I’m not sure what it is about this time if year and my Windows Phone giving me a hard time. At least this time I’m not half way around the world with limited access to the internet. So what has windows phone done this time? Somehow, I have managed to break the marketplace. I can no longer download any apps, paid or trial versions. I can’t update existing apps either. On the plus side, I can still browse apps, and side-loading still works too. Yes, I have a developer unlocked device, but I don’t want to have to side-load all my apps.
Whenever I try and kick off a download I get the following error: There is a problem completing your request. Try again later. Error code 80004003.
I’ve done some searching around the internet and it appears that this is a pretty generic error, and that doesn’t leave much hope for me finding a simple solution. Some have reported that it was a problem with their Live ID. Others have indicated that it was resolved after restarting their wireless router at home. And some report that a hard reset fixed the issue for them.
For me, the problem occurs regardless of the network that my phone is connected to. As well, my old Windows Phone is still able to access and download from the marketplace. So I know its not a Live ID or network issue.
Unfortunately, the solution is to hard reset the phone, which sucks. The problem isn’t all the time wasted in wiping and reinstalling. The problem is all the lost data. The saved progress in games, the data created in apps on the phone that doesn’t sync via Zune and there is no means to backup.
Whatever is the real cause of this error is, needs to get fixed because its a long way from a pleasant experience for a non-tech savvy individual to undertake. Besides that, it’s also down right frustrating to have to wipe your phone! And Microsoft, while you’re busy fixing this error, how about adding some more helpful information in future error messages? 
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