Share this article

Improve this guide

Surface updates pending? Here’s how to fix it in Windows 10/11

6 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Your Surface updates are usually performed automatically via the Windows Update function on your device.

There are two types of updates that keep the Surface at its best in terms of performance: hardware or firmware updates, andWindows software updates, both of which are automatically installed once they are made available.

If you find your Surface updates pending, there are a few quick workarounds you can use to get it back up and running, and updates installed, including some mentioned below.

FIX: Surface updates pending in Windows 10

1. General troubleshooting

Before you do anything to try and resolve the Surface updates pending issue, try some of these general or preliminary fixes and tips:

Note:if the pending updates read ‘requires a restart to finish installing’, go toStart>Power>Restart. Don’t shut down the Surface, and repeat this for all updates that require a restart. Your Surface will show a notification if a firmware update is available.

2. Run Windows Update troubleshooter

This tool detects and fixes most incorrect settings on your computer, automatically. To do this:

Check your date and time settings

Incorrect date and time settings may lead to errors as Windows Updates tries to scan for any Surface pending updates, or those that may not install correctly. To change to the correct date and time settings, go to Start>Settings>Time & Language, and key in the correct settings.

3. Reinstall battery driver

If you try to charge the Surface up to 40 percent and it won’t charge above that level, then remove and reinstall the battery driver. To do this:

If the battery charges above 40 percent after reinstalling the battery driver, try installing the Surface updates pending on your device. If it still won’t charge above that level, you may need to service the Surface.

4. Restart your Surface

Before doing this, you need to note that while Surface updates are pending, you could damage your device by interrupting them using a reboot. If the update has stalled, and your device doesn’t automatically reboot, wait for about twenty or so minutes before rebooting it yourself.

Among the errors that can be fixed with a restart include update error 80248007,installation freezesbeyond 20 minutes, update gets stuck on ‘Getting devices ready’ or ‘Please wait while we install a system update’ screen for over 20 minutes, update history shows ‘pending restart’ and/or ‘pending failed’ statuses.

Here’s how to restart your Surface based on these update errors:

5. Install updates manually

To do this, download the update file to your Surface. If you cannot connect your device to the Internet, use a different computer with internet to get the .msi file on a USB flash drive, then transfer the file to your Surface. Press and hold the file and select Install, then click OK when it is done.

Note: update files are for hardware and firmware only, you won’t be able to install Windows updates using the manual way. Similarly, you cannot download and install Surface updates manually on both Surface Pro and Pro 2 devices, otherwise, your device may need service.

6. Check updates from Microsoft Store

If your Surface updates are pending, check Microsoft Store for updates by doing the following:

7. Solutions from other Surface users:

Have any solutions here helped fix the Surface updates pending problem? Let us know in the comments section below.

Surface updates pending? Here’s how to fix it in Windows 10/11#

FIX: Surface updates pending in Windows 10#

1. General troubleshooting#

2. Run Windows Update troubleshooter#

3. Reinstall battery driver#

4. Restart your Surface#

5. Install updates manually#

6. Check updates from Microsoft Store#

7. Solutions from other Surface users:#