help get this case to the right team? We are happy to send our case number by private message.

If anyone has had a fix hold for more than a couple of months, or got Dell to replace their unit, please share what worked.