New Windows 10 0x80073CFA fix requires installing WinAppSDK 3 times

Microsoft has shared a new method to fix a bug preventing app uninstalls or updates on Windows 10 for those unwilling to deploy this month's preview update.

As the company first acknowledged on Thursday, some users have been unable to update or uninstall packaged applications like Microsoft Teams and other third-party apps after receiving the WinAppSDK 1.6.2 package on their Windows 10 22H2.

Those affected see the "Something happened on our end" error message in the Microsoft Store's 'Downloads' panel, while IT administrators see 0x80073CFA errors when trying to manage packaged apps using Get-AppxPackage through PowerShell.

To prevent more customers from being impacted, Redmond has pulled the WinAppSDK 1.6.2 package to prevent more Windows 10 from being impacted.

On Friday, Microsoft released the KB5046714 preview update, which fixes this known issue, but it also shared an alternative workaround for those unwilling to install optional cumulative updates on their systems.

0x80073CFA uninstall error (Microsoft)

​"Our analysis into Windows and client logging has determined that this problem may be preventing users from updating or uninstalling packaged apps on Windows 10 devices," Microsoft product manager Roy MacLachlan said.

"We've isolated a recent servicing update for the WinAppSDK (ver. 1.6.2) which introduced an issue with the deployment stack processing that resulted in this impact."

Microsoft advises impacted users to install the new WinAppSDK 1.6.3 update three times instead of the preview update to fix the app update and installation problems.

To check if your Windows 10 system is affected, you have to run the following PowerShell command (which will only return a value if it finds the buggy WinAppSDK 1.6.2 package was installed):

Earlier this month, Redmond also pulled the November Exchange security updates after widespread reports from admins that email had stopped flowing on their servers and fixed several bugs causing Windows Server 2025 blue screens and installation issues.

Over the weekend, it blocked the Windows 11 24H2 update on computers with some Ubisoft games and eSCL standalone scanners.