Microsoft Acknowledges Windows 10 Kb3194496 Install Issues

Microsoft pushed cumulative update KB3194496 to the public channel one day after the update was rolled out to Release Preview and Slow Ring Insiders. The company didn’t take enough time to thoroughly analyze the Insiders’ feedback and make the necessary adjustments, and as a result, KB3194496 caused more issues than it fixed.

Thousands of Windows 10 users reported they couldn’t complete the installation process, as KB3194496 got stuck after the reboot phase.

We have two pieces of news for you: a good one, and a bad one. To start in a positive note, we’ll give you the good news first: you can force the installation process of KB3194496 by manually downloading and installing the update. For more information about this process, and the download links, check out our dedicated article.

Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 (KB3194496) fails after reboot at 99%. I have checked in Event Viewer for the error code which is 0x800f0922. Looking at the comments […] it looks like it’s a widespread problem.

The bad news is that many Windows 10 Insiders won’t be able to complete the installation process. Microsoft has officially acknowledged the KB3194496 install issues, and confirmed that they affect only a subset of Insiders. The company also added that each and every attempt at installing the update would be unsuccessful, as the install process would keep on failing.

The fact that Microsoft has acknowledged these annoying install issues is to be appreciated, yet one question remains: why did the company push cumulative update KB3194496 to all Windows 10 users knowing that it had installation issues? Indeed, Fast Ring Insiders reported installation failures for KB3194496 from the day the update became available, yet Microsoft decided to go on and roll it to the general public.

Teams have dug into this issue and do believe the cause has been identified. Looks like this will only be hitting a subset of Insiders. The correct team is developing a fix/workaround and once we have the full details, we’ll be posting that information. For your affected machines, there’s no need to keep attempting the install. It’ll keep failing. In the mean time, hold tight! We’re all over this and will keep sharing information along the way.

Meanwhile, perhaps the best solution when installing cumulative updates is to wait and download them one or two days after they become available. In this manner, you can better assess the advantages and disadvantages the respective updates bring. As a quick reminder, apart from installation issues, KB3194496 also brings mouse and keyboard issues and proxy bugs.