[Solved] Microsoft Store “Something Happened on Our End”

When users try to download or try to update applications on their Windows device, they may encounter an error message saying “Something Happened on Our End”. This error halts any ongoing processes in the Microsoft Store essentially stopping the users from completing their objective.

Normally this issue arises when the connection between Microsoft Store’s server and your device gets interrupted. The error may also occur in the device due to incorrect date and time, corrupt files or recent changes in settings.

The most common method to fix this issue is to close Microsoft Store, wait for a while and re-open it. If the issue continues for a longer time, ending the task from the Task Manager or restarting your device may also fix the problem. 

How to Fix: Microsoft Store “Something Happened on Our End” Error?

Fixing this error ranges from troubleshooting basic issues like connectivity, entering the correct date and time from Settings or reverting recently made changes in the system to more advanced settings like resetting the cache and reinstalling the Microsoft Store app.

In this guide we’ll be going through each of the fixes that will help you solve the Microsoft Store error.

Set the Date and Time

The first solution to this problem will be to fix the date and time of the system. If the date and time are out of sync or if it does not match with the Microsoft servers, it may cause disruption in services like scheduled updates, timestamping and using online services causing the Something Happened on Our End error to appear. 

To set the date and time of the system:

1. Press the Windows key + I to open Settings
2. Click on the Time & Language tab and then click on Date & time
3. If the Set time automatically is turned off, click on the toggle to turn it on
   
4. If you want to set the date and time manually, click on the Change button 
5. In the next window set the date and time and click on Change to save

Check Internet Connectivity/Proxy Settings/Reset TCP/IP Stack

Another solution to this problem is to check the internet connectivity and proxy settings of your device. If you have connection issues, or if the proxy settings and the TCP/IP are not configured properly, this may cause disruption in the communication between your device and the Microsoft Store server. 

To solve this issue, firstly check if the internet is up and running on other devices. If they are working fine in other systems, reset the internet connectivity in your device. To do this:

1. If you have a wired ethernet connection, simply remove the cable and reinsert to re-establish the connection.
2. If your device is connected through WiFi, open Settings
3. Click on the Network and internet tab and click on Wi-Fi
4. Click on the toggle switch to turn it off. Click it again to turn it back on 
5. If you have set up a proxy server or a VPN, disable them.
6. To disable VPN:
   • Within VPN, Select the VPN connection and click Disconnect.
   • Toggle Allow VPN over metered connections to off
   • Toggle Allow VPN while roaming to off
     
7. To disable Proxy:
   • Toggle Automatically detect settings to Off
     
   • Select Set Up under Use setup script and toggle the use switch to off
     
   • Again, Click Set Up under Manual proxy setup and toggle the use switch to off
     
8. Re-launch the Microsoft Store to check if the issue has been solved

If the above mentioned method does not work, then resetting the IP Stack is your next step. This method fixes any IP configuration error and resets the IP protocol settings.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open Run
2. Type cmd and press the Ctrl +Shift + Enter keys together to open Command prompt with administrator access
3. Now, enter the following one-by-one and press the Enter key after each command.
   ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset
4. Now, restart your device and check if the issue is solved

From the Troubleshooter

Another solution to this problem is to launch the troubleshooter. Windows’s troubleshooter will first scan your device and then try to fix any issues it can. If it fails to fix or find any issues, it will suggest probable causes that may be causing the Microsoft Store error to appear. 

To run the troubleshooter:

1. Open Settings -> System tab and then scroll down to locate the Troubleshoot option
   
2. Now, in the Troubleshoot menu, click on Other troubleshooters and again, scroll down to find Windows Store Apps
3. Click on Run  to start the troubleshooter
4. In the next window, select Enable user account control if disabled
5. Follow the on-screen prompts and wait until the troubleshooter finishes
6. Save any work and Restart your device to check if the problem is fixed

Switch User Accounts

If the troubleshooter does not find any errors, then the problem may be because there may be an issue with your logged in Microsoft account in the store. In this case logging out and then switching accounts sometimes fixes the problem.

If you are comfortable on command line interface, You can also use the runas command to achieve the same, without switching the account entirely.

To switch accounts in the Microsoft Store:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open Run and then type ms-windows-store: in the text field to launch Microsoft Store 
   
2. Now, click on Profile located on the top and click on Sign out
3. Close the application, re-launch it and again, click on Profile and select Sign in
4. Select a new account or a local account to sign in. You may be prompted to enter a PIN or password to continue.
5. Check to see if the problem still persists

Check Windows Services

Microsoft Store requires some services to function properly. To fix this, disabling the related service and then re-enabling the Windows Service may stop the error from appearing. Deleting the SoftwareDistribution and the catroot2 folder will be our next step.

