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Error 0x80070422 in Windows Update and Store

Ramesh

When you open Settings and check for updates on your Windows 10 or 11 computer, the error 0x80070422 appears. Here is the entire error message:

There were some problems installing updates, but we'll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80070422)

The full description for the error code 0x80070422 is The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

The same error occurs when opening Microsoft Store.

The error message above is self-explanatory. All you need to do is to start the Windows Update service (wuauserv). Also, set the “Microsoft Account Sign-in Assistant” (wlidsvc) service to Manual start.

RELATED: Error 0x80070426 in Microsoft Store, Edge or Other Apps

Fix the Windows Update Error 0x80070422

To resolve the error 0x80070422, start the Windows Update service and the Microsoft Account Sign-in Assistant service.

Option 1: Using Services MMC

  1. Launch the Services MMC (services.msc)
  2. Double-click the Microsoft Account Sign-in Assistant service from the list.
  3. Set its Startup Type to Manual.
  4. Click Start to start the service manually.
  5. Double-click Windows Update
  6. Set its startup type to Manual
  7. In the Log On tab, select Local System account.
  8. Switch to the General tab, and click Apply
  9. Click Start to start the Windows Update service.
If the Windows Update service is missing from the list, see the articles Missing Windows Update (wuauserv) Service and Error 0x80070424 in Windows Update to restore the service entry.

You can also change the Windows Update service Start type using Command Prompt or the Registry Editor.

Option 2: Using Command Prompt

Alternatively, you can set the Windows Update service start type using Command Prompt.

Open admin Command Prompt and execute the following command:

sc config wuauserv start= demand

This sets the Windows Update start type to Manual.

Option 3: Using the Windows Registry

You can also use the Registry Editor to manually change the Windows Update service’s Start type.

  1. Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
  2. Go to the following branch: 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv
  3. Double-click the DWORD value named Start and set its data to 3
     
    Service Startup types and the Start registry value:

0x00000002 means Automatic start
0x00000003 means Manual start (a.k.a demand start)
0x00000004 means Disabled
  4. Exit the Registry Editor
  5. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Access is Denied when changing “Windows Update” Start type

If you receive the Access Denied error when changing the Windows Update service Start type via the registry or Command Prompt, then do one of the following:

Option 1 (preferred): Change the registry setting by starting the Registry Editor as LOCALSYSTEM or TrustedInstaller.

Option 2: Take ownership of the Windows Update service registry key mentioned below, and assign the necessary permissions.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv

For more information on taking ownership of a registry key and assigning permissions, check out the article Take Ownership of a Registry Key And Assign Full Permissions.

Alternatively, you can do the same using the SetACL.exe console tool. For more information, check out the article Take Ownership of Registry Key & Assign Permissions Using Command-line

Now, see if you can change the Windows Update service Startup type using the Services MMC or Command Prompt.

RELATED: Troubleshooting Windows Update Errors in Windows 10 or 11

Windows Update service keeps getting disabled!

A background service may disable the Windows Update and the related services — e.g., BITS, Delivery Optimization, WaasMedicSvc, etc. To verify that, disable all non-Microsoft services using the System Configuration tool and restart Windows.

  1. Open MSCONFIG, and select the “Services” tab.
  2. Enable “Hide all Microsoft services”. The list will now show only the third-party services.

  3. Click Disable all.
  4. Reboot the computer.
  5. Launch the Services MMC, and re-enable Windows Update (set it to “Manual”)

See if the Windows Update startup type is retained (“Manual”) after a restart. If so, the next part is to re-enable a set of services at a time and reboot to find the offending service.

So which service is the culprit?

Bisect the list and re-enable the 1st half. Reboot. If the Windows Update service is set to “Disabled,” set it to Manual. Then narrow down the service that has caused the problem from the 1st half of the services. Repeat these steps until you’ve isolated the problem to a single service.

For example, you may have a program like “StopUpdates10” installed. These programs disable the Windows Update services at specific intervals. The service name, in this case, is “StopUpdates10 Guard”.

Uninstalling the program or disabling the offending service should let you install updates via Windows Update.

And don’t rule out malware. Check out this article for more information Windows Update services are deleted at every restart.

Disable IPv6 temporarily

If the Windows Update service is already running and yet the error 0x80070422 occurs, disable IPv6 temporarily using these steps:

  1. Right-click Start, click Run
  2. Type ncpa.cpl and press ENTER
  3. Right-click on your internet connection and then select Properties.
  4. In the list of items, uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
  5. Click OK and restart the computer.
  6. After installing the update(s), re-enable IPv6.


This should fix the Windows Update error 0x80070422.

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