Windows Update troubleshooting

If you run into problems when using Windows Update, start with the following steps:

Run the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter to fix common issues. Navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Windows Update.

Install the most recent Servicing Stack Update (SSU) that matches your version of Windows from the Microsoft Update Catalog. See Servicing stack updates for more details on servicing stack updates.

Make sure that you install the latest Windows updates, cumulative updates, and rollup updates. To verify the update status, refer to the appropriate update history for your system:

Advanced users can also refer to the log generated by Windows Update for further investigation.

You might encounter the following scenarios when using Windows Update.

Why am I offered an older update?

The update that is offered to a device depends on several factors. The following are some of the most common attributes:

• OS Build
• OS Branch
• OS Locale
• OS Architecture
• Device update management configuration

If the update you’re offered isn’t the most current available, it might be because your device is being managed by a WSUS server, and you’re being offered the updates available on that server. It’s also possible, if your device is part of a deployment group, that your admin is intentionally slowing the rollout of updates. Since the deployment is slow and measured to begin with, all devices will not receive the update on the same day.

My device is frozen at scan. Why?

The Settings UI communicates with the Update Orchestrator service that in turn communicates with to Windows Update service. If these services stop unexpectedly, then you might see this behavior. In such cases, follow these steps:

Close the Settings app and reopen it.

Start Services.msc and check if the following services are running:

• Update State Orchestrator
• Windows Update

Feature updates are not being offered while other updates are

Devices running Windows 10, version 1709 through Windows 10, version 1803 that are configured to update from Windows Update (including Windows Update for Business) are able to install servicing and definition updates but are never offered feature updates.

Checking the WindowsUpdate.log reveals the following error:

The 0x80070426 error code translates to:

Microsoft Account Sign In Assistant (MSA or wlidsvc) is the service in question. The DCAT Flighting service (ServiceId: 855E8A7C-ECB4-4CA3-B045-1DFA50104289) relies on MSA to get the global device ID for the device. Without the MSA service running, the global device ID won’t be generated and sent by the client and the search for feature updates never completes successfully.

To resolve this issue, reset the MSA service to the default StartType of «manual.»

Issues related to HTTP/Proxy

Windows Update uses WinHttp with Partial Range requests (RFC 7233) to download updates and applications from Windows Update servers or on-premises WSUS servers. Therefore proxy servers on the network must support HTTP RANGE requests. If a proxy was configured in Internet Explorer (User level) but not in WinHTTP (System level), connections to Windows Update will fail.

To fix this issue, configure a proxy in WinHTTP by using the following netsh command:

You can also import the proxy settings from Internet Explorer by using the following command: netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie

If downloads through a proxy server fail with a 0x80d05001 DO_E_HTTP_BLOCKSIZE_MISMATCH error, or if you notice high CPU usage while updates are downloading, check the proxy configuration to permit HTTP RANGE requests to run.

You might choose to apply a rule to permit HTTP RANGE requests for the following URLs:

*.download.windowsupdate.com
*.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com *.delivery.mp.microsoft.com

If you can’t allow RANGE requests, you’ll be downloading more content than needed in updates (as delta patching will not work).

The update is not applicable to your computer

The most common reasons for this error are described in the following table:

Cause	Explanation	Resolution
Update is superseded	As updates for a component are released, the updated component will supersede an older component that is already on the system. When this occurs, the previous update is marked as superseded. If the update that you’re trying to install already has a newer version of the payload on your system, you might receive this error message.	Check that the package that you are installing contains newer versions of the binaries. Or, check that the package is superseded by another new package.
Update is already installed	If the update that you’re trying to install was previously installed, for example, by another update that carried the same payload, you may encounter this error message.	Verify that the package that you are trying to install was not previously installed.
Wrong update for architecture	Updates are published by CPU architecture. If the update that you’re trying to install does not match the architecture for your CPU, you may encounter this error message.	Verify that the package that you’re trying to install matches the Windows version that you are using. The Windows version information can be found in the «Applies To» section of the article for each update. For example, Windows Server 2012-only updates cannot be installed on Windows Server 2012 R2-based computers. Also, verify that the package that you are installing matches the processor architecture of the Windows version that you are using. For example, an x86-based update cannot be installed on x64-based installations of Windows.
Missing prerequisite update	Some updates require a prerequisite update before they can be applied to a system. If you are missing a prerequisite update, you may encounter this error message. For example, KB 2919355 must be installed on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 computers before many of the updates that were released after April 2014 can be installed.	Check the related articles about the package in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) to make sure that you have the prerequisite updates installed. For example, if you encounter the error message on Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2, you may have to install the April 2014 update 2919355 as a prerequisite and one or more pre-requisite servicing updates (KB 2919442 and KB 3173424). To determine if these prerequisite updates are installed, run the following PowerShell command: get-hotfix KB3173424,KB2919355, KB2919442 . If the updates are installed, the command will return the installed date in the InstalledOn section of the output.

