The universal Photos app is the default photo or image viewer in Windows 10 operating system. The classic Windows Photo Viewer, although it has not been removed from Windows 10, it is disabled by default, and one needs to enable Windows Photo Viewer to make it the default photo viewer program in Windows 10.
The new Photos app is not just an image viewer, but it also offers basic image editing and optimizing tools as well. It provides you with options to add various effects and filters to your photos. With the Photos app, you can crop, rotate, straighten, and retouch your images. The app also allows you to remove red-eye from images.
Probably the only problem with the Photos app is that it is not as quick as the classic Windows Photo Viewer or its competitors like ImageGlass to open photos. The other most common issue is reasonably high resource usage.
If the Windows 10 Photos app is not opening, crashing soon after the launch, or displaying an error, you can fix those issues by reinstalling the Photos app. However, like any other default Windows 10 apps, the Photos app can’t be uninstalled via the Settings app. In this guide, we will see how to easily uninstall and then install the Photos app in Windows 10.
Method 1 – uninstall Photos app via PowerShell and then install it
Method 2 – uninstall Photos via PowerShell
Method 3 – uninstall Photos app using CCleaner and then install the same
Method 1 of 3
Reinstall Photos app in Windows 10 using PowerShell
Step 1: Open PowerShell as an administrator. To do this, type PowerShell in the Start menu or taskbar search box, right-click on the PowerShell entry in the search results and then click the Run as administrator option.
Click the Yes button when you see the User Account Control prompt.
Step 2: In the elevated PowerShell, type the following command and press the Enter key to uninstall the Photos app.
get-appxpackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | remove-appxpackage
This should remove the Photos app. If not, follow the next method.
Step 3: Once the app is removed, open the built-in Store app, search for the Microsoft Photos app and install the same to reinstall the Photos app.
Method 2 of 3
Uninstall Photos app via PowerShell
Step 1: Open the PowerShell with admin rights.
Step 2: Type the following command and press the Enter key to view all installed apps.
Get-AppxPackage –AllUsers
Step 3: Scroll down, locate the entry named Microsoft.Windows.Photos and copy its PackageFullName to Notepad program.
Tip: To quickly find Photos app entry, right-click on the title bar of PowerShell, click Edit, click Find, type Photos, and then click the Find Next button.
To copy PackageFullName, select PackageFullName (refer to the picture below), and then use Ctrl + C hotkey to copy it.
Step 4: Execute the following command to uninstall the Photos app.
remove-AppxPackage PackageFullName
In the above command, replace PackageFullName with the PackageFullName of Photos app that you copied to notepad in Step 3.
Step 5: Now that we have uninstalled the Photos app from Windows 10, it’s time to install a fresh copy of the same from the Store. To do so, open the Store app by clicking the Store app tile on the Start menu or searching for it.
Step 6: Once the Store is launched, type Microsoft Photos in the search box, click on the Microsoft Photos entry, and then click the Free button. If the Free button is not active or you are setting the Open button instead, please close the app once, and then launch the Store app again.
Depending on the speed on your internet connection, the app should be installed and ready to use in 2 to 10 minutes.
Method 3 of 3
Reinstall the photos app using CCleaner
Those of you who are not familiar with PowerShell can use the popular CCleaner (free) software to uninstall the Photos app and then follow the directions mentioned above to install the Photos app from the Store.
Step 1: Download the CCleaner app and install the same on your Windows 10 PC, if not installed already.
Step 2: Launch CCleaner, click Tools and click Uninstall to view all installed apps.
Step 3: Locate the entry named Photos, right-click on it, and click the Uninstall button to uninstall it. Click the OK button when you see the confirmation dialog.
Step 4: Once the Photos app is uninstalled, open the Windows Store app, type Microsoft Photos in the search box, click on Photos app to open its page, and then click Free button to install the Photos app. Simple as that!
Our how to reinstall Solitaire Collection in Windows 10 guide might also interest you.
Marc says
Nothing work. As usual, Microsoft is inspired by the devil to have all people wasting thousands of hours trying in vain to repair his softwares that never work. Microsoft gets all your $$$$ while you serve him like slaves to try to his work!
5p0ng3b0b says
To re-install from powershell for all users type:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.Windows.Photos | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
User says
Thank you so much! Lost a lot of time trying to fix it and only this guide helped!
bla says
bla bla bla
nothing ok
the quetion was how to install it by Powershell not how to remove it
Gotsquats says
This will only work with the current logged on user, if another user logs on, the app will not be there! thank you MS for making things so easy to manage!
Arnold says
The first option worked for me. The instructions were very clear and they worked perfectly!
Thanks!
Ujjwol says
Thanks a lot.. Great guide..
Name says
The name is actually microsoft store, and I get note that – The page can’t be loaded, try latter, so now how to instal photos when store is not working?
Windows User says
I love you, person who writes easy to understand, simple directions for fixing the Windows 10 Update bug in photos from August 2019. The first solution worked for me. Thank you, thank you.
Microsoft User says
it works. thanks
Libby Reinhart says
This is amazing. I have been working on this for hours and hours, days and days. I finally found something that worked. Thank you!!!!!
admin says
Alex, are you getting any error while trying to install it from the Store?
alex says
Great stuff. I removed Photos in seconds with Power Shell. Now, an hour later, I still cannot get it from Microsoft.
