Solutions for Microsoft Office 365/2021/2019 Update Error Code 3-28

This article describes the Microsoft Office 365/2021/2019 error code 3-28 solutions. Error Message 3-28, MS Click-to-run and Update not working was found that many users having trouble to repair or install office programs on their Windows and Mac computers.

The majority of issues are due to the Office licensing, Windows updates, insufficient system resources like disk space, internet connectivity, etc. So this article provides the solution for different kind of office issues related to error code 3-28 office update .

Office 365/2021/2019 error code 3-28 Returns following error messages:-

Something went wrong Error code 3-28 Go online for additional help.

Office is Busy, There is a problem starting the Office Installation.

We are sorry, but we are unable to start your program.

Sorry installation can’t continue because no compatible office products are detected.

We are sorry, but we can’t verify the signature of files required to install your office product.

Internet connection needed to fix Office error code 3-28 .

Background installation ran into a problem.

Something went wrong Error code 3-28 Go online for additional help:-

When trying to start an Office application, you will get this error statingSomething went wrong“. If the operating system unable to add and/or remove the products that you are requesting, It requests you to verify file’s signature that required to install the office 365 product. Usually, returns error code series 300XX, 1xxx series depends on the cause of the issue.

Error code 3-28

Pic showing office error code 3-28

Office is Busy, There is a problem starting the Office 365/2021/2019 Installation:-

The error “Office is Busy” appears when you try to open any microsoft 365 program or office 2021/2019/365 program like word, excel etc, and the office already in progress .it gives a message “we are either updating or helping you add/ or remove some programs.

Error code 3-28

Office busy error while repairing

We are sorry, but we are unable to start your program:-

Unable to start a program is a common error in a windows operating system that causes due to failed services of a program.

Sorry installation can’t continue because no compatible office products are detected:-

Windows will show a message stating that your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. A Microsoft Windows Operating system is released in two different bit versions depending on the hardware architecture such like 32 and 64. It is required to install relevant versions of office suitable for the Windows Operating systems.

Error code 3-28

No compatible office products detected

We are sorry, but we can’t verify the signature of files required to install your office product:-

An Office product package is available in different forms like a disc or a click to run. In case of a disc failure, you might see this We are Sorry, But We Can’t Verify the Signature error message which says signatures of files required to install the microsoft 365 product or office 2021/2019/365 product.

Error code 3-28

Unable to verify signature of files

Internet connection needed to fix Office 365/2021/2019 Error Code 3-28 :-

The Internet is one of the requirements for doing office click to run the installation. If there are any intermittent connections, your system may not respond correctly and it may cause different issues with office installation or updates. This will in turn fails your office program to start and working correctly.

Also, Installation of Microsoft Office 365/2021/2019 requires an internet connection depending on the version. The latest Office 365 suite comes with a click to run version which is a small setup file when you click on it, that would start the installation by downloading all the required files for the program. In the case of an intermittent connection or some connectivity failures, you might end up seeing this office update error 3-28 .

Error code 3-28

Internet connection needed error message

Background Installation ran into a problem

Background Installation Ran into a Problem generally pops up when your Office program related files are corrupted. It is required to repair your Microsoft 365 program or Office 2021/2019/365 program. In addition, we need to check for malware or virus related issues on your computer.

Office background installation ran into a problem

Pic : Office background installation ran into a problem

Unable to start Microsoft 365 Program or Office 2021/2019/365 Program:-

This message explains that the program has been stopped by your Windows and unable to start the office program. An Office 365 program uses the services from Windows operating system to start and function correctly. There are many dependencies with system files and their services. In case of any failure in such system services or the system files, there are chances that your office program may not start correctly.

Diagnose your computer to fix Error Message 3-28, MS Click-to-run and Update not working:-

There will be a log for every action on your computer which records all the events. It is termed as an Event viewer. This is a Windows Inbuilt program under system tools, it provides all the information for the problem causing keys.

This could cause due to the failure with your Windows related services and the executable file is unable to read the required files when you try installing Office 365/2021/2019.

Check List Before you attempt a fix to Office 2021 Error code 3-28 :

Pending updates:-

Windows updates are released to update security patches within your Windows Operating system. Since the inception of Microsoft Windows, it tracks the new updates available on Microsoft Catalog database and downloads all the important and optional updates.

Important updates are driven by Microsoft developer community to enhance the product and security. Optional updates are specified for third party products like attached hardware or it can be some third-party non-Microsoft Software. These optional updates are primarily sent by the manufacturers to Microsoft to get certified and these signed drivers are sent along with the windows updates which improve the computer automatically.

Windows updates

Such pending updates are most important for any Windows Software while facing a software issue with other programs.

