Fix SCCM Application Install Error Exit Code 1603

This troubleshooting article provides solutions to fix SCCM Application install error exit code 1603. The SCCM error code 1603 appears you attempt to install an application from the SCCM software Center.

The SCCM error code 1603 is a generic error, and it’s not just limited to application installation failures in ConfigMgr. The error code 1603 also appears when you attempt to uninstall SCCM Management Point role.

The application deployment feature in SCCM allows admins to deploy applications to users or remote devices managed by ConfigMgr.

During application installation in SCCM, users may encounter many errors in Software Center where the application installation fails. One such common error is application installation failed with unmatched exit code 1603.

Read: Step-by-Step guide to deploy applications in SCCM

Any errors that you encounter during application installation must be examined and investigated using the log files. SCCM has got several log files for every component. All the log files are listed in ConfigMgr log files article.

When you encounter the SCCM exit code 1603 while installing the applications in Software Center, there are multiple solutions associated with it. Let’s understand what exit code 1603 is and the possible solutions to resolve this error.

Fix SCCM Application Install Error Exit Code 1603

The exit code 1603 in SCCM is a generic Windows Installer error that translates to “Fatal error during installation.” This error code 1603 occurs when an application installer is corrupt or requires dependencies, or a firewall or a GPO blocking the installation.

Along with error code 1603, you also see the error “Unmatched exit code (1603) is considered an execution failure” in AppEnforce.log file. There are multiple solutions to fix the error code 1603.

Using the ConfigMgr error look up tools, you can translate SCCM error codes to error messages. With these tools, it’s easy to decode an error code and find the reason for the error.

Let’s use One Trace error lookup tool and perform an error lookup of SCCM exit code 1603. As per this tool, the error code 1603 (0x00000643) translates to Fatal error during installation message.

Let’s see more details about the SCCM Application install error exit code 1603.

In the below screenshot, we see an application installation in Software Center has failed with an unknown error. The more information box contains the 0x643(1603) error code. There is not much information about the error code 1603 seen in Software Center window.

When you encounter an application installation error 1603 in Software Center, always examine the log files on the client computer.

For application installation failures in SCCM, you need to examine the AppEnforce.log file on the client computer. This log file is located in C:\Windows\CCM\Logs folder on the client computer.

Reviewing the AppEnforce.log file shows that the application installation terminated with exit code 1603. Unmatched exit code (1603) is considered an execution failure.

Executing Command line: "C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe" /i "agent_x64.msi" /q /qn with user context
Working directory C:\Windows\ccmcache\2 AppEnforce
Post install behavior is BasedOnExitCode
Waiting for process 2992 to finish. Timeout = 120 minutes.
Process 2992 terminated with exitcode: 1603
Looking for exit code 1603 in exit codes table…
Unmatched exit code (1603) is considered an execution failure.

How To Fix SCCM Unmatched exit code (1603) is considered an execution failure

We will now look at the possible solutions for Unmatched exit code (1603) that appears during application installation in SCCM Software Center.

Solution 1 – Check the Application Source Installer

If you are troubleshooting the error exit code 1603, you must check the application source installer first. This is the installer that you have downloaded from web and packaged an application in SCCM.

In most cases, if the source installer is corrupt, the client machines will end up showing error code 1603 in Software Center. Eventually, the application fails to install on any computer when the installer itself is corrupt.

You can test the application installation by manually running the installer on a client machine. If the installer is corrupt, the installation will fail.

Read: How to fix Software Change Returned Error Code 0x87D00669

So, once you determine that the source installer is corrupted, you can download a fresh installer from the internet or vendor site. Save the installer to the sources folder (a location where you store all apps to package in SCCM). Re-package the application in SCCM and deploy it to client computers. This should fix SCCM application install error exit code 1603.

Solution 2 – Check the Application Dependencies

Some applications require prerequisites to complete the installation. These are called as Dependencies in SCCM which define one or more deployment types from another application that the client must install before it installs this deployment type.

For example, if you are installing an application that requires .NET Framework 3.5 as dependency, if the dependency is not installed, the application installation fails with exit code 1603.

These dependencies must be installed before the application that need it is installed.

Read: How to Fix SCCM Application Install Error 0x87D00324

If you know the list of dependencies that an application requires, you can specify them with following steps:

• In the SCCM console, go to the Software Library> Application Management, and select the Applications node.
• Select the application in the Applications node and select Deployment Types tab. Right-click on the deployment type and select Properties.
• Switch to the Dependencies tab. Here you can click Add button and add the dependency for the application.

Solution 3- Check if Application Installation is blocked on client computer

The final solution that you can try to fix SCCM application install error exit code 1603 is to check if the application installation is blocked by other software programs. It could be an antivirus installed on the client machine blocking the installation, a Firewall or GPO too.

If it’s an antivirus software blocking the installation, you have to examine the log files on the client computer and whitelist the application install from the server.

Read: SCCM Endpoint Protection Log Files and Locations

Sometimes the application installations are blocked by a GPO defined on the domain level. When you attempt to install such applications, the Software Center shows exit code 1603. The system admins must ensure the GPO is not blocking the application installs.

I would like to know if the above solutions have worked for you or something else worked. Let me know in the comments section below.