Leave it to one of Microsoft’s lesser-known and more obscure apps to mess things up for everyone. That’s exactly what’s happening following the most recent Windows 11 update for those with the ASUS ROG Ally and ROG Xbox Ally series of handhelds.
According to one post on X, “Windows 11’s ‘Smart App Control’ is blocking Armoury Crate on the Xbox Ally and ROG Ally. Basically, the ‘smart’ security thinks your console’s essential app is a threat.” This issue has since been confirmed by others who have performed the most recent update on their devices, including Nick on the RH team.
👀🔥 MÁS MADERA 🚨
La IA de Windows ataca de nuevo… y no para bien. 🤦♂️
El “Smart App Control” de Windows 11 está bloqueando Armoury Crate en las Xbox Ally y ROG Ally. Básicamente, la seguridad “inteligente” cree que la app esencial de tu consola es una amenaza.
Resultado:… pic.twitter.com/8HgRIfXqlC
— eXtas1s 🎮 Noticias & Rumores (@eXtas1stv) January 29, 2026
Others have found that you’ll need to update the built-in AMD software after the Windows update is applied, but even then, Windows apparently still sends “notifications blocking everything related to ROG.” On the bright side, there are a couple of different ways to deal with this until Microsoft rolls out an update to solve the issues.
No matter what, if you’re unable to use the built-in controls on your Ally, you’ll need to connect a mouse and keyboard in order to navigate the interface. From there, you’ll need to turn off the “Smart App Control” feature within Windows, and here’s how you can do so:
- Open the Start Menu and search for Windows Security.
- Click the App & Browser control section.
- Click Smart App Control settings.
- Select Off.
You might be prompted to enter your Admin password in order to confirm that you want to make these changes to the system. After that’s done, go ahead and restart your ROG Ally, and once it’s finished rebooting, your controls should be back to normal.
In the event that you want to re-enable Smart App Control after Microsoft releases a patch, then just follow the same steps above, selecting On from the Smart App Control settings.
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