How to fix Windows update error 0x80073D02?

Error 0x80073D02 means Windows could not update a Microsoft Store app because the app's files were in use. The part after the code names the app, most often MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience, which runs Widgets. Close that app, then update it from Microsoft Store > Library.

Facts checked on 15 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What Windows update error 0x80073D02 means

Most Windows apps that come with the system, and every app from Microsoft Store, are app packages. Their updates arrive through Microsoft Store in the background, and Windows lists the result next to its own updates. That is why an app update looks like a failed Windows update. Microsoft's table of app deployment errors names 0x80073D02 ERROR_PACKAGES_IN_USE: "The package couldn't be installed because resources it modifies are currently in use."

The full line

"Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80073D02: 9MSSGKG348SP-MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience." The app part changes; the code does not.

What happened

The update needed to replace files of an app that was open, or a background process of that app held them. Windows stopped instead of closing your app.

What it is not

Not a failed cumulative update (those have a KB number), not damaged system files and not a network error.

Is it harmful

No. The app keeps working on its old version. The update is retried on a later run, and it often goes through on its own.

Which app the 0x80073D02 message names: WebExperience, Notepad, WhatsApp and others

After the code comes a 12 character Microsoft Store product ID, a hyphen and the package name. The package name tells you which app to close in Fix 1. These are the names readers search for most often.

Other names follow the same pattern, for example Microsoft.ZuneVideo (Movies & TV), Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller (App Installer) or Microsoft.StartExperiencesApp. On a PC set to Russian, Japanese, German or Korean, the same line appears in that language; the code and the fixes are the same.

Why 0x80073D02 appears: the causes, ranked

Most often the app was simply open, or kept a background process alive, when the automatic update ran. Users on Microsoft Q&A report that the failures tend to appear at night, when the PC updates from sleep with apps still loaded. Less often the Store's own cache or queue is stuck and retries the same failed update, or the app's install is damaged.

How to fix Windows update error 0x80073D02

Start with Fix 1: closing the named app and updating it by hand solves the in use case that Microsoft's description points to. Fix 2 is for a failure that returns every few days. Fixes 3 and 4 reset the Store and the app. Fixes 5 to 7 are the last checks when one app keeps failing.

Fix 1. Close the app named in the message and update it from Microsoft Store

5 minutesNo riskEveryone first, after a single failure or the first time you see the code.

Microsoft's description of 0x80073D02 is that the files the update modifies are in use. When no process of the app runs, nothing holds those files, and a manual update from the Store can replace them.

1. Read the package name after the code and find the app in the table under Which app the 0x80073D02 message names.
2. Save your work in that app and close its window.
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. On Processes, type the app name in the search box at the top (for example Widgets, Notepad or WhatsApp).
4. Select each match and select End task.
5. For Widgets on Windows 11, also open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and turn Widgets off for now.
6. Open Microsoft Store, select Library at the bottom left, then Get updates.
7. Wait until the app shows no update button, then open it again (and turn Widgets back on).

Fix 2. Restart the PC and update the app before you open anything

5 minutesNo riskThe same app fails again and again, often overnight, or Task Manager shows no process to end.

A restart ends every process, including helpers that do not show as an open app. A Microsoft Q&A answer for this code puts "restart and retry" first, because a reboot frees the component that is in use.

1. Save your work and close your apps.
2. Select Start > Power > Restart. Use Restart, not Shut down, because a shutdown with fast startup does not end every process.
3. After you sign in, do not open the app that failed.
4. Open Microsoft Store > Library and select Get updates.
5. Let all updates finish, then use the PC as usual.

• Failures at night: open Settings > Apps > Startup and turn off apps you do not need at sign in, such as WhatsApp. Fewer open apps leave fewer files in use when the update runs.
• Widgets every time: the Widgets board starts with Windows. If you never use it, keep Widgets off in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar; its updates then have nothing to collide with.

Fix 3. Reset the Microsoft Store cache with wsreset

5 minutesLow riskThe update stays pending in Library, or the message names Microsoft Store itself.

A stuck Store queue keeps retrying the same failed update. A volunteer moderator on Microsoft Q&A answered this exact message with wsreset.exe and Library > check for updates, and the asker reported it worked.