These folders contain the downloaded-update files for Windows. If any of the files inside become corrupt, clearing them downloads and installs the update which may help solve the issue.

To disable Windows Services

1. Open Run and type services.msc to open Services
2. Now, locate the following services and Right click on them to stop them
   • Background Intelligent Transfer Service
   • Cryptographic Services
   • Windows Update
   • Microsoft Store Install Service
   • Windows License Manager Service
     

Now that you have disabled the services, it is safe to delete the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folder: 

1. Go to: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistributionand delete the folder
   
2. Again, go to: C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 and delete the contents of the folder
   

After deleting the folders, re-enable the Windows services.

1. Go to Services again
2. Locate the disabled services, right click on them and click on Start to re-enable them
3. Do this for all disabled services

Clear the Store Cache

Windows collects and retains some Microsoft Store data so that it could launch faster the next time you open the application. Any corruption or errors in the stored cache files can sometimes cause this error to appear in your device. To fix this, removing the cache files from the system will be necessary.

To clear the Microsoft Store cache:

1. Open Run and type wsreset.exe in the text field
2. A command console will appear for a brief period during the process. After clearing the cache, the Microsoft Store will launch itself
3. Now, check if the error still appears

You also need to manually delete the Microsoft store’s cache files stored in your local folder. 

1. To check for your username, open command prompt and type whoamiin the console
   
2. Open File explorer
3. Go to:
   C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\perUserCache_0
   Replace the USERNAME section with your username
4. Delete the files in the folder

Repair/Reset Microsoft Store 

The next fix is to repair and reset the Microsoft Store from Windows Settings. If the program becomes corrupt or is behaving erratically, repairing the application may fix the issue. 

To Repair Microsoft Store

1. Open the Settings app
2. Select the Apps tab and click on Apps & features
3. In the App list section type Microsoft Store in the search bar
4. Now, click on the three dots and select Advanced options from the menu
5. Scroll down and in the Reset section, click on the Repair button
6. Wait until the process finishes
7. Close Settings and check if the issue is fixed

To Reset Microsoft Store

1. Follow steps 1 to 4 from above
2. Again, scroll down to the Reset section and click on the Reset button
3. A prompt will appear asking for your confirmation. Click on Reset again to continue
4. Log into Microsoft store again after the process and check if the problem is solved

Reinstall Microsoft Store

The next fix is to reinstall the Microsoft Store. Windows does not allow users to uninstall the Microsoft Store which may cause unintended issues in the system. Instead you will need to uninstall and again install it from Windows Powershell. 

To Uninstall Microsoft Store

1. Open Run and type powershell. Press the Ctrl +Shift + Enter keys to open it with admin access
2. Now, copy and paste the following:
   Get-AppxPackage -Name "Microsoft.WindowsStore" Remove-AppxPackage$appPath="$Env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\$app*"Remove-Item $appPath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction 0
   
3. Press the Enter key

To Reinstall Microsoft Store

1. Open powershell with admin access
2. Copy and paste the following:
   Get-AppxPackage WindowsStore -allusers Microsoft.WindowsStore | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
   
3. Restart your device to save changes

SFC/DISM Scan

Sometimes corrupt or missing system files may also cause the “Something Happened on Our End” error to appear. System file checker and DISM scan fix and restore missing or corrupt Windows files in the system.

To perform a SFC and DISM scan:

1. Open Run, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to open Command prompt with elevated access
2. Now, type dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth to deploy the tool
3. Wait until the process finishes restoring the missing files
4. Now in the console, type sfc /scannow to start a system file check scan
5. Wait until the process finishes scanning and repairing the system files
6. Restart your device after the process completes

Update Windows

If you are still encountering the error, then updating Windows may solve the problem. If a specific error code is shown, (ex: 0x80070002), troubleshooting the error, like providing enough disk space for updating, may help solve the issue.

Windows update fixes corrupt files and restores missing files that may be causing the error to appear. If you cannot find any specific issues, updating Windows from Settings normally, may help solve the problem.

To update Windows:

1. Open Settings and click on the Windows Update tab
2. To search for updates, click on the Check for updates button 
3. Otherwise, if an update is available click on the Download & Install button
4. Your device will restart to complete the update process

Wait until the system finishes updating Windows and launch Microsoft Store again to check if the issue is solved