If you're trying to use a Kinect v2 on a Windows 11 laptop, you may have run into an incredibly frustrating issue: the device connects, the light turns on, and then it immediately disconnects and restarts. This endless power cycle makes the device unusable and often causes the Kinect Configuration Verifier to fail, even when your hardware is perfectly fine. After hours of troubleshooting complex solutions like reinstalling drivers, changing USB power settings, and even trying to extract MSI files, I found the real solution. It has nothing to do with hardware or faulty drivers. The problem is a single privacy setting in Windows 11. The Kinect SDK requires access to all of the device's components to initialize correctly, including the microphone array. If Windows 11 blocks access to the microphone, the Kinect service fails, crashes, and tries to restart, causing the power cycle. Here is the surprisingly simple fix. The Solution Open Windows Settings ...