1. Close Microsoft Store and the app named in the message.
2. Press Win + R, type wsreset.exe and press Enter.
3. A blank window opens. Do not close it; it closes by itself and Microsoft Store opens.
4. In the Store, open Library and select Get updates.

If wsreset alone does not help, reset the Store app itself. It signs you out of the Store, but your apps stay installed. Step by step: Reset the Microsoft Store

Fix 4. Repair or reset the app that fails to update

5 minutesRead the warningOne app keeps failing with 0x80073D02 and also crashes, hangs or will not open.

When an app's own data is damaged, a background part of it can hang and keep its files in use. Terminate ends every process of the app, and Repair or Reset gives it clean files before the update.

1. Windows 11: open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select the three dots next to the app and Advanced options. Windows 10: Settings > Apps > Apps & features, select the app and Advanced options.
2. Select Terminate to end every process of the app.
3. Select Repair and wait for the check mark.
4. Open Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates.
5. If it fails again, come back and select Reset, then update once more.

Widgets has no Advanced options page of its own on most PCs. For Widgets, use Fix 1 with the taskbar switch, then Fix 6. More detail: How to repair or reset an app in Windows

Fix 5. Update the app in a clean boot

15 minutesLow riskFixes 1 to 4 did not help, and you run tools that hook into apps, such as overlays, tweakers or cleanup tools.

A clean boot starts Windows without third party services and startup programs. If one of them holds the app's files, the update runs through in a clean boot, and you know a startup program is the cause.

1. Start Windows in a clean boot: How to perform a clean boot in Windows
2. After the restart, open Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates and let the failed app update.
3. Turn the services and startup programs back on as the procedure shows, in small groups, to find the one that collides.
4. Restart normally.

Fix 6. Reinstall or re-register the app that keeps failing

10 minutesRead the warningOne app fails in every test above, or the message names Microsoft Store and wsreset did not help.

A half updated package can leave a broken registration that every new update stumbles over. A fresh install or a new registration writes the package again, and the Store then installs the current version.

1. Apps you installed (WhatsApp, Intel graphics software, Windows Terminal): uninstall the app in Settings > Apps > Installed apps, restart, and install it again from Microsoft Store.
2. Apps that come with Windows (Widgets, Notepad, Snipping Tool, Microsoft Store): re-register the package with PowerShell instead of uninstalling it. Step by step: How to re-register Microsoft Store apps with PowerShell
3. For Microsoft Store itself, run the command below in Windows PowerShell opened with Run as administrator.
4. Restart the PC, then open Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates.

Windows PowerShell as administrator: register Microsoft Store again for all users

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsStore* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Fix 7. Restart the services that download updates

10 minutesLow riskMany Store and Windows updates fail, some of them with other codes, not only one app.

Store app updates are downloaded by the same Background Intelligent Transfer Service and Windows Update service as system updates. If these are stopped or stuck, updates fail half way, and a retry can collide with the files the first try left.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Find Background Intelligent Transfer Service. If it runs, right-click it and select Restart. If not, right-click and select Start.
3. Do the same for Windows Update and Cryptographic Services.
4. Close Services and select Get updates in Microsoft Store > Library.

The full procedure, with the startup types to check: Check and restart Windows services. If many updates still fail, reset the Windows Update components: Reset Windows Update components

If 0x80073D02 keeps coming back: where to look and what to send

First check whether the update failed for good or only once. Windows retries Store updates, and a later success often stands next to the old failure. Microsoft's troubleshooting page for app deployment points to the AppXDeployment-Server event log for the details.

1. Press Win + R, type perfmon /rel and press Enter to open Reliability Monitor.
2. Select the day with the red mark and find Failed Windows Update lines. Double-click one to see the full text.
3. Look at later days: a successful update for the same app means the problem is gone.
4. For the reason, press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc, and open Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > AppXDeployment-Server > Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Operational.
5. Find the error at the time of the failure. It names the package and often the process or file that was in use.

• What to send to Microsoft support: the full line with the product ID and package name, the AppXDeployment-Server error text, and your Windows version and build from Settings > System > About.
• When the same app fails for months: a Microsoft Q&A user with a Phone Link component (MicrosoftWindows.CrossDevice) reports that only an in-place repair of Windows, keeping files and apps, ended it. Keep files first: Reinstall Windows without losing files
• Hardware: 0x80073D02 is about files in use, not about the disk or memory. A disk problem shows other codes or errors in the System log.

