Microsoft quietly enabled the AppX Deployment Service (Appxsvc) to start automatically at Windows 11 boot, a move tied to ongoing concerns about high resource usage. The change arrived with the December 2025 cumulative update for Windows 11, KB5072033, but Microsoft didn’t spotlight it upfront.
Initially, the release notes accompanying KB5072033 made no mention of this adjustment. It wasn’t until Neowin highlighted the detail that Microsoft updated the notes to include a brief note under System Components:
The AppX Deployment Service (Appxsvc) has moved to Automatic startup type to improve reliability in some isolated scenarios.
In practice, numerous users have reported that Appxsvc consumes substantial memory and causes elevated CPU usage, sometimes impacting systems with more modest specs. On capable machines, this may be barely noticeable, but lower-end devices often feel the difference more acutely.
Microsoft has not provided a clear explanation of what constitutes these “isolated scenarios,” and the blanket shift to automatic startup raises questions about why the change isn’t limited to only those cases if the scenarios are truly isolated.
Beyond this specific tweak, the December 2025 update page also includes several other items:
- Windows update titles were simplified for easier reading, preserving key identifiers like the date, KB number, and build version while removing some architectural details.
- The December servicing update schedule notes that, due to holiday-related slowdowns, there will be no non-security preview update in the latter part of December 2025; security updates will proceed as planned, with regular servicing resuming in January 2026.
- Windows Secure Boot certificates are set to expire starting June 2026. Device boot security could be affected if updates aren’t applied in time, so users are advised to review the guidance and prepare accordingly.
- Windows Updates themselves do not include updates for Microsoft Store apps. Enterprise users should refer to Configuration Manager guidance for managing Store apps, while consumers can learn how to get updates for Store apps and games.
If you’re curious about how this change might affect your system, you’ll want to consider both your hardware capacity and how often you rely on peak performance. The broader takeaway is that Microsoft is leaning toward reliability in some cases, even if that means more background activity on certain machines. What’s your take: does automatic startup for Appxsvc improve stability or add unnecessary background load on less powerful devices? Share your experience in the comments.
