How to fix error 0x80072ee7 in Windows 11

Solution Steps

1. 1 First, check if you can access the internet. Open a browser and go to https://www.microsoft.com. If you can't, your internet connection is the issue.
2. 2 If you can, the problem might be DNS. Press Windows key + R, type 'cmd', and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open Command Prompt as administrator. Type 'ipconfig /flushdns' and press Enter. This clears the DNS cache, which might have stale entries.
3. 3 Next, try changing your DNS server to a public one like Google DNS. Go to Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) → Hardware properties. Click 'Edit' next to DNS server assignment. Change to 'Manual' and set Preferred DNS to 8.8.8.8 and Alternate DNS to 8.8.4.4. Save and restart your connection.
4. 4 Check your hosts file for any entries that might block Windows Update. Open Notepad as administrator (right-click Notepad → 'Run as administrator'). Go to File → Open and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc. Change the file type to 'All Files' and open 'hosts'. Look for any lines that mention 'microsoft.com' or 'windowsupdate.com'. If you find any, delete them and save the file.
5. 5 If you're using a VPN or proxy, temporarily disable them to see if that resolves the issue.
6. 6 Finally, restart your PC and try Windows Update again.