Fix: Windows 10 Mobile build 14951 won't download

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Installing Windows 10 Mobile build 14951 has been a hard nut to crack for Insiders, as well as for Dona Sarkar’s Insider Team. Tens of thousands of Insiders cannot install build 14951 on their terminals because the update screen always shows “0% Downloading”.

In other words, Insiders cannot even download build 14951 on their phones. Yesterday, Microsoft has officially acknowledged the bug and today the company managed to develop a workaround to fix these install issues.

As we already pointed out, the download issues are not related to build 14951 itself, but to build 14946. Microsoft confirmed this piece of information as well:

We have narrowed this down to a new issue that only seems to affect devices on Windows 10 Mobile build 14946. We are making a change to how Build 14951 is published, so that Insiders can avoid hitting this issue. We will also make the same changes when we published the next build so Insiders do not hit this when upgrading to newer builds.

How to fix Windows 10 Mobile build 14951 install issues

“Here are 4 options we are validating to get out of this state:
FASTEST – You can force the update session to time out by:

  • Plug your device into a charger
  • Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Insider Program – Change your device to “Slow” and then back to “Fast”
  • Turn on airplane mode Settings > Network & wireless > Airplane Mode
  • Navigate to Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time – If On, turn “Set date and time automatically” to the Off position
  • Change the date on the device to 7 days in the future
  • Return to the home screen & Reboot the device
  • After the reboot, turn off airplane mode – Settings > Network & wireless > Airplane Mode
  • Check for updates – Settings > Update & Security > Phone update > Check for updates
  • This process will fail with an error code. This is expected!
  • Change the device date back to the current date – Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time
  • Check for updates – Settings > Update & Security > Phone update > Check for updates
  • This check may fail again, this is ok.
  • Reboot the device
  • After the reboot, check for updates – Settings > Update & Security > Phone update > Check for updates
  • The check for updates should succeed and begin downloading 14951
    • *Note* We have seen several instances of users reporting getting error code 80242006 after this last check for updates. We will be doing some additional testing on our side for this, but in the mean time, Insiders are awesome and have noted these additional steps seem to bypass this final error message:
  • Switch Insider setting to Slow ring
  • Check for updates (will say you are up-to-date for the Slow ring)
  • Change back to Fast ring
  • Check for updates again and it should update.

EASIEST-LONGEST – If your device is already in this state, it will timeout after 5 days. Once the update times out, your device will get the updated metadata and should move forward as normal with download Build 14951.
MEDIUM WORK – If your factory reset your device on Build 14946 – Settings->System->About->Reset your phone – you will be able to download 14951 without issue now.
MOST WORK – Less optimal, but if you have already rolled back to an older build such as Windows 10 Version 1511 or Windows 10 Anniversary Update using WDRT, you can easily move forward avoiding this issue.”

Judging by the users’ reports, it appears that the most reliable method to install build 14951 is the first one on the list. Many users managed to download build 14951 after switching to Slow Ring and then back to Fast Ring.

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