How to fix error 0x800f0831 in Windows

The error code 0x800f0831 can usually be traced back to a faulty con­nec­tion to Windows update servers. Since it’s hard to determine specific causes for the error right away, it helps to have various solutions and see which one works. We explain how error 0x800f0831 can be fixed in Windows 10 and 11 with Windows repair tools, the update trou­bleshoot­er and the DISM and SFC tools.

When does the error code 0x800f0831 appear?

Although updates for Windows are usually automatic, you may still sometimes encounter error codes such as 0x80072f8f, 0x800705b4, or 0xc0000005. An error code that you will also encounter fre­quent­ly during updates is 0x800f0831. The code indicates a problem with the con­nec­tion to Windows servers, resulting in blocked updates. Since updates are important to keep your Windows system secure, you should address the problem as soon as possible.

Solutions for error 0x800f0831

The following solutions are possible when error 0x800f0831 occurs:

Trou­bleshoot 0x800f0831 using the Windows update trou­bleshoot­er

An obvious and often suc­cess­ful solution is the Windows Trou­bleshoot­er tool.

1. Access the trou­bleshoot­er from the Windows task bar.
2. Go to Ad­di­tion­al trou­bleshoot­ers (Windows 10) or to Other trou­bleshoot­ers (Windows 11).
3. Click on Windows Update and on Run to perform trou­bleshoot­ing for the selected update component.
4. Now follow the Windows cor­rec­tion sug­ges­tions and restart your PC.

Reset update com­po­nents

If the trou­bleshoot­er does not work, it may help to manually reset the operating system’s update com­po­nents:

1. Open the command prompt with ad­min­is­tra­tor rights by pressing [Ctrl] + [R], typing cmd and con­firm­ing with [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter].
2. Disable the Windows Update com­po­nents one after the other with the following CMD commands. Confirm each command with [Enter]:

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\\Windows\\System32\\catroot2 Catroot2.old

3. Af­ter­wards, activate each component manually with the following commands:

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

4. Restart your computer.

Use Windows tools SFC and DISM

Another reason for the 0x800f0831 Windows update error can be damaged Windows system files. Windows provides the SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (De­ploy­ment Image Servicing and Man­age­ment) tools to repair or reset the files.

1. Open the command prompt again with [Ctrl] + [R], enter the command cmd and confirm with [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter].
2. Now enter the command sfc /scannow and press [Enter].
3. After the scan is complete, restart your computer.
4. If Windows does not find any corrupted system files, start the command prompt again, enter the following commands one after the other and confirm each of them by clicking on [Enter]:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

5. Restart the computer and check if the error is still there.

Install the update manually

If the in­stal­la­tion of the update in question still fails, you can download it directly from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

1. Visit the Microsoft Update Catalog.
2. Search for the KB number to find the correct update. You can determine this by going to Update & Security (Windows 10) or Windows Update (Windows 11) and then Update history. There you will find all suc­cess­ful or failed updates with the cor­re­spond­ing KB number.
3. Enter the KB number in the Microsoft Update Catalog in the search field and click Search.
4. Click on Download next to the correct update, extract the down­loaded file with a double click and select where you want to save it.
5. Once the file is unzipped, double-click to install it.

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