Codes that look like 0x80073D02 and what each one means

These codes come from the same Microsoft table of app deployment errors. Each one stops at a different check, so each needs a different first step.

How to keep 0x80073D02 from coming back

• Restart once a week. Sleep keeps apps loaded for days, and their files stay in use when the night update runs.
• Trim startup apps. Every app that starts with Windows and stays in the tray is one more app that can be in use. Step by step: Stop apps from opening at startup
• Turn off Widgets if you never use it. It is the app most often named with this code, and it runs from sign in.
• Update by hand now and then. Open Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates with your apps closed, so nothing waits for the night run.
• Keep Windows current. A Q&A agent found the reader's Windows 11 was over a year old; current builds bring current Store components.

If a single failure appears and the next day shows a success for the same app, you do not need to do anything. The code is a record that Windows waited, not a sign of damage.

Frequently asked questions

What does error 0x80073D02 mean?

It means Windows could not install an app update because files the update had to change were in use. Microsoft names the code ERROR_PACKAGES_IN_USE: "The package couldn't be installed because resources it modifies are currently in use." The app is named after the code, for example MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience for Widgets. Close that app, end its processes in Task Manager and select Get updates in Microsoft Store > Library, as in Fix 1.

What is 9MSSGKG348SP-MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience?

It is the Windows Web Experience Pack, the Store package that runs Widgets on Windows 11. 9MSSGKG348SP is its Microsoft Store product ID and MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience is its package name. It is the app most often named with 0x80073D02, because the Widgets board and the weather button run from sign in. Turn Widgets off in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, update it in Microsoft Store > Library, then turn it back on if you use it.

Is 0x80073D02 a Windows update error or a Microsoft Store error?

Both names are used, but the failed item is a Store app, not a Windows update. Windows lists Store app updates among its updates, so Reliability Monitor labels the line as a failed Windows update. A real Windows update has a KB number and a Windows Update code. That is why Windows Update troubleshooting and system file repairs rarely help here, while closing the app and updating it from the Store does.

How do I fix 0x80073D02 on Windows 11?

Close the app named after the code and end its processes in Task Manager (Fix 1). For Widgets, also turn the Widgets switch off in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. Then open Microsoft Store, select Library and Get updates. If the same app fails again, restart and update before you open anything (Fix 2), then reset the Store cache with wsreset (Fix 3). The steps are the same on Windows 11 25H2 and 26H2.

Is 0x80073D02 different on Windows 10?

No. The code and its meaning are the same on Windows 10 22H2, and so are the fixes. Some paths differ: installed apps are under Settings > Apps > Apps & features, and Widgets does not exist there, so other apps such as Microsoft Store, Phone Link or Movies & TV are named more often. Windows 10 left Microsoft support on 14 October 2025, but Store apps still get updates on it.

Why does 0x80073D02 happen several times a month?

Because the app that fails is running whenever the automatic update tries again. Widgets, WhatsApp and Phone Link start with Windows and stay in the background, and a PC that only sleeps keeps them loaded for days. Users on Microsoft Q&A report the failures appear at night while the PC is in sleep mode. Restart regularly, turn off startup apps you do not need, and update by hand from Library now and then (Fix 2).

Is error 0x80073D02 dangerous, and can I ignore it?

It is not dangerous. The app keeps working on its old version, nothing is deleted, and Windows tries the update again later. If Reliability Monitor shows a successful update for the same app on a later day, you can ignore the old line. Fix it when the same app fails over and over, because you then miss its security and bug fixes. Fix 1 usually takes five minutes.

Does the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter fix 0x80073D02?

Rarely. The troubleshooter checks Store settings, but it cannot close an app that holds its files, which is the cause Microsoft names. Users on Microsoft Q&A also report that the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter is no longer listed on their Windows 11. The old version of this guide started with troubleshooters; we moved to closing the app and updating it by hand, which addresses the cause directly.

Why does 0x80073D02 appear in another language, such as Russian or Japanese?

Windows writes the message in its display language, so the same failure reads differently on a Russian, Japanese, German or Korean PC. The code 0x80073D02 and the product ID with the package name stay the same in every language. For example, 9MSSGKG348SP-MicrosoftWindows.Client.WebExperience is Widgets on every PC. Use the same fixes on this page: close the named app and update it from Microsoft Store > Library.