Malicious Software removal:-

Malware a malicious software which is not signed by Microsoft or intended to steal any user data are problem creating programs. They should be removed from a computer and Windows defender or any authorized third party programs provides to disinfect your computer from malware infections. They provide robust security features to safeguard your computer from hackers.

Disc clean-up:-

Disk clean-up is a procedure to delete the temporary files, junk files, from a specific drive. It involves deletion of setup Log files which were remaining after the installation of Windows Operating system, downloaded program files, temporary internet files, offline pages, system queued and archived windows error logs, delivery optimization files, recycle bin and thumbnails.

Watch the video for disc-clean-up tutorial

Perform system file scan to fix Office 2019 Error code 3-28:-

System file scan in short SFC scan is windows inbuilt program to fix altered/modified and damaged files of the operating system. It can fix several updates failures, other violations done by several mismatched files.

To Run system file scan in your windows operating system, first Open command prompt (CMD) in admin mode and Run the command SFC/SCANNOW

SFC Scan

If you see any file violations still exists after the scan then move to Event viewer to check what has caused the office error code 3-28 .

Watch video to know how to perform SFC SCAN to fix office error code 3-28 .

How to use Event viewer to check office error logs Office 365 Error code 3-28:-

Initially, it is important to understand how an event viewer works. Event viewer is an inbuilt feature of Windows Operating system to register the logs of your programs. In case of any errors or failures on any program, the event viewer supports you to open and check the event logs during such incidents. These logs will notate the failure reasons and can show you the trouble errors.

event viewer

Click on a start button.

Type “RUN” and open the Run command prompt.

Type “EVENTVWR” and press enter key to open Eventvwr logs.

error code 3-28

Double click on “windows logs” from the left-side panel and select “application “.

Now you can see many logs in the centre panel.

Filter the logs to find office related issues and warnings by selecting Filter current log option from the Right side panel.

Find any critical, error logs the caused error code 3-28 .

error code 3-28

If you can’t find any reasons for the issues then just take a chance to do a clean installation to save your time.

Steps to Fix the Microsoft Office 365/2021/2019 Update Error Code 3-28 :-

Sometimes office won’t install due to several reasons like internet connectivity, dependencies for the product or any virus that affected your computer files etc. Then all you have to do a clean installation by removing traces of office program files existed from previous versions or by multiple office 365 installation trails by you due to several errors.

Repair/Uninstall Microsoft 365 Program or Office 2021/2019/365 Program: –

Applies To: Office 2016, Office for business, Office 365 Admin, Office 365 Small Business Admin, Office 2013

The following steps describe how to uninstall Office 2016 or 2013 products on a PC (laptop, desktop, or 2-in-1). For other versions of Office, including Office 2016 for Mac, or older versions of Office, see the section, Uninstall Office for Mac, Office 2010, or Office 2007 below.

Try uninstalling Office using the Control Panel first. If that doesn’t work use the easy fix tool or try uninstalling Office manually.

For Windows 10 / Windows 11:-

Firstly, Go to control panel from start button,

Select Programs and features there to reach a list of installed programs on your computer. (In windows 10 you can just type “programs and features in the Cortana search bar beside windows start logo)

From the list, search for Microsoft Office product and click on Change

A window will open like here showing Add, Repair, Remove options

Then proceed to with repair and wait for sometimes. Once the repair is successful you are ready to use Microsoft office product again.

To uninstall follow the first 4 steps from repair process, and choose to Remove instead of repair.

IMPORTANT:. It’s impossible to uninstall office applications (word, excel, publisher etc) individually from total office product. The only way to uninstall an individual app is if you purchased it as a stand-alone version.

Installing Microsoft 365 Product or Office 2021/2019/365 Product:-

Once you have done the uninstallation part, now do a clean installation.

Firstly, Login to your Microsoft office account www.office.com/signin

Secondly, Go to your dashboard to see the product you purchased.

After that, Select “Install Office “ option and then let it download, (you may see click Save, Run, Setup, or Save File depends on browser type, select “save” for future purpose)

Finally, Go to downloads in your computer and Double click on office setup file to install.

If the microsoft 365 error code 3-28 still persists then try an advanced registry fix if you are familiar with it.

Windows Registry Fix:-

The registry in Windows is a console that shows the structure of your Windows Operating system and it’s internal programs. The Hexa codes inside the registry may change due to some unwanted conflicting programs which use the same resources.

To fix the error code 3-28 in office 365/2021/2019 you need to delete the altered Office Registry keys or remove and re-create the keys with previous values. (HEXA CODE or H-KEYS).

Note: Don’t do Registry changes if you are not aware of the structure as it damages applications with one single change. Sometimes damages your computer operating system.

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