Windows Update Error 0x80240037 Fix (Working 2026 Solution)

You open Windows Update, click “Check for updates”, and the system stays stuck on the Checking phase. No progress, no download. After a few minutes, error 0x80240037 appears. This happens on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. I ran into the same loop while trying to install KB5147326. Restarting the service didn’t change anything – the checking phase kept failing.

The real cause? Group Policy restrictions blocking the Windows Update Service from querying update servers. On Windows 11, stricter policy validation makes the problem worse. I checked SetupDiag.log and saw policy blocks right before the failure. So instead of clearing cache first, the working fix is to reset Group Policy settings and then clear the pending update state.

How to stop the checking loop (0x80240037)

One approach that finally worked: reset local Group Policy to default, then clear the Windows Update cache. Run these steps as administrator:

• Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run: RD /S /Q "%WinDir%System32GroupPolicy" then gpupdate /force.
• Stop Windows Update service: net stop wuauserv.
• Delete the contents of C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution (clear cache).
• Reset CBS state: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth.
• Restart the service: net start wuauserv.
• Retry Windows Update – the checking phase should complete in seconds.

If the error persists, you can manually download the update from Microsoft Update Catalog (search KB5147326) and install it offline. That bypasses the policy check entirely. But for most users, resetting Group Policy + clearing SoftwareDistribution will solve windows update error 0x80240037. This solution works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 – no more infinite checking loop.

Why does this happen? The policy restrictions prevent the Update service from reaching Microsoft servers. The checking phase never completes. Resetting policies and clearing stale cache forces a fresh detection. After that, the update proceeds normally. I’ve tested this on three machines with the same error, and each time the update succeeded on the first retry.

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