How to Fix Windows Update Error 0x80072EFD

By ErrorFix · Updated October 17, 2026 · 7 min read

What error 0x80072EFD means

0x80072EFD is Microsoft's code for a failed connection attempt (ERROR_WINHTTP_CANNOT_CONNECT). When you click "Check for updates," Windows reaches out to Microsoft's servers to ask what's new. This error means the attempt to connect never succeeded — Windows didn't get an answer, not even a rejection. It is the network equivalent of calling someone and hearing silence instead of ringing.

The confusing part is that everything else on your PC can work perfectly. YouTube plays, email syncs, and web pages load — but Windows Update stubbornly reports 0x80072EFD. That's because Windows Update doesn't use your browser's connection. It uses its own background services (Windows Update service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service) and its own network configuration, which means a proxy, VPN, firewall rule, or corrupted network component can block update traffic while leaving your browser untouched.

Common causes

• VPN or proxy interference: a VPN tunnel or manual proxy setting routes update traffic somewhere it can't reach Microsoft's servers.
• Third-party firewall or antivirus: security suites sometimes block the update services or outbound traffic on ports 80 and 443.
• Wrong system date or time: the secure connection to Microsoft requires a valid certificate check, and a clock that's off by even a few hours can make that handshake fail.
• Corrupted network stack: damaged Winsock or TCP/IP components stop the update services from opening connections at all.
• Corrupted update cache: a damaged SoftwareDistribution or catroot2 folder can leave the update service in a state where every connection attempt fails.

How to fix error 0x80072EFD — step by step

Work through these fixes in order — most people are fixed by step 4.

1. Confirm your real internet connection. Open a browser and load a few different websites. If pages load fine, your internet is okay and the problem is specifically between Windows Update and Microsoft's servers. That's actually good news: it narrows the suspects to VPNs, proxies, firewalls, and Windows' own network components.
2. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter. Open Settings, go to System, then Troubleshoot, then Other troubleshooters, and click Run next to Windows Update. The tool verifies that the update services are running, checks pending operations, and repairs the most common faults automatically. Retry the update when it finishes.
3. Sync the system date and time. Open Settings, go to Time & language, then Date & time. Turn on "Set time automatically" and "Set time zone automatically," then click Sync now. An incorrect clock breaks the TLS certificate validation on the secure connection to Microsoft, which produces exactly this connection failure. Restart and check for updates again.
4. Turn off VPN and proxy, and reset WinHTTP proxy to direct. Fully disconnect your VPN app — don't just pause it. Then go to Settings, Network & internet, Proxy, and make sure no manual proxy is configured. Next, right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin), and run netsh winhttp reset proxy. This tells Windows to talk to Microsoft directly instead of through a proxy server.
5. Temporarily disable third-party security software. Open your antivirus or internet-security suite and pause real-time protection and its firewall for about 15 minutes — just long enough to test. Then run Windows Update. If the update goes through, the security software is the blocker: look for an option to allow Windows Update traffic, or whitelist outbound traffic on TCP ports 80 and 443. Remember to re-enable protection afterward.
6. Reset the network stack. Right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Run netsh winsock reset and then netsh int ip reset, and restart your PC. This rebuilds the low-level networking components that the update services depend on, clearing out corruption that blocks new connections.
7. Rebuild the Windows Update cache. Open an admin terminal and stop the update services with net stop wuauserv and net stop bits. In File Explorer, rename C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution to SoftwareDistribution.old and C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 to catroot2.old. Back in the terminal, restart the services with net start wuauserv and net start bits, then check for updates. Windows rebuilds both folders from scratch.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Windows Update checks for updates without showing 0x80072EFD
• VPN is disconnected and no manual proxy is configured
• Date and time are set to automatic and synced
• Updates download and install successfully

If the error still appears, try connecting through a different network — a mobile hotspot is a great test. If updates work on the hotspot, your router or ISP is blocking the connection, and the fix belongs on their side. On a work or school computer, your organization's filtering proxy or policy may be blocking Microsoft's update endpoints; talk to your IT admin, since local changes will be reverted by group policy anyway.