Russian users can no longer download ISO images of Windows 10 and 11. This problem was reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, and for the moment this blockage remains unexplained. Microsoft could be the cause, at a time when the company is limiting its activities in the country as much as possible.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, many companies have decided to suspend or limit their activities in Russia. Netflix is no longer available in the country, while TikTok has chosen to drastically limit the features available to Russian users.
For its part, Google has blocked application purchases on the Play Store, before blocking the downloading of applications already purchased by users. In response, Russian authorities seized the bank accounts of the Mountain View firm, forcing it to file for bankruptcy in Russia.
As for Microsoft, the American giant has already suspended sales of its products and services in the country. At the beginning of June, the Redmond firm took the next step by laying off 400 Russian employees. The goal is to further limit its activities on the territory.
Unable to download Windows 11 and 10 in Russia
However, and according to our colleagues at Bleed Computer, Russian users can no longer download Windows 10 ISO images and Windows 11 as well as installation tools from Microsoft. The news was first shared by Russian news agency TASS, before spreading on social media.
When users try to download any of Microsoft’s OS, an error message appears indicating that there is a problem with their request. Same observation in the case of the Media Creation tool of Windows 11. Its download is possible, but not its execution which generates an error 0x80072F8F-0X20000: “For some unknown reason, this tool could not be run on your computer”.
According to the statements of some users, however, it is still possible to download the ISO images of both OS using a VPN and connecting to a server outside of Russia. For the moment, it is impossible to know if it is a technical error or if Microsoft is indeed at the origin of this blocking. Indeed, the American company has not yet officially communicated on the subject. We’ll update this article if Microsoft decides to speak up.
Source : Bleeding Computer