Ben says
Reset the Photos App. Resetting the Photos app will wipe the app’s cache and reset all its data to default settings. To do this, right-click the Start menu and go to “Apps and Features.” Next, scroll down to “Photos” in the list and click it, then click “Advanced options,” and in the next window click “Reset.”
Nextgraf says
I uninstalled Win 10 photos app in a fit a of peak at not being able to turn off albums etc.
But it remains the fastest cleanest program for sifting through a bloated photo arvhive.
So I tried to reinstall using various tech threads also executed in Powershell:
example:
Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_15.1208.10480.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppxManifest.xmlphotos archives.
Mostly they generated long lists of red-lettered tech grammar complaints.
So I was surprised that this one, downloaded from the store, worked so well, since others had been disappointed with Windows Store app sourcing.
I think that orignally I’d removed the program NOT entirely. Not sure that I was in Admin Powershell when I did it.
So I had also executed in Powershell these two Windows system cleanup protocols:
– Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
– sfc /scannow
Don’t know if they helped, but whatever the case, this method worked perfectly.
The proposition of copying the app version off my system is preferrrable to using a cmdlet with an app version file name taken from some other Win 10 iteration. And the whole structure of the fix was different.
Sincerely wish it worked for everyone like it worked for me.
John says
This will not work on a private network. Depending on your site, it may block access to the Microsoft Store. Microsoft really needs a standalone installer.
TVV says
did not work what to do?
Jeff Parr says
Great stuff.
Option 1 worked well.
But I just wonder, when MS is going to have another problem with European Commission under article 102 TFEU (abusing market dominance) and how many billions it is going to cost them this time.
If anyone reading this wants to make MS sorry, just document whole stuff and send to EU commission ;)
Cindy says
I used method 1. Nicely written directions. Worked like a charm.
OL says
Neither method worked for me. The Microsoft photos app stopped working since the last windows 10 update in late October 2017. I have tried ALL solutions and troubleshooting steps suggested by MS support and many IT sites. I also tried an inplace upgrade, reset, repair upgrade and finally a clean install of windows 10. Problem persists. There is no fix for this issue which has been floating around for at least 2 years. Yet, no solution is available.
Kolas says
People care most how to uninstall this malware :D It’s funny that there are some out there, who want to put this spy-app, suggesting albums, sending private data and doing who knows what…
Just monitor it with a firewall software and be amazed of its doings xD
Phillip Wand says
Njeri is an idiot, how can re-installing a photos application save your life.
A B says
It worked for me with the method 1. I had an error message before saying that my free trial was ended. Now I can open my images again with Microsoft photos.
Thank you so much ! Very clear, easy and helpful !
Brian Chen says
Hi, I installed CCleaner, and I went under Tools and scrolled down to Photos, but it isn’t there. Any suggestions?
Lucia says
Thank you very much!! Very helpful and clarifying!
Sandeep Singh says
can anyone tell me how to restore the previous version of photo viewer, the update is so bad, i don’t like it.
Ian Russell says
photos stopped working a couple of days ago after an update by windows 10.
Tried both the above and reinstalled photos – still will not open.
So something is broken on windows 10!
Sayali Palande says
My windows store app is not opening. What should I do?
Njeri says
Thank you sooo much, I’ve been using paint to view my pictures ever since photos stopped working.. This has SAVED MY LIFE I’m not even joking.
Wiktor says
The last version of the Photos App is very bad. It takes to much time correct my pictures. How can I get the version before.
Diego says
Hi!
Since the last update photos is terrible, its like Instagram.
Is there a way to restore the previous version?
Kerry says
I tried multiple websites, but these instructions worked when I used the Powershell instructions. I can view and edit my photos again. Thanks.
Brian says
I’m got same problem, before few months…
& I’d try to find so many options and than one of my friend suggest me to use KrojamSoft PhotoViewerPro which is great for me….
So I never need to reinstall the photo app again in my windows 10…
By the way great tip for reinstall the app…
bp says
Awesome. The powershell worked like a charm.
Thanks
Christine Chan says
My Windows 10 automatically got updated today. Now I cannot view my photos by scrolling. I have to open one photo, close that photo, get back to the thumbnail, and open another photo to view. How do I fix this?
KNB says
I have tried everything at this point, I had it installed.. Updated to Anniversary Update, now I can’t launch or update Photos correctly.
I can launch the basic of it, to edit and filter one photo, can’t open several windows anymore..
I get the error 0x80070005, unable to update it and unable to reinstall it..
Microsoft.Windows.Photos_16.722.10060.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
Can you help me here?
HoneyHoliday says
Dear Julie,
I just fixed that problem opening a fresh “Micosoft Account” by adding a fake email adresse e.g. [email protected]. With that test account you may download a fresh copy of the Foto app and you can reinstall on your P.C., without touching the Power Shell. For Users without Admin/password it is a proper alternative to get the app back
Julie penny says
I would like to reinstall Windows Photos on my computer. The computer is 6 months old and for some reason the photos will not open now. I am not IT savvy and most likely I have clicked something?? When I try to open photos it comes up ” this App will not start”
Before I try to reinstall the Windows App should I download all my photos first? Just as a safety measure?