Quote:Because beginning earlier today, a number of Windows computers can no longer be updated due to what appears to be an issue not with Microsoft’s products, but hitting certain ISPs.

At this point, it’s not exactly known how many ISPs are impacted, but I’ve received confirmation that users on Comcast and BT Broadband can’t install updates.

When checking for updates, users on these devices get the following error:
“Error encountered. We’ll continue to check daily for newer updates. We couldn’t connect to the update service. We’ll try again later, or you can check now. If it still doesn’t work, make sure that you’re connected to the Internet.”



Right now, it all seems to be a problem caused by bad DNS settings offered by these ISPs, so there are technically two different solutions to get the Windows Update service back working again.

First and foremost, you can simply try restarting your router. If you’re using a dynamic IP, your ISP should then grant your router a new IP with new DNS settings, so there’s a chance that everything works correctly after that. Several users confirmed this works, especially on Comcast.

Second of all, you can simply switch to Google’s public DNS server, which at this point appears to re-enable Windows Update. However, this should only be a temporary solution until your ISP resolves the issue.