Issues related to firewall configuration

Error that you might see in Windows Update logs:

Go to Services.msc and ensure that Windows Firewall Service is enabled. Stopping the service associated with Windows Firewall with Advanced Security is not supported by Microsoft. For more information, see I need to disable Windows Firewall.

Issues arising from configuration of conflicting policies

Windows Update provides a wide range configuration policy to control the behavior of the Windows Update service in a managed environment. While these policies let you configure the settings at a granular level, misconfiguration or setting conflicting policies may lead to unexpected behaviors.

Device cannot access update files

Ensure that devices can reach necessary Windows Update endpoints through the firewall. For example, for Windows 10, version 2004, the following protocols must be able to reach these respective endpoints:

Protocol	Endpoint URL
TLS 1.2	*.prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com
HTTP	emdl.ws.microsoft.com
HTTP	*.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
HTTP	*.windowsupdate.com
HTTPS	*.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
TLS 1.2	*.update.microsoft.com
TLS 1.2	tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com

Be sure not to use HTTPS for those endpoints that specify HTTP, and vice versa. The connection will fail.

The specific endpoints can vary between Windows 10 versions. See, for example, Windows 10 2004 Enterprise connection endpoints. Similar articles for other Windows 10 versions are available in the table of contents nearby.

Updates aren’t downloading from the intranet endpoint (WSUS or Configuration Manager)

Windows 10 devices can receive updates from a variety of sources, including Windows Update online, a Windows Server Update Services server, and others. To determine the source of Windows Updates currently being used on a device, follow these steps:

1. Start Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
2. Run $MUSM = New-Object -ComObject «Microsoft.Update.ServiceManager».
3. Run $MUSM.Services.

Check the output for the Name and OffersWindowsUPdates parameters, which you can interpret according to this table.

Output	Meaning
— Name: Microsoft Update -OffersWindowsUpdates: True	— The update source is Microsoft Update, which means that updates for other Microsoft products besides the operating system could also be delivered. — Indicates that the client is configured to receive updates for all Microsoft Products (Office, etc.)
— Name: DCat Flighting Prod — OffersWindowsUpdates: True	— Starting with Windows 10 1709, feature updates are always delivered through the DCAT service. — Indicates that the client is configured to receive feature updates from Windows Update.
— Name: Windows Store (DCat Prod) — OffersWindowsUpdates: False	-The update source is Insider Updates for Store Apps. — Indicates that the client will not receive or is not configured to receive these updates.
— Name: Windows Server Update Service — OffersWindowsUpdates: True	— The source is a Windows Server Updates Services server. — The client is configured to receive updates from WSUS.
— Name: Windows Update — OffersWindowsUpdates: True	— The source is Windows Update. — The client is configured to receive updates from Windows Update Online.

You have a bad setup in the environment

In this example, per the Group Policy set through registry, the system is configured to use WSUS to download updates (note the second line):

From Windows Update logs:

In the above log snippet, we see that the Criteria = «IsHidden = 0 AND DeploymentAction=*» . «*» means there is nothing specified from the server. So, the scan happens but there is no direction to download or install to the agent. So it just scans the update and provides the results.

As shown in the following logs, automatic update runs the scan and finds no update approved for it. So it reports there are no updates to install or download. This is due to an incorrect configuration. The WSUS side should approve the updates for Windows Update so that it fetches the updates and installs them at the specified time according to the policy. Since this scenario doesn’t include Configuration Manager, there’s no way to install unapproved updates. You’re expecting the operational insight agent to do the scan and automatically trigger the download and installation but that won’t happen with this configuration.

High bandwidth usage on Windows 10 by Windows Update

Users might see that Windows 10 is consuming all the bandwidth in the different offices under the system context. This behavior is by design. Components that might consume bandwidth expand beyond Windows Update components.

The following group policies can help mitigate this situation:

Other components that connect to the internet:

Troubleshoot problems updating Windows 10

In Windows 10, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. This article will help you answer questions and troubleshoot common problems with your Windows 10 update.

If you’re looking for info on how to activate Windows 10 or to verify that your installation of Windows 10 is activated, see Activate Windows 10.

Have issues installing Windows updates? Start here.

Your device may not be able to update to the latest version of Windows 10 for a few reasons. The following tips can help you pinpoint the issue affecting your device.

Before you begin, make sure your device is plugged into a power source and connected to the internet. Then, try the steps listed below to get your PC to update.

Some updates require administrator access. If your account doesn’t have administrator access, see Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10. Or if someone else at home or in your office has an administrator account on your device, try asking them to install the updates.

Before trying any of the solutions below, make sure you back up your personal files. You can use File History to back up your files to another drive, or insert a USB drive and use File Explorer to drag and copy important files to the USB drive. If you’re signing into Windows with a Microsoft account, your system settings will be automatically restored after updating, once you’re connected to the internet.

