Microsoft started shipping the Windows operating system with a built-in app Store beginning with Windows 8 (called Windows Store). Recent Windows versions, Windows 10 and Windows 11, both have a built-in app store called Microsoft Store.
The Microsoft Store lets users download and install thousands of apps and games safely and securely. The best part about the Microsoft Store is that you do not need to have a Microsoft account to install free apps and games.
With default installation settings, Microsoft Store is included with Windows 11, and users do not need to do anything from their end to install the Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store is automatically installed along with other inbox apps.
However, on some computers, Microsoft Store is not installed by default, or the Microsoft Store simply does not appear in the Start menu or taskbar search. A quick internet search shows that many users are experiencing this problem.
If the Microsoft Store is missing from your Windows 11 installation, whether after upgrading from Windows 10 or installing or reinstalling Windows 11, you can try the following solutions to install the Microsoft Store again in Windows 11.
Solution 1 of 4
Install missing packages to install the Microsoft Store in Windows 11
As per this Microsoft community page, some missing packages are the reason for the Microsoft Store not being available in Windows 11. Many users were able to get the Microsoft Store back after installing the missing packages. Here is how.
Step 1: Open the Xbox app using search. If the Xbox app is missing, please get it from this official page and install it.
Step 2: If asked to sign in to your Microsoft account, either do so or click the Continue without sign-in button.
Step 3: Once the app is launched, click Sign in or your user profile icon and then click Settings to open the Xbox settings page.
Step 4: On the left side of the Xbox settings page, click the General tab.
Step 5: Now, on the right side of the General tab, you might see a few packages along with install options. Click the install button to install all the available packages.
If asked, restart your computer once.
Step 6: The Microsoft Store should now be available on your Windows 11 computer. Launch it via Start/taskbar search to install your favorite apps and games.
Reset the Microsoft Store cache
Step 1: Open the Terminal as administrator. To do that, search for Terminal, right-click on the Terminal entry, and click the Run as administrator option.
Step 2: Type the following command and press Enter to clear and reset the Microsoft Store cache. This might restore the Store app.
wsreset -i
Note that the command might take up to a minute to reset and clear the cache.
Re-register Microsoft Store via PowerShell
Step 1: Search for Terminal, right-click on its entry, and then click Run as administrator to open Terminal as an admin.
Step 2: Copy and paste the following command and press Enter to re-register the Microsoft Store.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsStore* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}
Step 3: Once the command is executed successfully, try to find the Store app using the search function.
Create a new user account
If the above solutions are not helping, try creating a new user account and check if the Store app is available in the new account. Refer to our how to add a new user account in Windows 11 guide for instructions.
Restore Windows 11 to an earlier date
If the Microsoft Store was available previously on your computer, you can try restoring the Windows 11 installation to a previous date.
