[Tip] How to Reset or Terminate an App in Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with many built-in apps bundled such as Mail, People, Photos, Maps, Calendar, Calculator, Movies, Music, etc. These apps are known as UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps. Previously these apps were known as Metro or Modern apps. Sometimes these apps are also referred as Windows Store apps as these apps can be downloaded and installed via Windows Store.

Most of these apps run in background to provide better experience to the users. Sometimes you may need to terminate/kill/end task these apps so that these apps stop consuming your system resources.

Also many times some apps may not work properly. You may face issues and problems with these apps such as bugs or crashing problems. Sometimes these apps may throw error messages at startup.

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To fix problems and issues related to these apps, Windows 10 allows users to reset these apps. If an app isn’t working right, you can reset the app to restore it to factory settings. Once you reset an app, Windows 10 will reinstall the app and will revert it to its default settings. So you’ll get a brand new app as you got it when you clean installed Windows 10 for the first time.

If you also want to terminate an app so that it doesn’t run in background or want to reset an app to default factory settings, following steps will help you:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to “Apps -> Apps & features” section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:appsfeatures” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. In right-side pane, under “Apps & features” section, look for the app which you want to terminate or reset.

4. Once you find the app, click on it and Windows will show “Advanced options” link under app name. Click on the link.

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UWP_Appss_Advanced_Options_Windows_10.png

5. Now you’ll get buttons to terminate or reset the app.

If you want to terminate the app, click on “Terminate” button. It’ll not remove or delete the app from your system. It’ll just close the app so that it stops running in the background. If you want, you can launch the app again from Start Menu.

If you want to reset the app to fix app related problems, click on “Reset” button. It’ll reinstall the app and will restore it to default settings. Now you’ll get a fresh app without any issues.

Terminate_Reset_UWP_Apps_Windows_10.png

BONUS TIP:

On the “Advanced options” page, under “Specifications” section, you can check the version number of app installed in your computer.

Also Check:

Published in: Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. ^^ Did you check all built-in apps advanced options? The terminate option is available for me for all built-in apps.

  2. my game angry birds 2 is crashing from 3 days, please suggest me something to overcome it as soon as possible,please

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