Reinstall default Windows 10 apps

A while back, Marisa has shown you how to get rid of the default apps in Windows 10, but, unfortunately, many people found out later that they actually needed some of those applications. In case you're in this situation, you've probably noticed that bringing those programs back isn't easy. This is why, I've decided to help you out and write a short article on how to reinstall default Windows 10 apps.

Bringing back all the apps at once

The less time-consuming solution is to reinstall all the default Windows 10 applications at the same time. To do this, here are the steps that you need to follow:

Click on the Start button.
Start typing "Windows PowerShell" (without quotes) until a desktop app with that name appears in the Best match category.
When you see it, right-click on it and choose the Run as administrator option.
If you have UAC enabled, you're going to need to confirm your actions.
In the console that opens up, copy-paste the following command: Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" and press Enter.
If the default apps don't start showing up within a minute, restart your PC and check if you copied the command correctly.

Reinstalling specific Windows 10 default apps

In case you had a good reason for getting rid of the default Windows 10 apps and you're only interested in getting back the one(s) that you actually need, you can do that, but it's a bit more complicated:

Open the Windows PowerShell console with administrator privileges using the first four steps from above.
In the window that appears, type the following command: Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Select Name, PackageFullName and press Enter.
Now, you will see a list with all the available Windows 10 apps; look for the one that you want to reinstall.
Once you find it, double-click the string that's next to it under the PackageFullName column and copy it by pressing the Ctrl+C key combination. (For example, if I wanted BingTravel, I would have to copy this: Microsoft.BingTravel_3.0.4.336_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe)
Paste the full name that you've just copied in a text editor, so that you don't lose it.
Lastly, copy paste the following command in the PowerShell window: Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\PackageFullName\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode, but replace the PackageFullName part with the string that you've previously copied from the list and press Enter.

If the application doesn't instantly appear, try restarting your PC.

So, now when you know how to reinstall default Windows 10 apps, you may also want to check out some of our other articles such as: "Windows 10 Anniversary Update: disabling the lock screen", "Top 5 vexing things about the Windows 10 Anniversary Update" or "Deactivating Cortana in the Anniversary Update edition".

Mark Sapp

Thanks for this information. What I am peeved about is MS not having a clean way to reinstall the Store App. Yes, the Store App. That venerable app constantly needs some coaxing, reg entry, cache cleared or something and the only way I can get the Store App to work is to reinstall Windows 10. So, after an update, I update the SUB stick and reload Windows 10. Why? Where is a program that just repairs / restores Store App?

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