# How to Fix the Microsoft Store Not Working on Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-microsoft-store-not-working-windows-11/
Published: 2026-05-29 | Updated: 2026-08-10 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, Troubleshooting, Apps, Fix
Summary: Microsoft Store won't open, won't download apps, or throws error 0x80131500? Reset the cache, re-register the Store, and fix the services behind it.
Recommended app: PC-Troubleshooter — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/ (Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7RWKW8SP24?hl=en-us&cid=mytechnician-web). Optional; every step below uses built-in Windows tools.

## The Problem
The Microsoft Store will not open, closes instantly, sits on a blank white page, or downloads hang at **Pending**. Common codes: `0x80131500`, `0x80073D12`, `0x80072EFD`, `0x80072F8F`, `0x80070005`.

This is nearly always a corrupt Store cache, a broken app registration, a stopped background service, or a clock that is wrong. It is almost never a reason to reinstall Windows.

> **Store apps crashing instead?** See [fix an app crashing or not opening](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-app-crashing-wont-open/). **Downloads failing because updates are stuck?** Check [Windows Update stuck](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-update-stuck-windows-11/).

## What the Error Code Tells You
| Code | Meaning | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| `0x80131500` | Generic connection failure | Steps 1, 2, 6 |
| `0x80072EFD` / `0x80072F8F` | Network or certificate/clock problem | Steps 1, 6 |
| `0x80073D12` | Dependency or package problem | Steps 4, 5 |
| `0x80070005` | Permissions | Step 5, then a new profile |
| Stuck at **Pending** | Account token or queue | Steps 2, 3 |

## Step 1: Fix the Clock First
A wrong date or time breaks the TLS handshake to Microsoft's servers, and it produces a confusing generic error rather than saying so.

1. **Settings** → **Time & language** → **Date & time**.
2. Turn on **Set time automatically** and **Set time zone automatically**.
3. Click **Sync now**.
4. Check the region under **Time & language** → **Language & region** matches your account.

This is the single most common cause after a CMOS battery replacement or a dual-boot with Linux.

## Step 2: Reset the Store Cache
1. Press `Win + R`, type `wsreset.exe`, press Enter.
2. A blank Command Prompt window opens for around 30 seconds—**do not close it**.
3. The Store launches automatically when it finishes.

## Step 3: Sign Out and Back In
Open the Store → click your profile picture → **Sign out** → close the Store → reopen and sign in.

This clears a stale account token, which is what usually causes downloads to sit at **Pending** indefinitely. While you are there, check **Settings** in the Store and confirm **App updates** is on.

## Step 4: Repair, Then Reset the App
1. **Settings** → **Apps** → **Installed apps**.
2. Find **Microsoft Store** → ⋯ → **Advanced options**.
3. Click **Terminate**, then **Repair** (which keeps your data). Test.
4. Still broken? Return and click **Reset**—this clears the cache and sign-in state.

## Step 5: Re-register the Store
In **Terminal (Admin)**:

```powershell
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.WindowsStore | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
```

If the Store package is missing entirely, reinstall it along with its dependencies:

```powershell
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Store*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
```

Restart afterwards.

## Step 6: Check the Services It Depends On
1. `Win + R` → `services.msc`.
2. Confirm each of these is **Running**, with startup type **Automatic** or **Manual**—not **Disabled**:
   * **Microsoft Store Install Service** (`InstallService`)
   * **Windows Update** (`wuauserv`)
   * **Background Intelligent Transfer Service** (`BITS`)
   * **Cryptographic Services** (`CryptSvc`)
   * **App Readiness**
3. Right-click anything stopped → **Start**.

If someone previously "optimised" Windows by disabling services, this is very often where the Store broke.

## Step 7: Clear Proxy and Network Filters
1. **Settings** → **Network & internet** → **Proxy** → turn everything off unless your workplace requires it.
2. Disconnect any VPN and test.
3. Reset the network stack in **Terminal (Admin)**:

```cmd
netsh winsock reset
```
```cmd
ipconfig /flushdns
```

Restart afterwards.

If the error points at the network, work through [DNS server not responding](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-dns-server-not-responding-windows-11/).

## Step 8: Run the Troubleshooter and Repair System Files
1. **Settings** → **System** → **Troubleshoot** → **Other troubleshooters** → **Windows Store Apps** → **Run**.
2. Then in **Terminal (Admin)**:

```cmd
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
```
```cmd
sfc /scannow
```

Restart. Details: [repair Windows 11 with SFC and DISM](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-run-sfc-dism-repair-windows-11/).

## Step 9: Clear a Stuck Download Queue
When downloads are permanently pending:

1. Stop the Store: **Settings** → **Apps** → **Microsoft Store** → **Advanced options** → **Terminate**.
2. In **Terminal (Admin)**:

```cmd
net stop wuauserv
```
```cmd
net stop bits
```
```cmd
ren %windir%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
```
```cmd
net start bits
```
```cmd
net start wuauserv
```

3. Restart and retry the download.

## What Not to Do
* **Don't uninstall the Microsoft Store** with PowerShell. Reinstalling it cleanly afterwards is genuinely painful and sometimes requires an in-place upgrade.
* **Don't disable Windows Update** to speed things up—the Store delivers app packages through it.
* **Don't run blanket `Remove-AppxPackage` commands** from debloat scripts. They are how most of these cases start.

## Still Not Working?
A corrupt user profile blocks the Store while everything else works. Create a new local account (**Settings** → **Accounts** → **Other users** → **Add account**) and test there. If the Store works in the new profile, the original profile is the fault—see [fix "signed in with a temporary profile"](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-temporary-profile-windows-11/).

If it fails in a fresh profile too, run an in-place repair install keeping files and apps: [reinstall Windows without losing data](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/reinstall-windows-without-losing-data/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-microsoft-store-not-working-windows-11/ — My Technician, free Windows 10/11 troubleshooting guides.
Related tool: PC-Troubleshooter (PC-Troubleshooter is a system diagnostic and repair tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11—hardware, drivers, network, and common fixes in one app.) — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/
More guides: https://www.mytechnician.tech/llms.txt