How to Reinstall Preinstalled Apps in Windows 10

Always remove all entries associated with an app before reinstalling it

by Ivan Jenic
Ivan Jenic
Ivan Jenic
Troubleshooting Expert
Passionate about all elements related to Windows and combined with his innate curiosity, Ivan has delved deep into understanding this operating system, with a specialization in drivers and... read more
Reviewed by Vlad Turiceanu
Vlad Turiceanu
Vlad Turiceanu
Editor-in-Chief
Passionate about technology, Windows, and everything that has a power button, he spent most of his time developing new skills and learning more about the tech world. Coming... read more
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  • It's not too hard to reinstall Windows 10 apps, but there are several means to do it.
  • First, make sure you properly uninstall the app using specialized software.
  • The question of how to reinstall an app on Windows 10 may be to uninstall and install the app again.
apps-w10 reinstall preinstalled apps

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If you are trying to reinstall preinstalled apps on Windows 10, this short tutorial is for you.

Microsoft Store has an outstanding feature that stores your previously downloaded apps just in case you lose them, either by updating your Operating system to a newer version or doing one of the two operations posted above (PC Reset, PC Refresh).

Reinstalling Microsoft Store apps isn’t that hard, and in this article, we’re going to show you how to perform the following:

  • Reinstall Windows 10 apps using Powershell – Sometimes, the only way to reinstall Windows 10 apps is to use PowerShell. This is a powerful command-line tool, and by using it, you can reinstall Microsoft Store apps with ease.
  • Reinstall preinstalled apps in Windows 10 – Preinstalled apps can be more complicated to reinstall than third-party apps. This article will show you some tricks you can use to reinstall built-in Microsoft Store apps.
  • Install the Microsoft Store app manually – To fix a problem, you need to obliterate the application from your PC. After that, you to install it from Microsoft Store again.
  • Reinstall the Microsoft Store app – In some more severe cases, you might experience problems with the Microsoft Store app. If that’s so, you might have to reinstall the Microsoft Store app to fix the problem.

So, what are the steps to follow to reinstall Windows 10 apps? First, you can remove the apps manually and then reinstall them.

Alternatively, you can also use PowerShell to reinstall built-in Microsoft Store apps. Another solution to reinstall preinstalled Windows 10 apps is to create a new user account simply.

How do I reinstall preinstalled apps in Windows 10?

In this article

1. Use a specialized uninstaller before reinstalling apps from the Store

Sometimes, regular uninstalling procedures are not enough to completely uninstall an application. And if the app leaves some files behind, those can prevent you from adequately reinstalling that app.

That’s why we advise using an effective uninstaller software, an excellent solution that is easy to run and removes any app and leftovers that it may leave behind.

IObit Uninstaller is one of the best uninstalling software options; it has a free version and a pro version at an affordable price, and both come with top-notch performance.

This tool helps you uninstall unnecessary apps, especially when talking about many of them, and it helps you optimize the overall PC system performance.

IObit Uninstaller

Utilize this market-leading uninstaller to optimize your PC and delete unwanted apps.

2. Remove applications manually to reinstall Microsoft Store apps

2.1. Remove apps from Apps & Features

  1. Press the Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.
  2. When the Settings app opens, navigate to the Apps section.
    Reinstall Windows 10 apps Powershell
  3. A list of all installed apps will appear. You just need to select the application you want to remove and click on Uninstall. Then, follow the instructions on the screen to uninstall the application.
    Reinstall preinstalled apps Windows 10

One of the simplest ways to reinstall Microsoft Store apps is to uninstall them manually.

However, you will notice that some built-in apps have a grayed-out uninstall button, which means that you can’t uninstall them, at least not by using traditional means.

However, you can also uninstall those too. We have an excellent guide to help you quickly uninstall greyed-out apps on Windows 10.

2.2. Uninstall apps by right-clicking them

  1. Click the Start button and look for the application you want to uninstall.
  2. Right-click it and select Uninstall from the drop-down menu.

2.3. Reinstall the app from the Microsoft Store.

  1. Press the Windows Key + S and type store. Select Store from the list of results.
  2. When the Microsoft Store opens, please enter the application’s name in the search bar and select it from the list.
    Reinstall the Windows Store app
  3. Click the Install button and wait for the application to reinstall.
    Reinstall Windows 10 apps Powershell

As you can see, this is a relatively simple method, and by using it, you can easily reinstall any application downloaded from the Microsoft Store.

If you want to remove built-in Microsoft Store apps from your PC, you might want to check out some of our other solutions.

3. Reinstall Microsoft Store apps using PowerShell

If you want to reinstall any built-in Microsoft Store app such as Calculator or Mail, you’ll have to use PowerShell an advanced command line tool.

In order to reinstall the apps, you need to uninstall them first. For safety reasons, it’s better to perform a complete backup or to create a restore point in Windows 10 before using this command to uninstall any app.

Expert tip:

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1. Press Windows Key + S and enter powershell.

2. Click on Run as administrator under PowerShell to open the app with elevated privileges.

reinstall microsoft store app powershell run

3. When PowerShell opens, enter the following command and press Enter: Get-Appxpackage –Allusers | Select Name, PackageFullName

reinstall microsoft store apps powershell

4. Now you should see a list of applications along with their full names.

reinstall windows store apps powershell 3

5. Find the application you want to remove and copy its full name by pressing Ctrl + C.

6. Now enter the following command and press Enter to run it: Add-AppxPackage -register “C:Program FilesWindowsApps<PackageFullName>” –DisableDevelopmentMode

7. In our example this command would look like this: Add-AppxPackage -register “C:Program FilesWindowsAppsMicrosoft.WindowsCalculator_10.1709.2703.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe” –DisableDevelopmentMode

  • Keep in mind that the command will slightly differ depending on the application you’re trying to reinstall.

reinstall windows store apps powershell 4

8. After running this command, the application or applications should be reinstalled and you’ll be able to use it once again.

9. If you want to reinstall all built-in Microsoft Store applications, including the Microsoft Store, you can do it by running the following command in PowerShell: Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}

PowerShell is an advanced tool, so be careful when using it. You can cause problems with your PC if you’re not careful.

4. Create a new user account to reinstall Microsoft Store apps

  1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
  2. Then, navigate to the Accounts section.
    Reinstall preinstalled apps Windows 10
  3. In the menu on the left, select Family & other people.
  4. Next, click on Add someone else to this PC in the Other people section.
    Install Windows Store app manually
  5. Select I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
    Reinstall the Windows Store app
  6. Click on Add a user without a Microsoft account.
    Reinstall Windows 10 apps Powershell
  7. Enter the desired username and click on Next.
    Reinstall preinstalled apps Windows 10

If you’re having problems with built-in Microsoft Store apps and can’t reinstall them using the methods above, you might have to create a new user account.

All built-in apps on it will be reinstalled by creating a new user account.

After creating a new account, you need to switch to it and check if your Microsoft Store apps are working. If so, you’ll need to move all your files to the new account and use it as your main one.

Do keep in mind that you will lose the apps you previously installed if you perform a PC Refresh operation or perhaps a PC Reset operation.

By following the steps above, you can reinstall any of the previous Microsoft Store apps you might have uninstalled or lost for any reason.

Please write us any questions you might have while doing this tutorial, and we will help you further.

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