gaming services error 0x80073d26 0x8007139f xbox app windows 10 gamepass

After wasting an entire day searching on this help section, troubleshooting, and almost 2 hours on the phone to India (exactly how I want to spend my only 2 day weekend I've had in over 6 months), I have a solution. Hopefully this will point you in the right direction.

PROBLEM:

Xbox app on Windows10 (Gamepass for PC) will not open games and instead redirects you to the Microsoft Store where it wants you to update an "app" called 'Game Services'. It will fail and give CODE 0x80073d26 or 0x8007139f (initially).

BACKGROUND (skip to solution if you like):

Fully updated (5/29?) Windows10 PC with midrange specs/videocard. Two drives. Terrible internet connection that only connects good enough to log in/pop achievements. All updates for OS and programs set to manual/ask permission. No auto update. Played games until start of 5/31, woke up, and out of nowhere it would redirect to update Game Services when I click to play any game. (End of month update?). So this change occurred on a computer that isn't allowed to update itself within an 8 hour time window on 5/31.

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EA games through xbox app/gamepass do work as they are handed off to EA desktop app. Only xbox games do not.

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Click update Game Services. Downloads and then fails - it stated that there was a problem and possibly something about my connection. I believe the initial error was : Code 0x8007139f

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Any further attempt to open game/update Game Services was met with Code 0x80073d26. It downloads and then briefly tries to install before coding. These attempts were made through the following ways - green bar on the top of the xbox app, through the redirect to the microsoft store 'app update' page when clicking play on a game, through add/remove programs - renew AND repair, after reinstalling the actual xbox app. All of them had the same error code and same result. This Game Services app could not be uninstalled as it was greyed out in ADD/REMOVE programs. It could not be downloaded separate manually, as it seems to be a background program 'behind' the xbox app and has a separate install/update that is not searchable in MS store. You can only be directed there when the app wants to update it. My desktop notification in the right bottom corner would lock at 90% and go no further. The green bar would indefinately stay on downloading. The MS store update page would be the only place to give me an error code. If I tried to open any game via my desktop (shortcut/links not in the xbox app), it would tell me to re-download the game because of something along the lines of an error or something went wrong... (instead of re-downloading a large game, I attempted to install a new, smaller sized game. 2 different games on 2 different drives. Both failed at 4% (something like 200kb on both files). I receive the same exact error again - 0x80073d26.

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This was after I packed up my PC up and went to another location that has 100Mb wired internet. Still same error. MS encrypts your files for xbox app. All those games too. Encrypted and hidden. Searching for recently modified files or any other troubleshooting like that will go nowhere. I checked persmissions, firewall exceptions, user rights, cleared caches on each drive, rebooted, cleared more cache, rebooted, cleared ALL cache for every little thing, rebooted. Hard/soft restarts. Power cycling. You name it. Nothing worked.

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Used the MS help section and had microsoft call me. An hour on the phone -- redid a bunch of stuff above. Checked more settings. Reinstalled xbox app. Checked drive paths for windows default drive (he didnt have me check the xbox apps preferred drive though). My settings at this time were my primary drive for windows installs and my extra drive for xbox app installs. Changing those settings did not help. Same error. I ask too many indepth questions and run out of things to try, so I am transferred to the IT side.

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An hour and 15 min in now... IT guy almost immediately tells me to do an operating system reinstall. Ridiculous, right? I agree, because I'm fed up with this by now. Reinstall OS. He says he's done right after I start downloading. Gives me a trouble ticket number.

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Computer works fine now. Call them to update and to log this solution. Give my ticket number. Number not found. Give my other info. She asks the same questions I answered for the last 2 people. They obviously don't log this stuff in their systems or care to keep solutions. I go through the grueling process of trying to get her to log the actual solution so it can help others. I'm 99% sure this is exactly why I couldn't find my solution on this site and why I wasted so long on the phone with them. This isn't a new problem.

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SOLUTION ------------- ++++++++++++++

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Try first - I heard these may work. Try after each one.

1. Start/settings/system/storage/change where new content is saved --- change to your primary drive with the OS (usually C

Open the XBOX app and go into settings (top right) and change it to the same drive as OS also.

Xbox app needs to update/install certain files on the C: drive, so this could possibly cause this error in theory.

2. Permissions/Run as administrator (probably not for this error)

3. Firewall/Antivirus (probably not for this error)

4. Clear caches - my computer or This PC - select drive - clean up the drive/clear caches (temp files, etc) - (couldn't hurt to do anyway as it resolves conflicts and wierd bugs sometimes) Do your browsers too.

5. Reinstall Xbox App. (Hey, it could possibly work for you). My games didn't disappear, so I'd say it's safe.

6. What I had to do that ultimately fixed it:

Reinstall your OS. Set it to only do OS files - Keep your app/personal files. My cache size went to about 5GB while downloading the OS before I left it. So the file is between 5-10GB I believe. You won't lose anything as long you don't accidentally tell it to get rid of your stuff.

Go to your desktop searchbar or webbrowser and type:

aka.ms/iso10

This should direct you to a microsoft page. Click on:

DOWNLOAD TOOL NOW for Create Windows Installation Media

Follow prompts. You do not need to put it on disc or usb. Download it and it will do it in the background while you try some last ditch efforts to get the xbox app to work so you can cancel it. You will fail and it will ask your permission to install. Then ask permission for updates. Then reboot and update again after you login.

Open up your favorite game. I hope it worked for you too.

Hopefully they resolve the issue to where we don't have to reinstall the OS, but it sure beats re-downloading all those apps and games over again (1.5 TB in my case). That's cancel my subscription territory.

Good luck.

If you need to talk to MS techs-

*Desktop search bar, Get Help, type in something like "talk to rep"

Put your number in and they will call you.

:)