Fix: Windows Updates Error 0x8024401c

When the Windows 10 Technical Preview was launched for the whole world to test and assess, users were finding issues, bugs and problems left and right. One of the many issues that Windows 10 Technical Preview users bumped into was their computer not being able to download and install Windows Updates because of error 0x8024401c. This was one of the more significant issues with the Windows 10 Technical Preview as Windows Updates, in most cases, came with tons of bug fixes and improvements.

If the error 0x8024401c issue had been exclusive to the Windows 10 Technical Preview, it would no longer be a problem as Windows 10 has since been released in its complete and full-fledged form. However, as it turns out, the error 0x8024401c issue is one that both Windows 10 and older versions of the Windows Operating System are affected by.

Users are met with error 0x8024401c when their Windows computer can’t download and install Windows Updates because Windows Update cannot seem to connect to Microsoft’s update servers. In most cases, this is caused by the affected computer not having a working internet connection. However, if your Windows computer has a healthy internet connection but is still unable to download and install Windows Updates because of error 0x8024401c, the next most plausible cause is that it is trying to retrieve the available Windows Updates from whatever domain or network it is connected to instead of Microsoft’s own update servers, and the domain or network the computer is connected to does not have the updates it is looking for.

If that is the case, you can get rid of this problem by simply forcing your computer to use Microsoft’s update servers to download and install the available Windows Updates. To do so, you need to follow these steps:

1. Press and hold the Windows key then press the R key to open a Run program.
2. Type “Regedit” and then press Enter. This should open Registry Editor.

   

3. In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the following directory:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

4. In the right pane of the Registry Editor, locate and double click on the registry value titled UseWUServer to modify it.

   

5. Replace whatever is in the registry value’s Value data field with 0 and click on OK.

   

6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Restart your computer.

Once your computer boots up, launch Windows Update and check for updates for your computer. Windows Update should now find and successfully download and then install all available updates for your computer.

You can also try several steps in this thread that can address advanced windows update issues.