What To Do If The Windows Store Won’t Open

The Windows Store, now known as the Microsoft Store, is the official digital store that is included by default in Windows 10. You can find apps, software, professional and personal devices, resources, and games to download and use on your Windows device.

To access the Microsoft Store, you can use the web version to browse and find additional items that are exclusive to the web version You can also browse and install some free apps from the Microsoft Store without signing in to Windows 10 using your Microsoft account. Another way is to use the Windows Apps Store webpage.

However, the problem occurs when you need some Windows apps that are only available in the Microsoft Store, but the Windows Store won’t open. We’ve put together some helpful tips to show you what to do if the Windows Store won’t open.

Note. The steps in this article apply to Windows 10.

How to Fix When Windows Store Not Opening

Before you get into the fixes for Windows Store not working or not opening an issue, here are a few things you can check:

• Is Windows up to date? You can check this by clicking Start> Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update> Check for Updates.
• Are you signed in with a Microsoft account?
• Do you have GPU or video card drivers. updated?
• Is User Account Control enabled?
• Are you having problems with your network connection?

If you confirm it’s all in place and the Windows Store still won’t open, try the following fixes.

– / –

Check the location, date and time settings on the computer

If the date and time on your computer is not accurate, the Windows Store will not open. It may sound strange, but it affects the way the Store works. When the Store loads, it tracks the time, so it always checks to see if your computer time and the Store time are synchronized.

1. To check and change your date and time settings, click Start> Settings> Time & Language.

2. Click Date and Time to check the date and time settings on your computer.

3. Set the Set Time Automatically slider to Off, wait for it to process your request, and then set it to On again. This will update your time to the most accurate setting.

4. Your current location and time zone must also be specified in the location settings for the Windows Store to open and work properly. Click Start> Settings> Time & Language.
5. Click Region to check your location.

Once your location, date and time are accurate, try opening Windows Store again and see if it works.

Clear Windows Store Cache

Over time, the Windows Store cache can become corrupted. This may result in the Store not opening or working as expected. Clearing the Store cache can help resolve any underlying issues or glitches.

1. To clear the Store cache, right-click Start> Run and type wsreset.exe. Press Enter or click OK.

2. A blank Command Prompt window will appear and close after a few seconds. At this time, the cache will be flushed, and as soon as the window closes, you can try opening the Windows Store again.

Windows and Windows Store Update

Microsoft continually provides updates and bug fixes to Windows users. As frequent as Windows 10 updates are, they might be the fix you need to improve the Windows Store and get it working again.

1. To update Windows and the Windows Store, click Start> Settings and select Update & Security.

2. Click Windows Update> Check for Updates and allow Windows to check for and install any pending updates.

3. If you were able to update Windows, try opening the Windows Store to update it. If the Store opens, click the three dots in the upper right corner and select “Downloads and Updates.” Click Get Updates to update the Store.

Reset Windows Store

If Windows Store still won’t open, you can restore it to its default settings.

Note. Resetting the Windows Store will, among other things, delete your settings, preferences, and sign-in information, but it won’t delete your purchases or installed apps

1. Click Start> Settings and select Applications.

2. Click Microsoft Store.

3. Then click Advanced Options.

4. Click Reset. A warning appears stating that the application data will be deleted.

5. Click Reset again.

Take ownership of WindowsApp folder

The WindowsApp folder contains all the applications that are automatically installed on your hard drive, but it is not easy to access. If you do not own the WindowsApp folder on your computer, the Windows Store may not function correctly.

You need to designate yourself as the owner of the folder and have full control over it for the Store to open and work normally.

1. To take ownership of the WindowsApp folder, open Explorer and navigate to your local drive (C):> Program Files folder.

2. Click the View tab and select Hidden Items to see the WindowsApps folder.

3. To open a folder, right-click it and select Properties from the context menu.

3. Click the Security tab in the Properties window and click Advanced.

4. Click the Edit link in the advanced security settings.

5. Enter the name of the administrator user in the Select User or Group window. Click the CheckNames button and then click OK.

6. Before applying the change, select the Replace owner of nested containers and objects check box. This way you will be able to interact with other files and folders in the WindowsApps folder. Click “OK” to save your changes.

When you become the owner of the WindowsApp folder, open it and check if you can launch the Windows Store.

Check your proxy settings

The Windows Store may not open or work incorrectly if your device’s network settings are not configured correctly. In such cases, an incorrectly configured proxy server can affect the Windows Store.

To fix the problem and start Windows Store again, disable the proxy server and remove any VPNs if installed.

1. Also check your proxy settings. You can do this by clicking Start> Settings> Network & Internet.

2. Select proxy.

3. In the Manually Configure Proxy section, set Use Proxy Server to Off, and then try opening the Windows Store again.

Edit Registry

If you’re trying to open the Windows Store and you get a connection error, checking and editing the registry will help prevent further problems that such errors might cause. Always back up the registry before making any changes to it.

1. Right-click Start> Run and type regedit in the Run box. Click OK or press Enter to open Registry Editor.

2. Browse to the folder path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows NT CurrentVersion NetworkList Profiles

3. Right-click Profiles> Permissions.

4. Click Advanced.

5. Select the Replace all child object permission entries check box with inherited permission entries from this object. Click OK, restart your computer and try opening the Windows Store again.

Change DNS address

Sometimes you may see error 0x80131500 when trying to open the Windows Store. In this case, your computer is probably connecting to the Internet via DNS servers that are automatically assigned by your home network setting or by your ISP.

1. You can change the DNS server address by clicking Start> Settings> Network & Internet> Status> Change adapter settings.

2. Right click on the network connection, select Properties.

3. Scroll down, click IPV4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) and select Properties.

4. Click “Use the following DNS addresses” and enter 1.1.1.1 in the “Preferred DNS Server” field. Click OK, and then try opening the Windows Store again. This uses CloudFlare for your DNS, but you can read our guide to the best public DNS servers if you need more options.

Re-register Windows Store

Removing the Windows Store isn’t easy, but you can re-register it on your computer.

1. Right-click Start> Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

“& {$ manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore) .InstallLocation + ‘ AppxManifest.xml’; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $ manifest} ”

Close PowerShell and try opening Windows Store again.

Reinstall Windows Store

If all else fails, reinstall the Windows Store. This can be done using Windows PowerShell.

1. Right click on Start> Windows PowerShell (Admin) and type: get-appxpackage -allusers

2. Find the Microsoft WindowsStore entry, go to the PackageFullName line, and copy the information to the clipboard. It will look something like this: Microsoft.WindowsStore_12007.1001.2.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe (The store number will be different from the number in our example).

3. In Windows PowerShell, enter remove-appxpackage followed by a space and paste the package name you copied to the clipboard. The PackageName might look something like this:

remove-appxpackage Microsoft.WindowsStore_ (number) _x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe

Press Enter to run the command.

4. Restart your computer and reinstall Windows Store. To do this, go back to PowerShell and enter:

Add-AppxPackage -register “C: Program Files WindowsApps Microsoft.WindowsStore_11804.1001.8.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe AppxManifest.xml” DisableDevelopmentMode

Restore Your Windows Store

We hope you now know what to do if the Windows Store won’t open. You can also use the Xbox app to buy and play the same games that you launched through the Store. The Xbox app also offers other player-centric features as well as additional benefits of Friends Lists.

–