How to Fix Windows Update Error 0x80188309

Windows updates are important for keeping your system updated with the latest features and fixes. Other than this, Windows updates push security updates to your system which is essential for the security of your system. However, at times, while trying to update Windows, users encounter the error code 0x80188309. If you encounter this error, please read through this article for the resolutions.

What causes Windows Update error 0x80188309 – The cause behind Windows Update error 0x80188309 can be due to corrupt Windows Update cache files or inconsistent services associated with the Windows Update process. In either case, we can try a usual set of resolutions to fix the issue. See: How to Fix Windows update error 0xe0000003. Try the following solutions sequentially to fix the problem:

Windows Update Error 0x80188309

Here is how to fix Windows Update Error 0x80188309:

Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

The Windows Update troubleshooter is an in-built tool in Windows to check for problems with updating Windows and fix them if possible. Lately, Microsoft has improved its set of troubleshooters considerably, thus making them very effective. The procedure to run the Windows Update troubleshooter is as follows:

1. Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
2. In the Settings menu, go to the System tab on the left pane.
3. In the right pane, select Troubleshoot.
4. Select Other troubleshooters.
5. Click on Run corresponding to the Windows Update troubleshooter.

6. Wait for a few seconds and allow the troubleshooter to detect problems with Windows updates.
7. The troubleshooter will fix the problem or at least detect it. You will be asked whether it resolved your issue or not.
8. Click on Yes or No accordingly.

Check for the consistency of services associated with Windows Updates

A lot of third-party software products can make changes to your system and these changes include shutting down services associated with Windows updates. If these services are not set to Automatic, Windows Updates will not initiate automatically. You might encounter the 0x80188309 error. In this case, you can fix the case with these services as follows:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run window.
2. In the Run Window, type the command “services.msc” and hit Enter.
3. Scroll down to the Windows Update.
4. Right-click on the Windows Update service and select Properties.
5. Change the Startup Type to Automatic from the drop-down menu.
6. Click on Start.
7. Now, click on Apply and then on OK to save the settings.

8. This will initiate the Windows Update service and make it automatic unless it is changed.
9. Repeat this procedure for the Background Intelligence Transfer service and Cryptographic service.

Clear the contents of the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders

The SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders store the cache files for Windows Updates. If these files are corrupt, then you will not be able to update Windows. To fix this problem, you will have to clear the contents of these folders. However, it is not possible to delete these contents unless you stop all services associated with Windows Updates beforehand. The procedure to delete the contents of these 2 folders is as follows:

1. Search for Command Prompt in the Windows Search bar.
2. Click on Run as Administrator in the right pane to open the elevated Command Prompt window.
3. Copy-paste the following commands and hit Enter multiple times to execute them.

net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
net start AppReadiness

4. Once these commands have been executed, copy-paste the following commands to delete the contents of the SoftwareDistribution folder and rename the Catroot2 folder.

del %windir%\SoftwareDistribution
md %systemroot%\system32\catroot2.old
xcopy %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 %systemroot%\system32\catroot2.old /s
bitsadmin /reset /allusers

5. Lastly, you can restart the services associated with Windows Updates by executing the following commands:

net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
net start AppReadiness

6. Reboot your system once these commands have been executed. Most probably, the problem will be resolved.

Download and install Windows Updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog

If all the above-mentioned solutions fail, then the last option will be to install the latest update on your system manually from the Microsoft Update catalog. The procedure is as follows:

1. Open the website catalog.update.microsoft.com.
2. In the search bar, search for the latest date and month in the YYYY-MM format. Eg. If the current month is September 2023, I will search for 2023-09.
3. However, if no updates are available, then search for the previous month. Eg. If no updates were issued in September 2023, search for updates in August 2023. The format will be 2023-08.
4. Download the latest update from the website.
5. Install the update on your system.
6. Reboot your system.

Reference: How to Download and Install Update from Microsoft update catalog on Windows 11/10

Use Google’s DNS address

If the internet is working well and you have tried all solutions relevant to Windows Update error 0x80188309, it is quite possible that Windows Updates will not be able to pick the updates from the Microsoft server. This could be an issue with the DNS. To solve this problem, you can use the DNS server address for Google (since it always works). The procedure is as follows:

1. Press the Windows key and the R key together to open the Run window.
2. In the Run window, type the command NCPA.CPL. Hit “Enter” to open the Network Connections window.
3. In the Network Connections window, right-click on your active network connection and select Properties from the menu.
4. Double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPV4) to open its “properties”.
5. Shift the radio button to Use the following DNS Server address.
6. Now, use the following values for the DNS servers:

Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS server: 8.8.4.4

7. Click on OK to save the settings.

8. Reboot your system and the problem will be fixed.

Disable any third-party security software temporarily

Lately, Windows Security has become proficient enough to keep your system secure from viruses and malware, unless you download unverified third-party software products. Nonetheless, users still use third-party anti-virus software products for their own reasons.

If a third-party security product is over-protective, it can prevent Windows updates. Thus, it is advisable to turn these products OFF temporarily to isolate the cause. Please contact the manufacturer of your third-party security product for the procedure to disable it.

I hope this was helpful. Please let us know in the comment section.

Methods:
Run the Windows Update troubleshooter
Check for the consistency of services associated with Windows Updates
Clear the contents of the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders
Download and install Windows Updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog
Use Google’s DNS address
Disable any third-party security software temporarily

That’s all!!