Windows Recovery Environment update fails successfully, says Microsoft

The three wise Microsoft monkeys have spoken. If Windows Update displayed an error after installing the April 2025 Windows Recovery Environment release, you didn't see anything. Best to ignore it and move on.

The software, KB5057589, was released for Windows 10 devices on April 8 and, according to Microsoft, "installs improvements to Windows recovery features."

It is delivered through Windows Update and makes changes to the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), which users access when their device is unbootable.

It's a straightforward enough change, although Microsoft's Release Health Dashboard states that should it be installed when another update is in a pending reboot state, an error might be logged implying that the install failed.

Microsoft says: "You might see the following error message in the Windows Update settings page: 0x80070643 - ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE"

It might sound bad, but in reality, it's fine. "This error message is not accurate and does not impact the update or device functionality."

"Although the error message suggests the update did not complete, the WinRE update is typically applied successfully after the device restarts," Microsoft adds. "Windows Update might continue to display the update as failed until the next daily scan, at which point the update is no longer offered and the failure message is cleared automatically."

So, while it might look like a scary error, there is really nothing to worry about. Just carry on with your usual activities until the message disappears.

The problem is that a message which says "ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE" is going to be somewhat alarming for the majority of Microsoft users. After all, with the multitude of errors and failures thrown up by its products, knowing which ones can be ignored and which ones indicate that sinister forces are at work can be tricky.

Amusingly, this isn't the first time a WinRE update has resulted in an odd error message. In 2024, "an error in the error code handling routine" resulted in Windows 10 PCs with a recovery partition too small for the update reporting the same 0x80070643 generic install failure to some users, rather than something more helpful.

While Microsoft's response appears to be that, on this occasion, the error is a false alarm, it confirmed that a fix is in the works: "We are working on a resolution and will provide more information when it is available." ®