Windows Update error 0x80070103, explained and fixed

0x80070103 in Windows Update practice means the driver being offered is already installed, or is older than the driver currently in place, so installing it would be a downgrade or a duplicate. It appears almost exclusively on driver updates, often under Optional updates, and it is one of the few update errors that is essentially harmless.

The fix, in order

  1. Do nothing, if the device works. This code means Windows checked and found the driver unnecessary. It is informational, not a failure of the device or of Windows Update’s health.
  2. Install the current driver from the device manufacturer. If the same driver update keeps being offered and failing, installing the maker’s latest version directly satisfies the requirement and the offer stops.
  3. Leave the optional driver alone. In Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates, driver entries are optional by design. If the installed driver works, skipping the offered one permanently is legitimate.
  4. On Windows Pro, stop driver offers entirely if they annoy. Group Policy: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Update → Manage updates offered from Windows Update → “Do not include drivers with Windows Updates.”

If it still happens

There is nothing to escalate to: no component reset or repair install is warranted for this code alone. If the device itself misbehaves, that is a driver problem to solve on the device’s terms (manufacturer driver, Device Manager rollback), not through this error.

Common questions

Will this error block other updates? No. It attaches to the single driver package that was declined. Security and cumulative updates proceed independently, which is another reason it is safe to leave alone.

Why does Windows offer a driver it then refuses to install? The catalog match is based on hardware IDs, and several driver versions can match one device. Windows offers the match, the installer then compares versions and declines to downgrade or duplicate. The two stages disagreeing looks like an error but is the safeguard working.

Related errors

Windows Update error 0x80070002 · Windows Update error 0x80004005