[BUG] MSIX package stuck in "Servicing" state owned by SYSTEM (S-1-5-18) — AddPackage fails with 0x80073D28, Cowork cannot be installed

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop stopped launching after a failed automatic update. The Start
menu tile remained but clicking it did nothing, and the app disappeared from
Settings > Installed apps, so Repair/Reset were unavailable.

Every reinstall attempt fails with:
Installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28

ROOT CAUSE
The existing MSIX package is stuck in "Servicing" status and is owned by
SYSTEM (S-1-5-18), not by my user account. Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Claude
in an elevated PowerShell session returns:

PackageFullName : Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
InstallLocation : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
PackageUserInformation : {S-1-5-18 [S-1-5-18]: Staged}
Status : Servicing
SignatureKind : Developer

Because of this ownership, Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers completes without
error but does not actually remove the package. The installer then calls
AddPackage on a package it could not remove, which fails with 0x80073D28.

Relevant installer log lines:
Removing: Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
Windows rejected data-preserving removal for Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
(0x80073CFA, requires developer mode); relying on in-place update
Installing via AddPackage (current-user)...
MSIX installation failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28

Note: the log reports "Conflicting service: false", so this is NOT the
CoworkVMService conflict variant described in some existing reports.

CURRENT STATE
I was eventually able to install via the "install without Cowork" fallback,
so the chat app runs. However Cowork is missing, and as a consequence the
"Code" tab in the desktop app is non-functional: clicking "+ New" does
nothing, and the only session type offered is Claude Code Web, which cannot
access local folders. Claude Code CLI (v2.1.222, installed separately via
install.ps1) works correctly, so the failure is specific to the desktop
app's Cowork component.

ENVIRONMENT

• Windows 11 Home (edition: Core), version 10.0.26200, x64
• Personal laptop, single user, full local administrator rights
• No corporate policies, no MDM, no proxy
• Sideloading enabled: true / S Mode: false
• Installer build: 003700efafbc2ccb4b1177a5e637b14da381799e
• Target package version: 1.25927.0.0

STEPS ALREADY ATTEMPTED (all unsuccessful)

1. Full quit of all Claude processes + multiple reboots
2. Reinstall over existing install (normal and "Run as administrator")
3. Settings > Installed apps > Repair — unavailable, app not listed
4. Enabled Developer Mode + reboot
5. Elevated PowerShell: Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Claude | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Completes with no error but the package remains registered

1. Cleared %APPDATA%\Claude and %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude
2. Stopped/removed CoworkVMService, started vmcompute and hns services

Support (support.claude.com) recommended Remove-AppxPackage followed by
Add-AppxProvisionedPackage, then redirected me here. Neither is actionable:
the removal does not take effect due to SYSTEM ownership, and the installer
provides no standalone .msix file for provisioning.

Related: #47877, #51132, #53504, #60487

Full ClaudeSetup.log attached.

What Should Happen?

The installer should be able to remove or replace the existing MSIX
package and complete a full installation including Cowork, without the
package becoming permanently stuck in "Servicing" status.

More specifically, either:

1. The installer should detect a package in "Servicing" status owned by

S-1-5-18 before attempting AddPackage, and either force-clear it or
fail with an actionable error message and a documented recovery path —
rather than silently proceeding to an AddPackage call that cannot
succeed.

1. Anthropic should publish a recovery utility or documented manual

procedure to clear a package stuck in this state, since no user-level
or administrator-level command can remove a SYSTEM-owned package in
Servicing status.

1. A non-MSIX installer should be offered as a fallback, so that a broken

MSIX registration does not permanently prevent installation of the
full application.

Additionally, the "install without Cowork" fallback should make clear
that choosing it will leave the desktop app's "Code" tab non-functional
(the "+ New" button does nothing and only Claude Code Web is offered,
which cannot access local folders). Currently this consequence is not
communicated.

Error Messages/Logs

INSTALLER DIALOG
  Installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28
  Please share this log with us.
  The log file will be opened in Explorer.

Non-elevated run additionally produces:
  Administrator access is required to install Claude with full features.
  You can try again or install without Cowork.

