Windows Update Read Windows Update Logs in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to read the Windows Update logs for your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.

Windows Update client now uses Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) to generate diagnostic logs saved as .etl files in the "%windir%\Logs\WindowsUpdate" folder. This method improves performance and reduces disk space usage. However, the logs are not immediately readable as written.

References:







1 Open Windows Terminal, and select Windows Powershell.

2 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal, and press Enter. (see screenshots below)


3 When finished, open the WindowsUpdate.log file created on your desktop to read your Windows Update logs.

It will take a few moments to finish creating the log file.

1 Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc).

2 Perform the following steps in the left pane of Event Viewer: (see screenshot below)

1. Expand open Applications and Service Logs.
2. Expand open Microsoft.
3. Expand open Windows.
4. Expand open WindowsUpdateClient.
5. Click/tap on Operational to open it in the middle pane.

3 You can now select event logs in the middle pane of Event Viewer to see their details. (see screenshot below)




That's it,
Shawn Brink