Error 0x80244010 (WU_E_PT_EXCEEDED_MAX_SERVER_TRIPS) means the update client made too many round trips to the update server without getting a usable answer, and gave up. Think of it as calling someone who keeps transferring you: after enough transfers, you hang up. The client retries, gets bounced around redirects or empty responses, and eventually reports this code.

On Dell laptops this shows up on networks with proxies or WSUS servers that misbehave — corporate and school networks especially — but also on home machines with corrupted update metadata that sends the client in circles. An incorrect system clock can contribute too, since each failed TLS handshake counts as a wasted trip.

The fix is to stop the bouncing: clean proxy configuration, correct time, fresh update metadata, and a healthy update client. Work through these in order. If you are dealing with a related symptom instead, see the 0x8024401C timeout error and the 0x8024500C connection-policy error .

This error is the update client giving up after being bounced around too many times — imagine calling someone who keeps transferring you until you hang up. The bouncing usually comes from a proxy loop, stale corporate server settings lingering on a home machine, or corrupt local metadata sending the client in circles. The fixes straighten each of those paths so the client reaches its destination in a single trip.

Why this happens

  • Misbehaving proxy or redirect loop the client bounces between endpoints without resolving.

  • Stale WSUS configuration leftover corporate update-server settings on a home machine.

  • Corrupt local update metadata the client requests based on bad data and gets useless responses.

  • Incorrect system date and time failed handshakes waste round trips.

  • Firewall interfering with responses modified or blocked responses confuse the client.

  • VPN routing loops tunnel routing sends update traffic in circles.

  • Overloaded or throttled network timeouts force repeated retries that hit the trip limit.

How to fix it

Work through these in order — diagnose first, then act.

Fix 1: Check and simplify proxy settings

Remove redirect loops at the source. Simplify aggressively for the test: disable every manual proxy entry, enable automatic detection only, and retry before concluding anything — you can restore complex corporate settings afterward. Test with the simplest possible configuration first — no proxy, automatic detection on — because every extra setting is another place a redirect loop can hide.

  1. Settings > Network & internet > Proxy.

  2. On home networks, disable manual proxy setup.

  3. Enable ‘Automatically detect settings’.

  4. Retry Windows Update.

Fix 2: Sync date and time

Eliminates handshake failures that waste trips. TLS handshakes fail when the clock is off by months, and each failed handshake burns round trips; syncing the clock removes an entire category of wasted trips at once. Check the time zone as well as the time; a correct clock in the wrong zone still produces timestamps that fail server-side validation.

  1. Settings > Time & language > Date & time.

  2. Enable automatic time and time zone, then click ‘Sync now’.

  3. Retry the update.

Fix 3: Disconnect VPN temporarily

Tests whether tunnel routing is the loop. Quit the VPN application entirely rather than just disconnecting, because background VPN services can keep intercepting traffic even when the tunnel shows as down. After quitting the VPN, verify in Task Manager that no tunnel service is still running; several clients leave a helper service active after the UI closes.

  1. Disconnect the VPN and quit its client.

  2. Retry Windows Update.

  3. If it succeeds, review the VPN’s routing or split-tunnel settings.

Fix 4: Reset the network stack

Clears corrupted connection state. Reboot immediately after running these commands; the resets only take full effect when the network stack reinitializes during startup. If the commands report ‘access denied’ on any step, you are not elevated; close the prompt and reopen it explicitly as administrator.

  1. Elevated prompt: netsh winsock reset, netsh int ip reset, ipconfig /flushdns.

  2. Restart the laptop.

  3. Retry the update.

Fix 5: Clear stale WSUS settings (home machines)

Leftover corporate update-server pointers cause exactly this looping. Export the WindowsUpdate registry key before deleting values so you can restore the corporate configuration if the laptop ever rejoins that network. Do not delete the entire WindowsUpdate policy key, only the stale server values; the key also holds harmless settings you would then have to recreate.

  1. Open regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.

  2. If WUServer or WUStatusServer values point to a server you no longer use, back up and delete them.

  3. Also check the AU subkey for stale policies.

  4. Restart the Windows Update service and retry.

Fix 6: Reset Windows Update components

Fresh metadata stops the client from requesting in circles. Fresh metadata means the client stops requesting updates based on stale information, which is what was sending it on those fruitless repeated server trips. Give the rebuilt update database one full unattended check cycle before judging; interrupting the first scan can recreate the very corruption you just cleared.

  1. Stop wuauserv, cryptSvc, bits, msiserver.

  2. Rename SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 to .old.

  3. Restart services and retry.

Fix 7: Run the troubleshooter and test another network

Confirms whether the issue is local or network-wide. Run the troubleshooter first for its automated checks, then use the hotspot test as the decisive experiment: success on the hotspot proves the primary network is the problem. Document which network worked and which did not; if the office network is the problem, that evidence is exactly what IT needs to fix their proxy.

  1. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter from Settings > System > Troubleshoot.

  2. Test the update on a mobile hotspot.

  3. If the hotspot works, the primary network’s proxy or firewall is the culprit.

Closing

Error 0x80244010 is the update client getting the runaround from the network or its own stale configuration. Straighten the proxy path, sync the clock, clear stale server settings and metadata, and the client will reach its destination in one trip. For official guidance, see Microsoft’s Windows update support hub . Every loop has a cause, and yours was one of the usual suspects — a proxy loop, a stale server setting, or corrupt local metadata.

Frequently asked questions

What does 0x80244010 mean?
WU_E_PT_EXCEEDED_MAX_SERVER_TRIPS: the update client exceeded the maximum number of round trips to the server while trying to get update information. Something — a proxy loop, stale server settings, or corrupt metadata — kept bouncing it around.
I’m on a home network — why would WSUS matter?
If the laptop was ever joined to a corporate domain or managed, WSUS server addresses can linger in the registry. The client then tries to reach a server that no longer exists, looping until it hits the trip limit. When their servers do have issues, the symptoms are widespread and widely reported, not isolated to one laptop. If only your machine fails while everything else updates fine, the problem is on your end of the connection.
Does this error mean Microsoft’s servers are down?
Rarely. The far more common causes are local: proxy loops, VPN routing, stale configuration, or corrupt metadata. Microsoft’s update infrastructure has very high availability. A healthy update check completes in a handful of requests; dozens of redirects or retries mean something is bouncing the client around. Fix the proxy, VPN, or stale server configuration causing the loop.
How many ‘trips’ are allowed?
The client has an internal cap on request round trips per operation to prevent infinite loops. The exact number is an implementation detail — what matters is that hitting it always indicates a loop, not a slow server. A healthy update check completes in a handful of requests; dozens of redirects or retries mean something is bouncing the client around. Fix the proxy, VPN, or stale server configuration causing the loop.