SOLVED: Windows 10 Won’t Install or Download Updates

While Windows 10 is the latest and greatest iteration of the Windows Operating System in existence, it is far from perfect. That being the case, Microsoft periodically rolls out tons of updates for both Windows 10 and the programs and applications that it contains. Unlike with older versions of Windows, however, all updates rolled out to Windows 10 computers via Windows Update are mandatory and are automatically downloaded and installed at one time or another. Regardless of the important status of an update and regardless of whether or not you want to install it, it will eventually be downloaded and installed, although you do have the power to delay the occurrence slightly.

Some Windows 10 users, unfortunately, have been and continue to be affected by an issue where their computers accumulate tons of pending updates, some of which are marked as waiting to be downloaded, some marked as waiting to be installed, but none actually being downloaded or installed no matter how many times affected users try to download and install them. When users affected by this issue go into Windows Update, they see a list of all of the updates available for their computer but are unable to download and/or install any of them even though some are marked as waiting to be downloaded and some waiting to be installed.

Thankfully, though, this problem is not a dead-end problem and can be fixed by pretty simple means. The following are the three most effective solutions that you can use to try and fix this problem:

Repair Corrupt System Files

Download and run Restoro to scan for corrupt files from here, if files are found to be corrupt and missing repair them and then check if it fixes the issue, if not then proceed with Solutions listed below.

Before you Proceed: Make sure to leave the process for at least an hour or two to make sure that Windows isn’t just initializing updates.

Solution 1: Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

If a Windows 10 component is not working or behaving the way it is supposed to, what you need to do is simply run Windows 10’s built-in Troubleshooting utility, but run it specifically for the component that is malfunctioning. The same applies to Windows Update – since Windows Update is behaving strangely, the first solution you should try out is running the Windows Update Troubleshooter. To do so, you need to:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Switch to Icons
3. Click on Troubleshooting.
4. Click on View all in the left pane.
5. Click on Windows Update.
6. Click on Next, and then proceed with the troubleshooter all the way through to the end, following the on-screen instructions along the way.

The Troubleshooter will try to identify any and all problems with Windows Update and fix any problems that it finds. Once you have successfully run the Troubleshooter, you should restart your computer and try downloading and installing Windows Updates once it boots up to see whether or not the issue still persists.

Solution 2: Ensure that all services related to Windows Update are running

You may be facing this Windows Update issue if one or more of the services pertaining to Windows Update is either not enabled or are not running on your computer. If that is the case, this issue can be easily remedied by making sure that all Windows Update-related services are enabled and running.

1. Hold down the Windows Logo key, and while doing so, press R to open a Run
2. Type services.msc into the Run dialog and press Enter.
3. Locate and right-click on the Windows Update service, and click on Properties.
4. Set the service’s Startup type to Automatic, if the service is stopped, click on Start to start it, click on Apply and then click on OK.
5. Locate and right-click on the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), and click on Properties.
6. Repeat step 4.
7. Locate and right-click on the Cryptographic Service, and click on Properties.
8. Repeat step 4.

Close the utility, restart your computer and check to see whether or not the problem has been fixed once it boots up.

Solution 3: Using a Registry Tweak to reset Windows Update

If the solutions provided above doesn’t fix your problem there is a possibility that registry keys are corrupted or modified there is a Registry Tweak that you can try, basically it will reset the Windows Update‘s registry keys and set them to default which can potentially fix the issue you are having.

1. Click hereto download the Registry Tweak.
2. Wait for the Registry Tweak to be downloaded.
3. Navigate to where the Tweak was downloaded to and double-click on it to run it.
4. There will be a pop-up asking “Are you sure you want to continue?” Press “Yes”
5. Now press ok.
6. Restart your Computer then check to see if the issue still persists.

Solution 4: Fix the issue via an elevated Command Prompt

If none of the solutions listed and described above have worked for you, you may just be able to fix this issue through an elevated Command Prompt. In order to do so, you need to:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button to open the WinX Menu.
2. Click on Command Prompt (Admin).
3. One by one, type the following commands into the elevated Command Prompt, pressing Enter after typing in each one and waiting for one command to be executed fully before typing in the next:

Once all of the commands listed above have been fully executed, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer.

Check whether or not you are now able to download and install updates via Windows Update once your computer boots up.

Solution 5: Turn OFF Metered Connection

In some cases, the internet connection that you are using might be set up as a metered connection due to which the download restriction might be implemented on it. Therefore, in this step, we will be turning this metered connection OFF and then check to see if the issue still persists. For that:

1. Press “Windows” + “I” to open settings.
2. Click on the “Networkand Internet” option. Selecting “Network and Internet” Options
3. Click on the “Wifi” option on the left pane and select “Manage known Networks” in the next window. Accessing the Manage known networks menu
4. Click on the Wifi name in the next window and select “Properties”.
5. Click on the “Toggle” for “Set as Metered Connection” to turn it off.
6. Check to see if the issue persists.

Fix Windows Update errors

What does this guided walk-through do?

This guided walk-through provides steps to fix problems with Windows Updates for Windows 8.1 and 7, such as taking a long time to scan, or error codes while installing updates.

For help with Windows Update issues in Windows 10, see Troubleshoot problems updating Windows 10 instead.

A common cause of errors is inadequate drive space. If you need help freeing up drive space, see Tips to free up drive space on your PC.

Common error codes

The steps in this guided walk-through should help with all Windows Update errors and other issues— you don’t need to search for the specific error to solve it. As an example, here are some commonly seen error codes: 0x0xc1900223223; 0x80240034; 0x8007000E, 0x80242006​, 0x80244018​, 0x80D02002​, 0x80246017​, 0x80240438​, 0x80070070​, 0x8007000D​, 0x80246008​, 0x80096004​, 0x80070020.
The steps provided here should help fix any errors that come up during the Windows Update process.

How does it work?

We’ll begin by asking you questions about the Windows version you’re using and the issue you’re experiencing. Next, we’ll take you through a series of troubleshooting steps that are specific to your situation. At the end of each step, you’ll be asked “Did this resolve the issue?” If it’s resolved, select Yes, and you’re done! If it isn’t resolved, select No and continue with the guided walk-through.

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: