COMADMIN_E_AUTHENTICATIONLEVEL (0x80110413) Fix

You're in Component Services, trying to update a COM+ application's properties or install a new component, and bam—you get this error. The full message says "Unable to set required authentication level for update request." I've seen this most often when someone's trying to change the security settings on a custom COM+ app that was installed by an older piece of software—like a legacy accounting tool or a third-party middleware. It also pops up if you're logged in as a local admin but the DCOM config got locked down by group policy.

What's actually causing this

The COM+ runtime has a minimum authentication level it expects for every call. If the current DCOM setting for that application—or the machine-wide DCOM defaults—is set lower than what COM+ wants, you get 0x80110413. The system's basically saying "I can't let you do that because the security handshake isn't strong enough." It's not a driver issue, it's not corrupt files—it's a mismatch between the COM+ application's requirements and the DCOM authentication level configured in the registry or in dcomcnfg.

Microsoft's documentation is vague here. They'll say "check authentication level" but won't tell you where to look. I'll walk you through both places: the DCOM config tool and the registry. Start with the registry—it's the most direct way to see what's actually set.

Step-by-step fix

Step 1: Open the COM+ application's properties

1. Press Win + R, type dcomcnfg, hit Enter.
2. In the Component Services window, expand Component Services > Computers > My Computer > COM+ Applications.
3. Find the application that's throwing the error—it's probably the one you were trying to edit. Right-click it and select Properties.
4. Go to the Security tab.
5. Under Authentication Level for Calls, you'll see a dropdown. If it's set to None or Connect, that's your problem. Change it to Packet or higher—Packet Integrity is usually safe.
6. Click Apply and then OK.

After clicking OK, try your original operation again. If it works, you're done. If the error comes back, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Check the machine-wide DCOM defaults

Sometimes the app-level setting gets overridden by the global defaults. Here's how to check:

1. Back in dcomcnfg, right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
2. Go to the Default Properties tab.
3. Look at the Default Authentication Level dropdown. If it's set to None or Connect, change it to Packet.
4. Click Apply and OK.
5. Restart the COM+ service: open Command Prompt as admin, type net stop COMSysApp && net start COMSysApp, and hit Enter.

After the service restarts, try the operation again. This fixes the majority of cases I've dealt with.

Step 3: Registry edit (if the GUI won't stick)

If the dropdowns reset themselves or you get the error when opening the properties, group policy or a hardened registry key is overriding your changes. You'll need to go straight to the registry.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole
3. On the right, look for DefaultAuthenticationLevel. If it's not there, right-click an empty area, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it DefaultAuthenticationLevel.
4. Double-click that DWORD and set the value data to 4 (Packet-level authentication). Click OK.
5. Close regedit and restart your computer.

After reboot, the error should be gone. The value of 4 corresponds to RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_PKT. If you ever need to undo it, set the value to 2 (Connect) or delete the DWORD.

What to check if it still fails

If you've done all three steps and the error persists, here's what else I've seen cause it:

• Group Policy: Run gpresult /h gp.html in Command Prompt, open the generated HTML file, and search for "DCOM" or "Authentication." If there's a policy forcing "None" or "Connect," you'll need your IT admin to change it.
• Third-party security software: Some endpoint protection tools like McAfee or Cylance override COM+ defaults. Temporarily disable the protection and test—if it works, add an exception for COM+.
• Corrupted COM+ catalog: This is rare, but if nothing else works, back up the catalog (Component Services > My Computer > COM+ Applications > Export), then delete and re-import the app. I've only needed this once in five years.

That's the full playbook. Start with Step 1, work through Step 3 only if you have to. The registry edit is the nuclear option but it works when the GUI fights you.