[Windows 10 Fix] “This App can’t Open” Error Message, Apps Not Working

Windows 10 operating system comes with lots of bundled UWP (also known as modern, metro and store) apps such as Store, Mail, Calendar, People, Clock, Maps, Messaging, Photos, Videos, etc.

Sometimes when a user tries to open any UWP app, Windows shows following error messages:

Here app_name is the name of the app such as Store, Mail, Microsoft Edge, Music, etc.

There are many ways to fix such kind of problems and error messages. In this tutorial, we are going to share all possible solutions to fix these kind of issues:

SOLUTION 1: Turn On User Account Control (UAC)

First of all make sure that User Account Control (UAC) is turned on in your computer.

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type control.exe in the text box and press Enter. It’ll open classic Control Panel.

2. Click on User Accounts icon and then click on “Change User Account Control settings” link given in the right-side pane.

3. Set the slider to “Always notify” or 2nd or 3rd options and click on OK button.

That’s it. Now try to run the app.

You can also try to enable other UAC related options as mentioned in following tutorials:

A Complete Guide for Tweaking User Account Control (UAC) in Windows

Registry Tweaks to Customize User Account Control (UAC) in Windows

SOLUTION 2: Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter

1. Open Settings from Start Menu or press WIN+I keys together to directly launch Settings app.

2. Now go to Update & security -> Troubleshoot page.

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

3. Now scroll down to bottom and click on “Windows Store Apps” label. Now click on “Run the troubleshooter” button.

It’ll launch the troubleshooter tool which will detect the issues and will fix them. It should fix the app related issue.

SOLUTION 3: Reset the App

If you are facing the problem with a particular app, you can try to reset the app using a few simple steps given in following article:

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

SOLUTION 4: Clear Windows Store cache

You can also try to clear Windows Store cache using WSReset command as mentioned in following tutorial:

[Did You Know] WSReset Command to Clear Windows Store Cache

It may also fix this app can’t open problem.

SOLUTION 5: Reinstall All UWP Apps

Sometimes a few files or registry keys of some apps might be missing or corrupted, reinstalling and re-registering apps might fix this problem.

Following tutorial contains steps to reinstall all apps:

[Guide] How to Reinstall All Default Built-in Apps in Windows 10

Run the command given in PART 2 of the above mentioned tutorial. This command will take a few seconds in completion and will reinstall and re-register all built-in apps. If you receive any error message, ignore it. You may need to restart the computer to take effect.

SOLUTION 6: Use DISM Commands

Also try to run following commands one by one in Command Prompt as Administrator or PowerShell:

These commands will take a few minutes to finish. After running the commands restart your computer and it should fix the problem.

SOLUTION 7: Create New User Account

Sometimes creating a new user account also fixes the issue. You can create a new user account using Control Panel -> User Accounts or using Settings -> Accounts page. Once you create a new user account, log into new user account and it should fix the issue.

SOLUTION 8: Check Firewall Blocking

Make sure that UWP app related executables (EXE) files are not getting blocked by Windows Firewall or any 3rd party security program installed in your PC. Sometimes if these executable files are blocked in Firewall, these kind of issues might occur.

If you find these executables listed in Firewall, remove them and it should solve the problem.

SOLUTION 9: Use System File Checker

You can also try the sfc /scannow command to restore all default system files which may also fix the app related issues.

To learn how to use the command, check out METHOD 4 mentioned in following tutorial:

How to Remove or Uninstall 3rd Party Transformation Packs (or Skin Packs) in Windows

SOLUTION 10: Reset This PC

If everything fails, you can try to reset the PC which will restore your Windows PC to factory settings.

[Guide] Reinstall or Repair Windows Using “Reset PC” and “Refresh PC” Options