You may often encounter the Windows update error – 0x80240016 while trying to install an important update like the feature updates or the cumulative updates. This is a pretty common Windows update error and can occur with some of the KB updates.
Some of the common reasons why you may see this error includes the Windows Firewall on your system that may sometimes clash with the Windows update installation, a bunch of faulty cache data, corrupted Windows update, or due to any corruption in the system files.
While there can be many reasons why may experience the Windows Update error 0x80240016 on your Windows 10 PC, there are a few possible solutions that may help fix the issue.
Method 1: Running the Windows Update Troubleshooter
Step 1: Press the Win + I keys together on your keyboard to launch the Settings app.
Step 2: In the Settings app, click on the System option.
Step 3: Next, click on Troubleshoot on the right side of the pane.
Step 4: Now, navigate to the right side of the pans, scroll down and click on the other trouble-shooters link.
Step 5: In the Other troubles-hooters window, under the Most frequent section, go to Windows Update and click on Run button next to it.
Now, let the troubleshooter detect any issues. If any issues found it will apply the fix automatically.
Once the process is over, close the Settings window and try installing the update.
Method 2: Clear and Rename the Windows Update Temporary Cache Folder
Step 1: Press the Win + X shortcut keys on your keyboard and click on Run in the menu.
Step 2: In the Run command window that opens, type cmd in the search bar and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys together on your keyboard to launch the elevated Command Prompt window.
Step 3: In the Command Prompt (admin) window, run the below commands one by one and hit Enter after each command:
net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc net stop bits net stop msiserver
This will stop all Windows Update services (BITS service, Cryptographic service, MSI Installer service, and the Windows update service) before you proceed to reset all the Windows Update components.
Step 4: Once you have stopped all the Windows Update components, execute the below commands one after another and hit Enter after each command to clear the Windows Update cache and rename the two Windows Update folder – SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2:
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 are the two very important folders that are known to contain all the Windows Update related files and also maintains them. Since, these files cannot be removed completely, you can rename them to get rid of any corrupt files and replace them with fresh ones.
Step 5: Once you are done renaming the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders, run the below commands one by one and hit Enter after each one to enable the services once again (that you disabled in Step 3):
net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver
Now that you have re-enabled all the Windows Update related services, you can try installing the Windows Update and it should go through without showing the 0x80240016 error.
Method 3: Deploying SFC and DISM scans
Step 1: Press the Win + R hotkeys to open the Run command window.
Step 2: In the search field, type cmd and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys together on your keyboard to open the Command Prompt with admin rights.
Step 3: Now, in the elevated Command Prompt, type the below command and hit Enter:
sfc scannow
The process takes a while, so wait patiently till it gets over and returns the success message. It will look for any corrupt or missing files and fix them or replace them with fresh ones.
Now, restart your PC and check if you can install the pending update. If not, then run the DISM scan next.
Step 4: Run the below command in the Command Prompt (admin) window and hit Enter:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /Scanhealth
This process also takes a few minutes to complete, so wait till it gets over. Once the process is complete, it will return a success message. Post the success message, reboot your PC and now try installing the update. You should not experience the Windows Update error – 0x80240016.
Method 4: Turn of Windows Firewall Temporarily
Step 1: Press the Win + X keys together on your keyboard and select Run to open the Run Command window.
Step 2: In the Run command search box, type windowsdefender:/// and press OK to open the Windows Security window in the Settings app.
Step 3: In the Windows Security pane, go to the right side and click on Firewall & network protection.
Step 4: Next, in the Firewall & network protection window, go to the right side and click on Private network.
Step 5: In the next window, in the Private network page, on the right-side, go to the Microsoft Defender Firewall and turn it off.
Once done, close the Settings window and restart your PC. Now, you should be able to complete installing the update without facing the error.
Method 5: Restart the Windows Update Service
This method helps you to restart the Windows Update service using the command line after which the error should be resolved. Here’s how:
Step 1: Press the Win + R hotkeys to open Run command.
Step 2: In the Run command search box, write cmd and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys together on your keyboard to open the elevated Command Prompt window.
Step 3: In the elevated Command Prompt, run the below commands one after another and hit Enter after each command:
net stop wuauserv net start wuauserv
This will stop the Windows Update service first and then Start it again to restart the service.
Once done, exit Command Prompt and try to install the Windows Update for which you were experiencing the 0x80240016 error.
Method 6: Manually Reset Windows Update Components
Step 1: Press the Win + X keys on your keyboard and from the menu, select Run.
Step 2: This will open the Run command box.
In the search field, type cmd and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter hotkeys to open the Command Prompt window with admin rights.
Step 3: In the Command Prompt (admin) window, run the below command one after another and hit Enter after each command:
net stop bits net stop wuauserv net stop appidsvc net stop cryptsvc
This will stop the Windows Update related services – BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic service.
Step 4: Now, copy and paste the below command in the Command Prompt (admin) window and hit Enter:
Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%/Application Data/Microsoft/NetworkDownloaderqmgr*.dat"
This will delete the qmgr*.dat files.
Step 5: Next, run the below command in the Command Prompt and hit Enter:
cd /d %windir%system32
Step 6: Now, to re-register the BITS file and the Windows Update files, execute the below command one by one and hit Enter each time:
regsvr32.exe atl.dll regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll regsvr32.exe browseui.dll regsvr32.exe jscript.dll regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll regsvr32.exe msxml.dll regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll regsvr32.exe softpub.dll regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll regsvr32.exe ole32.dll regsvr32.exe shell32.dll regsvr32.exe initpki.dll regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll regsvr32.exe wups.dll regsvr32.exe wups2.dll regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll regsvr32.exe muweb.dll regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll
Step 7: Next, type the below command to reset Winsock and hit Enter:
netsh winsock reset
Step 8: Now, execute the below command to reset your proxy settings:
netsh winhttp reset proxy
Step 9: Once done with all the above commands, run the below commands to restart BITS service, the Windows Update service, and the Cryptographic services:
net start bits net start wuauserv net start appidsvc net start cryptsvc
You can close the Command prompt window and check if you can now install the pending Windows Update.
Method 7: Using the Registry Editor
Step 1: Press the Win + X keys on your keyboard and select Run from the menu to launch the Run command window.
Step 2: In the Run command search box, type regedit and press OK.
Step 3: Copy and paste the below path in the Registry Editor address bar and hit Enter:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
Now, go to the right side of the pane and look for the String values – WUServer and WIStatusServer.
Select both the keys – WUServer and WIStatusServer, and hit Delete.
Once done, exit the Registry Editor window, restart your PC and you should now be able to install the pending update without facing the Windows update error – 0x80240016.
*Note – Before you make any changes to the Registry Editor, make sure you create a backup of the Registry Settings, so that, in case you lose any data during the process, you can recover it easily.
Additionally, you can also try updating the system drivers to check if that helps fix the issue. If that does not work, you may run an antivirus scan using the built-in Windows Defender or using a trusted 3rd party antivirus software.