Reproducible crashes in Edge during update checks affecting extensions and Copilot

[originpanoramix-collab]

Title: Reproducible crashes in Edge during update checks affecting extensions and Copilot (microphone)

Description:
Since the introduction of the microphone icon in Copilot, I have been experiencing frequent crashes in Microsoft Edge. These crashes occur not only when Edge installs an update, but even when it merely checks for updates.

Symptoms:

Copilot crashes, especially when using the microphone.

Browser extensions such as “SaveFromNet Helper” freeze or get temporarily disabled.

Edge shows erratic behavior: UI freezes, audio streams break, tabs reload unexpectedly.

The issue is fully reproducible.

Analysis:
It appears that Edge suspends or restarts internal processes during the update check itself, even before downloading anything.
This interrupts extensions and web applications that rely on continuous processes (audio capture, injected scripts, hooks, etc.), causing visible crashes.

A simple version check should never interrupt active browser processes.
This behavior is unexpected and negatively impacts stability and user experience.

Impact:

Loss of productivity.

Perception that Copilot or extensions are unstable, while the root cause is Edge’s update mechanism.

Frequent interruptions during active work sessions.

Suggested improvement:
Adopt a non‑intrusive update flow similar to other modern browsers:

Check for updates silently in the background without suspending processes.

Download updates in the background without affecting extensions.

Apply updates only when Edge is closed.

If the user didn’t close Edge, show a prompt on next launch:
“An update is ready. Would you like to install it now?”

This would eliminate freezes and crashes while maintaining security and user satisfaction.

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Summary:
Microsoft Edge causes instability and crashes during update checks, even when no update is being downloaded or installed. This issue affects Copilot (especially when using the microphone) as well as extensions such as SaveFromNet Helper.

Observed symptoms
Copilot
During an Edge update check or preparation phase, Copilot gets stuck in an infinite loading state (spinning circle animation).

It stops responding to prompts, even if new ones are submitted.

Refreshing the page during this freeze results in loss of all input typed during the freeze.

The issue is reproducible.

SaveFromNet Helper
The download buttons on YouTube disappear entirely.

The extension appears to be suspended or temporarily disabled.

Analysis
Edge seems to suspend or restart internal processes during the update check itself, even before any update is downloaded.
This interrupts:

extensions that rely on injected scripts or hooks,

web applications that depend on continuous streams (such as audio for Copilot),

and may cause tab reloads or UI freezes.

A simple version check should never interrupt active browser processes.

Impact
Loss of productivity.

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Additional context and reproduction details
I just experienced the issue again.
Copilot froze while I was sending a message (“I don’t know if you can check this yourself: https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/DevTools/issues/421” (github.com in Bing)).
Copilot stopped responding and stayed in the spinning‑circle state.

I opened Edge → About, and I saw that Edge was actively checking for updates at that exact moment.
The moment the update check finished, I refreshed the Copilot tab and it started working again — but all text typed during the freeze was lost.

I also had to fully restart Edge to restore normal behavior.

After restarting Edge, I received a popup suggesting that I switch to Chrome.
For context: between the first freeze and the second one, I logged into my Google account to access GitHub.
I don’t know whether the Google login has any influence on the issue, but I’m including the information for completeness.

This confirms that the freeze is directly tied to Edge’s update‑check process, regardless of whether the user is logged into Google or not.

Attention — this issue is now confirmed with multiple real‑time reproductions
I have now reproduced the freeze multiple times under different conditions (logged into Google, not logged in, different tabs open).
In every case, the freeze happens exactly when Edge performs an update check.

The fact that Copilot only recovers after a full browser restart — and loses all input typed during the freeze — strongly suggests that Edge is suspending or breaking internal processes during the update‑check phase.

This is not an isolated glitch. It is a consistent, reproducible behavior that affects real‑world usage.

Additional observation: Edge performs update checks without any browser restart, causing repeated freezes
I have now confirmed that Edge triggers update checks even without restarting the browser.
This behavior is new and seems to occur roughly every hour.

Each time Edge performs one of these background update checks:

Copilot freezes (infinite loading animation)

Copilot stops responding to prompts

Any text typed during the freeze is lost after refreshing the page

Extensions such as SaveFromNet Helper stop functioning temporarily

In some cases, I must fully restart Edge to restore normal behavior

This happened again just now:
Copilot froze, I checked Edge → About, and Edge was actively checking for updates, even though the browser had not been restarted since the previous check.
As soon as the update check finished, Copilot remained frozen until I refreshed the page — and all input typed during the freeze was lost.

This confirms that the issue is not tied to browser restarts.
Edge is now performing update checks periodically in the background, and each check interrupts internal processes in a way that breaks Copilot and extensions.

This makes the browser unstable during normal use.