How to fix Windows Update error 0x800f020b in Windows 11

What is error 0x800f020b

Error code 0x800f020b can be encountered in Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. It occurs when trying to update your system via Windows Update Center. It is usually owners of printers such as HP (Hewlett Packard) or Xerox that are likely to receive the error while installing updates. The reason for that is most likely a disconnected printer, which prevents the installation of necessary components for printing devices. Try to reconnect your printer and see if it helps install the update successfully. If there are some other external devices connected, do the same with them as well. Should the issue remain unsolved, follow the rest of the instructions in our article below. There are 7 more methods that may be able to help.

1. Use Windows Update Troubleshooter

Although it is considered ineffective by many, in-built Windows Troubleshooter abilities can sometimes address issues like the 0x80073712 error. Troubleshooter is a native Windows utility designed to find and remove existing problems in various segments. You can use it to detect update issues and try to fix them eventually. Here is how:

1. Open Settings from the bottom taskbar.
2. Choose System on the left and go to Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters on the right pane.
3. Then, find Windows Update and click Run next to it.
4. Finish the process following the on-screen instructions and restart your PC.

After this, try to perform the update again. If this does not work, you may benefit from other solutions in our tutorial further below.

2. Check integrity of the system files

The reason why you face error code 0x800f020b can be related to missing or corrupted system files. We will use SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scanning utilities, which will detect and restore absent components if any will be eventually found. Make sure to use both utilities as they may have a different impact on solving the problem. This is how:

Using SFC

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching loop next to the Start Menu button.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
3. Once the console is opened, type the sfc /scannow command and click Enter.
4. When the fixing process is done, restart your computer.

Using DISM

1. Open Command Prompt as we did in the previous step.
2. Copy and paste this command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth.
3. Click Enter and wait until Windows ends the scanning and fixing.
4. Once done, restart your PC and try to open the problematic program again.

After performing both of these scans, attempt to install the update again.

3. Clear Windows update cache

Update problems can sometimes be resolved by clearing the update-accumulated cache. We will first have to stop the operation of the Windows Update service and then proceed to clearing cache. Follow these steps below:

1. Press Windows Key + R buttons together and copy-paste services.msc.
2. Once opened, find and right-click on a service called Windows Update from the list. Choose Properties.
3. Then, click on the Stop button and click Apply and OK to save the given changes.
4. Once done, navigate to this path C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore and delete everything contained inside. You can also press Windows Key + R buttons as we did above and copy-paste the path to open it quicker.
5. After successfully clearing the cache, make sure you turn the previously stopped Windows Update service back on.

Now try to install the update again. You can also restart your PC to double-check if it helps.

4. Delete printer drivers and install them again

If you have a printer, and it is connected to your PC, but still raises the issue, you can then try and reinstall your drivers. It is possible that they got corrupted or simply outdated, which causes some compatibility issues. Thus, do the following to reinstall them:

1. Right-click on the Windows 11 icon and select Device Manager.
2. In the opened tab, find and expand a section called Printers.
3. Right-click on your printer driver, select Uninstall, and follow the on-screen instructions.

There are now alternatives to follow this – you can either restart your PC and wait until Windows installs new drivers for your printer itself, or you can otherwise go to the printer’s developer website and download drivers directly from it. The latter option should be even better since you will know that now you have proper drivers installed. If nothing has changed, then this was not a problem, it seems.

Updating drivers manually can be time- and energy-consuming. If you want to update drivers faster, not only for printers, we recommend using a special utility called Driver Booster from IObit. It has broad databases of drivers for all the devices to maintain your PC. You can download it using the button below.

Download Driver Booster

5. Skip over the update

If you do not mind missing this update, you can use an official Microsoft utility called “Show or hide updates”. It allows users to prevent some problematic or simply unnecessary updates from showing up again. Although it is no longer available on the official Microsoft website, you can still download it directly here and follow the steps below:

1. After downloading the tool, open it up.
2. Go to Advanced and select Apply repairs automatically.
3. Then, click Next and wait until your system finishes collecting information about updates. This might take some time.
4. Once another window appears, choose Hide updates.
5. The utility will therefore show you a list of available updates that can be hidden. Choose the one you are unable to install and click Next to finish.

After doing these steps, the problematic update will no longer appear. This utility is indeed very useful, and it is unclear why Microsoft removed it from their official download page. Also, if you ever end up willing to show the hidden update again, you can do this as well using the same utility again.

6. Download a conflicting update from Microsoft Catalog

If you still desire to have the update installed and disappear naturally, you can download the plebatic update Microsoft Catalog and install it manually. To do this, simply go through the steps listed below:

1. Open Settings from the bottom taskbar.
2. Then go to Windows Update on the left pane.
3. On the right side of the window, choose Update history.
4. After this, find and note the most recent update (usually starts with “KB” and is on top of the list).
5. You can also find this out by noting the name of the failing update (in case it displays).
6. Once done, search and download the noted update from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

7. Use Media Creation Tool

If there is still no ringing in favor of having the issue resolved, then we recommend you to try Media Creation Tool – a great Microsoft utility designed to reinstall Windows and also obtain the latest available updates by circumventing traditional methods. Follow the instructions below:

1. At first, you have to download the utility from the Microsoft website.
2. Then, execute the downloaded file.
3. After agreeing with the Terms of use, there will be two options to choose from. Select Upgrade this PC now.
4. Choose to Keep Personal Files to ensure they will be untouched.
5. Finally, launch the process and wait until it ends.
6. Hopefully, this method helped you combat the 0x800f020b error.

Summary

We conclude our list of solutions on this. Normally, such updates are not very important and can be skipped if nothing helps sort out the problem. We hope you managed to capitalize on these solutions and no longer encounter the 0x800f020b error. If there is anything else our team can help you with, search it up on our website. There might be articles with instructions already available for your other computer problems as well.