How to fix WoW update stuck on initializing – World of Warcraft

If you haven't played WoW in a while, like me, chances are you will be greeted with a Battle.net update message. But a particularly annoying error can occasionally occur, preventing you from initializing the update and leaving you unable to play the game. This error does not occur exclusively with WoW but with all games hosted on the Battle.net desktop client. This guide will help you troubleshoot all the potential issues that could cause this error and help you fix it.

How to solve the error preventing you from initializing WoW update in Battlenet

There are a few issues that could cause an error that prevents you from initializing the WoW update in Battle.net, and there are several things you can do to troubleshoot the problem on your end. Remember that the error could also mean an issue with the client servers due to either maintenance or an outage, in which case there's nothing for you to do but wait until they fix it. Here are some things you could do to ensure the problem is not on your end:

• Check your internet connection. To ensure everything works properly, perform the internet speed test to ensure your connection to your ISP is stable and working.
•  Check if the Battle.net servers are down. If Battle.net is down at the moment, it will interfere with the update process, preventing the client from initializing the WoW update.
• Restart your router. Sometimes routers can cause connectivity problems, especially if you leave them running for some time. Restarting them clears their cache and reopens their communication channels to your ISP, solving any potential issues.
•  Restart your PC. Sometimes restarting the PC along with any applications clears any errors and glitches that might have occurred. There are a lot of background processes that are taking place on your computer, and they are known to cause issues sometimes.

Related: How to fix WoW ‘error retrieving character list’

Deleting the Battle.net Client Cache to solve the error preventing you from initializing WoW update

Battle.net uses local hard drive memory to cache data for faster process execution, ensuring the system runs smoothly. Occasionally that data can become corrupted, causing issues with the program operation. To clear the Battle.net client cache, follow these steps:

• Before deleting any files, make sure Battle.net is closed, along with any other World of Warcraft of proprietary processes in the Task Manager.
•  Go to the Battle.net installation directory, and the default path should look like this: C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net
• Delete the Cache folder.
• Restart your PC.
• Open Battle.net and try updating World of Warcraft again.

Clearing the Battle.net client cache ensures you rule out the file corruption as a cause of the error that prevents you from initializing WoW updates. Deleting these files is perfectly safe and won't harm your system in any way.

Running into any more World of Warcraft errors? We have what you need to get back into the game as quickly as possible! Check out WoW Realm Incompatible – How to Fix and What It Means and How to fix WoW Dragonflight Performance & Stuttering Issues, here on Pro Game Guides!