Despite being the most popular operating system in the world, Microsoft hasn’t had the best luck with Windows 10 in recent months. Moving on from its bug-ridden October 2018 update that was inevitably delayed, the firm has now caught another issue that is preventing users from accessing Windows Update or the Microsoft Store.

Affected users flocked to Reddit and Twitter looking for answers, according to The Express, with some blaming Domain Name System (DNS) settings with certain internet providers (IPs). American provider Comcast was singled out as one of the primary culprits, alongside BT Internet in the United Kingdom.

“Error encountered. We’ll continue to check daily for newer updates. We couldn’t connect to the update service,” explains the operating system’s pop-up message. “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.”

Some users have managed to quell the issue by switching to Google’s DNS, but this unfortunately seems to be a temporary fix at best according to Softpedia. In order to try this, users have to open Control Panel, Network and Internet, and then Network and Sharing Centre options. From there, “change adapter settings” can be found to the left, right click the network and head into Properties. Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) before heading into Properties once more. Then simply enter Google's public DNS, which is 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

If the workaround doesn’t suffice, affected users might find some comfort in knowing that Microsoft is “aware of the issue and is investigating,” according to a support engineer on the Reddit thread. “We’ll provide more information as it becomes available.”

KitGuru Says: Given that Windows 10 is now the most popular operating system, it’s even more important that Microsoft gets the issue dealt with as soon as possible. Have you been able to continue accessing Windows Update and the Microsoft Store? If not, who is your internet provider?

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