Fix Cannot Download Windows Updates in Windows 10 and 8 When Behind a Proxy or Firewall

Sometimes when you check your computer windows updates status, you found that your computer is not downloading updates automatically, even when the settings are set to automatically download and install updates. And when you check for updates, you might get following error or message:

This happens even when you’re connected to Internet and yet windows update is not able to connect to Microsoft server for checking available updates.

Fix Cannot Download Windows Updates in Windows 10 and 8 When Behind a Proxy or Firewall

Most probable cause of this issue is when your internet connection is passing though a proxy or your firewall settings are not allowing windows updates to reach Microsoft servers. What happens is, Windows uses Microsoft Windows HTTP Services (WinHTTP) to check with Microsoft servers for updates and Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) download the updates in background and when this connection get disrupted, you get above said error. Probable causes of this communication disruptions are:

• TCP 80 (HTTP) and TCP 443 (HTTPS) are being blocked by Proxy or Firewall.
• Your client proxy settings are incorrect.
• Your Proxy or Firewall doesn’t support TLS 1.2.
• Since following windows update clients versions, TLS 1.2 is a prerequisite:
  • Windows 7 SP1: 7.6.7600.320
  • Windows 8: 7.8.9200.16924
  • Windows 8.1: 7.9.9600.17122
  • Windows 10 RTM

So, in order to restore the communication between windows update and Microsoft servers, you need to do following steps:

Solution 1

• Either you disable protocol detection or your proxy or firewall must support TLS 1.2.
• If your proxy or firewall allows only a limited nos of domains to connect for internet surfing, you’ll need to white-list following set of url’s too for restoring the communication gap:

Solution 2

Windows Updates by default use the current logged in user settings for allowing the computer to connect to check for updates. If you’re using proxy.pac file for enforcing proxy setting or have set proxy via Group Policy Editor or any other method you may know, you just need to make sure that you’ve configured Internet Explorer proxy settings correctly.

Also on Trouble Fixers:

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• How to Open Images in Default Photo Viewer of Windows 10
• How to Use Group Policy to Configure Updates in Windows 10

You need to make sure that “Automatically detect settings” must be unchecked as this settings overrides your proxy settings and then mishap of no connection occurs. To check if you already have correct proxy configuration in your computer, go to:

In Windows 8

In Windows 10

Hope this may resolve not just your Windows update connection, but also streamline your internet connection, if you’ve been facing any issue while internet browsing when using proxy or Firewall.