You can also back up your files with OneDrive. For more info, go to Back up your Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders with OneDrive.

Make sure that your device has enough space. Your device requires at least 16 GB of free space to upgrade a 32-bit OS, or 20 GB for a 64-bit OS. If your device has a small hard drive, you may need to insert a USB drive to update it.

If your PC is running low on storage, try the techniques at Free up drive space in Windows 10.

Many updates require you to restart your device. Save your work and close all open applications. Then, select Start > Power , and select either Update and restart or Update and shut down.

Even if you have downloaded some updates, there may be more available. After trying the preceding steps, run Windows Update again by selecting Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates. Download and install any new updates.

Remove any external storage devices and drives, docks, and other hardware plugged into your device that aren’t needed for basic functionality. Then try to run updates again and see if this resolved your issue. If it didn’t, continue to the next tip.

If you’ve added hardware to your device, check for third-party driver updates and installation instructions on the hardware manufacturer’s website. Update any drivers, then try to run updates again and see if this resolved your issue. If it didn’t, continue to the next tip.

In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager, then select Device Manager from the list of results.

In the window that appears, look for any device with a yellow exclamation mark next to it. (You may have to select each category to view the list of devices.) Select the device name.

Select Action, and then choose either Update driver or Uninstall to correct the errors.

Common troubleshooting questions

If you are receiving an error message with a specific error code, try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, see Fix Windows Update errors and follow the instructions to help resolve common update issues.

The time required to download and install updates depends on connection speed, network settings, and the size of the update. If the installation remains stuck at the same percentage, try checking for updates again or running the Windows Update Troubleshooter.

To check for updates, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

To get help, in the search box on the task bar, type get help, then select Get Help from the list of results. To leave feedback if you run into further problems, in the search box on the taskbar, type feedback hub, then select Feedback Hub from the list of results.

Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever, and we recommend you stay updated to protect your PC from security risks and to keep it running smoothly. However, you can temporarily pause updates as well as schedule a restart to install updates at a time that’s convenient for you.
Learn how to temporarily pause updates
Find out how to schedule a restart to install updates at a convenient time

You will only receive a notification when it’s time to restart your computer to apply the installed updates.

If you need to know where you left off in your work after an update, use Timeline to jump back in.

To get started with Timeline, select Task View on the taskbar, or press the Windows logo key +Tab and select the activity you want to resume.

Monthly quality updates on Windows 10 are quite small and have a minimal impact on data usage. Feature updates typically happen twice per year, and you can control when to install them. They require more data but are less frequent.

If you’re on a metered connection, some updates for Windows won’t be installed automatically. Metered connections in Windows 10

Your computer might be slow for a number of reasons, but updating to the latest version of Windows 10 can improve its performance. For help with a slow computer, see Tips to improve PC performance in Windows 10.

If you’re having trouble finding your files after an upgrade, see Find lost files after the upgrade to Windows 10 for other things to try.

Warning: Microsoft only recommends trying the procedures in this section if you’re comfortable working in the command line. These procedures require administrator permissions on your device.

In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, then select Run as administrator from the list of options. Select Yes. Next, in the window that appears, type the following commands one at a time, including the spaces as shown. After you type each command, press Enter. Then let each command complete before you type the next command.

net stop wuauserv

ren %systemroot%\softwaredistribution softwaredistribution.bak

ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak

net start wuauserv

After all these commands are completed, close the Command Prompt window and restart your computer.

In some instances, third-party antivirus or security software can cause errors when you try to update to the latest version of Windows 10. You can temporarily uninstall this software, update your PC, and then reinstall the software after your device is up to date. We recommend using third-party antivirus or security software that’s compatible with the latest version of Windows 10. You can check compatibility by visiting the software manufacturer’s website.

Note: Before uninstalling software, make sure you know how to reinstall your programs and that you have any necessary product keys.

In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, and then select Run as administrator from the list of options. Select Yes. In the window that appears, type the following command, including the space as shown:
chkdsk/f C:
and then press Enter. Repairs will automatically start on your hard drive, and you’ll be asked to restart your device.

A clean restart starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update that may cause issues updating your PC.
Learn how to do a clean restart

In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, then select Run as administrator from the list of options.

In the window that appears, type this command including spaces as shown:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Press Enter. When the command operation has run successfully, you’ll see a confirmation message from Command Prompt that says, “The restore operation completed successfully” or “The operation completed successfully”.
Note: If you don’t see a confirmation message, retype the command and try again.

Next, type this command, including the space as shown:
sfc /scannow

Press Enter. Wait until the sfc scan verification reaches 100% completion, and then close Command Prompt.

Try running the Windows Update again.

Go to the software download page and select Download tool now to download the clean installation tool. Make sure to carefully read the notes on the software download page before using the tool.

Still stuck?

Contact Microsoft support if you continue to have problems with your Windows updates.