How to Roll Back a Specific KB While Keeping Later Quality Updates

Quick fix: Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates, find the specific KB, and remove it. Then hide it from re-install with wushowhide.diagcab so future Check for updates calls don’t reinstall it. Other quality updates that came afterward stay installed.

A specific Windows 11 cumulative update broke something — printing, a driver, an audio device. Newer updates have come out since and you have those installed too. You want to roll back just the broken KB without losing the later patches. Microsoft does support this, but the path is split across two tools and the second step (hiding) is essential to avoid Windows Update reinstalling the bad KB on next scan.

What removing one cumulative update means

Windows cumulative updates are layered. KB-A from January contains everything in the December cumulative plus new fixes. KB-B from February contains KB-A plus its own additions. Removing KB-A is supported — the servicing stack rolls back the “new in January” payload while keeping the “already in December” baseline. KB-B’s independent additions stay. The catch is that some files KB-A patched are also patched by KB-B; rolling back KB-A re-applies KB-B’s versions on top, which usually works but occasionally produces a file-version conflict on next boot.

For a clean rollback, you remove KB-A first, reboot to verify Windows is stable, then optionally hide KB-A so Windows Update doesn’t re-offer it.

Method 1: Uninstall through Settings

1. Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history.
2. Scroll to the bottom and click Uninstall updates.
3. The Control Panel updates list opens.
4. Find the KB by number (e.g., KB5051987). Click it to select.
5. Click Uninstall at the top.
6. Confirm and wait. Reboot when prompted.

After reboot, run winver — the build number should reflect the rollback. Other recent KBs remain in Update history as installed.

Method 2: Uninstall via wusa or DISM

For scripting or for KBs that the Settings list doesn’t expose:

1. Open elevated Command Prompt.
2. Run wusa /uninstall /kb:5051987 /quiet /norestart (replace with your KB number).
3. For some recent KBs, wusa returns “Update is required” or refuses — use DISM instead:
   
   dism /online /get-packages | findstr KB5051987 — this gives you the full package name like Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~22621.3447.1.0

dism /online /remove-package /packagename:<full-name> /quiet /norestart
4. Reboot to complete the removal.

DISM is the lower-level tool and handles updates that wusa can’t. Use it when the Settings GUI and wusa both fail.

Method 3: Hide the rolled-back KB to prevent reinstall

Critical step — without hiding, Windows Update will reoffer and reinstall the KB on next scan.

1. Download wushowhide.diagcab from Microsoft. (Search “Show or hide updates troubleshooter” on Microsoft Support.)
2. Run the file. Click Next.
3. Choose Hide updates.
4. Select the KB you just uninstalled.
5. Click Next. The tool tells Windows Update to skip this KB on future scans.
6. Open Windows Update and click Check for updates. The hidden KB does not return.

The hide persists until you explicitly unhide via the same tool, or until a much newer cumulative update obsoletes the hidden one. Most users only need it for a few months until Microsoft ships a fix in a later cumulative.

How to verify the fix worked

• Run winver — OS build is now lower (the rolled-back KB was removed). Later KBs still show in Update history.
• Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history — the rolled-back KB now appears under Uninstalled.
• The functionality that was broken (printing, the driver, audio) works again.
• Check for updates — the hidden KB doesn’t reappear in the pending list.

If none of these work

If the KB won’t uninstall (wusa, dism, and Settings all refuse), it’s likely marked “permanent” — some servicing-stack updates and security patches can’t be removed after a certain time window. For those, the only paths are: (a) a system restore point from before the KB was installed (Settings → System → About → System protection → System Restore); (b) an in-place repair upgrade with the older ISO; (c) wait for Microsoft to ship a fix in a subsequent cumulative. For managed devices, Group Policy can prevent specific KBs from installing in the first place via Configure Automatic Updates → Wsus deferral with explicit KB exclusions.

Bottom line: Cumulative updates are removable, but you have to also hide them to prevent reinstall. Uninstall via Settings/wusa/DISM, then run wushowhide to lock the KB out. Other newer updates stay untouched.