A Microsoft outage blocked Windows updates. Now a fix is being tested

On July 23rd, several Microsoft services (Azure, Windows Update, and Microsoft 365 apps like Teams and SharePoint) experienced widespread outages, which blocked the installation of Windows 11 updates. This delay was all the more frustrating because Microsoft now explicitly says to install Windows updates ASAP for security reasons.

Microsoft is now working on a number of fixes for Windows Update, which will hopefully reduce the risk of future problems.

Windows Update Orchestrator and Arbiter

According to Neowin, Microsoft will be making changes to Windows Update Orchestrator and Arbiter, the two components responsible for background updates and metadata, respectively.

Windows Update Orchestrator is the background component that manages the entire update process. Orchestrator schedules update scans, checks administrator policies, starts downloads, initiates the installation process, and performs restarts when necessary. All of this is automatic based on your Windows settings.

Windows Update Arbiter evaluates the metadata of the updates, determines which files are required, creates an action list, prepares the downloaded files, calls up the installer, and completes the update before restarting, as explained on this support page.

A better Windows Update being tested

The proposed changes are already live in Windows Insider preview builds 26100.8968 and 26200.8968, which are currently undergoing beta testing by Windows Insiders. With these updates, Microsoft also aims to improve the performance of the update process.

The changelog for the new Insider preview builds can be found here. It specifically addresses the update issues and states:

[Windows Update]

This update improves calculation of update progress in Windows Update Settings.

This update includes changes to update clean-up logic to improve system performance immediately following an update.

By the way: If you’re using Windows 11 Home, you’re missing out on the many benefits of Windows 11 Pro. To learn more, see our comparison of Windows 11 Home and Pro. If you want to upgrade, snag it for cheap in the PCWorld Software Store: now just $59 instead of $99.