ClaudeSetup.log — key excerpt (elevated run)
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Windows edition: Core
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Windows version: 10.0.26200
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Native arch: x64
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Elevation type: Full
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Is elevated: true
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Sideloading enabled: true
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 S Mode: false
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Conflicting service: false
  2026/08/05 17:21:25.053526 Running in elevated context
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.189822 WinVerifyTrust: MSIX signature is valid
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.678702 Signature verified: MSIX signer matches bootstrapper
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.680789 Extracted family name from MSIX manifest: Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.688830 No Squirrel Claude processes found
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.688830 Checking for existing Claude MSIX packages...
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.699639 Removing: Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.980701 Windows rejected data-preserving removal for Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc (0x80073CFA, requires developer mode); relying on in-place update
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.987564 Installing MSIX: C:\Users\alvar\AppData\Local\Temp\Claude-2618058146.msix
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.987564 Standard install (not split-account), using AddPackage
  2026/08/05 17:21:26.987564 Installing via AddPackage (current-user)...
  2026/08/05 17:21:27.527964 MSIX installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28

Note: the removal failure at 17:21:26.980701 still reports 0x80073CFA even 
though Developer Mode was already enabled and the machine rebooted before 
this run.

PACKAGE STATE — Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Claude* (elevated)
  Name                   : Claude
  Publisher              : CN="Anthropic, PBC", O="Anthropic, PBC", L=San Francisco, S=California, C=US
  Architecture           : X64
  Version                : 1.25927.0.0
  PackageFullName        : Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
  InstallLocation        : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Claude_1.25927.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
  PackageFamilyName      : Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc
  PackageUserInformation : {S-1-5-18 [S-1-5-18]: Staged}
  IsPartiallyStaged      : False
  NonRemovable           : False
  SignatureKind          : Developer
  Status                 : Servicing

POWERSHELL — removal attempt (elevated, Developer Mode enabled)
  PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Claude* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
  PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

  Returns no output and no error, but the package above remains registered 
  with identical Status and PackageUserInformation.

POWERSHELL — same command in a non-elevated session, for reference
  Get-AppxPackage : Acceso denegado.
  + CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-AppxPackage], UnauthorizedAccessException
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.UnauthorizedAccessException,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.GetAppxPackageCommand

Full ClaudeSetup.log attached (contains four consecutive failed install 
attempts, all with identical outcome).

Steps to Reproduce

Note: the initial trigger is not deterministically reproducible on a clean
machine — it originates from a failed automatic update. Steps 1–2 describe
how the broken state arose; steps 3 onward reproduce the failure reliably
on any machine already in that state.

1. Have Claude Desktop installed and working normally on Windows 11 Home

(build 26200), package version 1.25927.0.0.

1. Allow an automatic update to run and fail. After this, the Start menu

tile remains but launching it does nothing, and the app no longer
appears in Settings > Installed apps.

1. Verify the package state in an elevated PowerShell session:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Claude
Observe: Status = Servicing, PackageUserInformation = {S-1-5-18 [S-1-5-18]: Staged}

1. Download the installer from https://claude.ai/download and run it

normally (double-click).
→ Fails: "Administrator access is required to install Claude with full
features. You can try again or install without Cowork."

1. Run the same installer via right-click > "Run as administrator".

→ Fails: "Installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with
HRESULT 0x80073D28"

1. Attempt manual removal in an elevated PowerShell session:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Claude | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
→ Returns no output and no error.

1. Re-run the query from step 3.

→ The package is still registered, with identical Status and
PackageUserInformation. Nothing was removed.

1. Enable Developer Mode (Settings > System > For developers), reboot, and

repeat steps 5–7.
→ Identical results. The installer log still reports 0x80073CFA on
removal ("requires developer mode") even though Developer Mode is
now enabled.

1. Accept the "install without Cowork" fallback offered in step 4.

→ Installation succeeds. The chat app launches and signs in normally.

1. In the desktop app, open the "Code" tab and click "+ New".

→ Nothing happens. No folder picker appears. The only session type
offered is Claude Code Web, which requires selecting a GitHub
repository and cannot access local folders.

Expected at step 10: a local folder picker, allowing a Claude Code session
against a directory on disk.

Environment note: no corporate policies, MDM, proxy or third-party antivirus
beyond Windows Defender. Single-user personal laptop with full local
administrator rights. Sideloading enabled, S Mode off.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Unknown / not recorded. The app was working normally until an automatic update failed. The stuck package registration reports version 1.25927.0.0, but this is the version the failed update was installing — the previously working version was not recorded before the update ran, and the app is no longer launchable to check. The earliest entry in ClaudeSetup.log for this machine is the failed install attempt itself, so no prior version string is available locally.

Claude Code Version

2.1.222 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

_No response_