[Windows App 26.707.12708.0] Codex Micro serialport.node failures still cause severe UI freezes #33606

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.707.12708.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

After updating to Codex App 26.707.12708.0, the Windows app still becomes severely unresponsive.

The app frequently shows “Not Responding” during startup, switching threads takes a long time, and the window sometimes cannot be restored after minimizing.

Windows recorded 320 Application Error 1000 events with exception code 0xc06d007f. The failing dependency path points to the Codex Micro / Work Louder serialport native module:

@worklouder/device-kit-oai
-> @worklouder/wl-device-kit
-> serialport
-> @serialport/bindings-cpp
-> serialport.node

No Codex Micro or Work Louder device is connected.

Disabling only the Codex Micro renderer feature gate in a private local copy stopped the errors and restored normal UI responsiveness. No new 0xc06d007f events occurred after launching that copy.

This suggests that the Codex Micro native module is still initialized without connected hardware and remains incompatible with the current Windows Electron runtime.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install or update the Microsoft Store Codex App to version 26.707.12708.0 on Windows x64.
2. Launch Codex normally. No Codex Micro or Work Louder device is connected.
3. Open an existing thread or switch repeatedly between several threads.
4. Minimize the Codex window, then try to restore it from the taskbar.
5. Observe that the app frequently freezes, shows “Not Responding,” or takes a long time to restore.
6. Open Windows Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application.
7. Observe repeated Application Error event ID 1000 entries for ChatGPT.exe with exception code 0xc06d007f.

The issue can also occur immediately after launching the app.

What is the expected behavior?

The Codex Windows App should remain responsive during startup, thread switching, and minimize/restore operations.

When no Codex Micro or Work Louder device is connected or explicitly enabled, the app should not initialize or repeatedly retry the optional serialport native module.

A failure in an optional hardware integration should not block the main UI.

Additional information

Windows recorded 320 matching Application Error 1000 events between July 15 and July 16, 2026.

The failing dependency path appears to be:

@worklouder/device-kit-oai
-> @worklouder/wl-device-kit
-> serialport
-> @serialport/bindings-cpp
-> serialport.node

The recurring exception code is 0xc06d007f.

As an A/B test, I created a private local copy from my own Microsoft Store installation and disabled only the Codex Micro renderer feature gate. After launching that copy:

• No new 0xc06d007f events were recorded.
• Thread switching returned to normal.
• The window could be restored normally after minimizing.
• Other Codex functionality continued to work.

Updating GPU drivers, reinstalling the Store app, clearing caches, updating the Visual C++ runtime, reducing thread history, and disabling unrelated plugins did not resolve the problem.

This appears related to existing issue #33375 and confirms that version 26.707.12708.0 remains affected.