microsoft store

Microsoft has quietly changed how the Microsoft Store updates apps on consumer Windows machines: the familiar On/Off switch that allowed users to permanently disable automatic Store app updates has been replaced, on affected devices, with a pause-only flow that lets you defer updates for 1–5...

Microsoft has changed the Microsoft Store’s app‑update control so the consumer UI no longer lets you turn automatic updates off permanently; instead, toggling the old “Update apps automatically” switch now opens a pause dialog that lets you delay updates for between one and five weeks, after...

Microsoft has shifted the Microsoft Store's app‑update control from a permanent on/off toggle to a pause‑only model: turning "Update apps automatically" off now opens a dialog asking you to pause updates for a fixed period of 1–5 weeks rather than disabling automatic updates forever. This change...

YouTube can be installed on a Windows 11 laptop in several useful ways — as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for a near-native experience, as a third‑party app from the Microsoft Store, as a Chrome-created desktop shortcut, or via trusted third‑party clients — each method offering different...

The Microsoft Store is an underrated shortcut to a better Windows 11 experience — install a handful of free, well-designed utilities and you can fix long-standing friction points (audio control, file preview, PDF handling), and even give the desktop a fresh look. The six no-cost Store apps I...

A fresh telemetry snapshot from remote‑support sessions underscores a stark reality: as Microsoft’s Windows 10 support deadline approaches, a large share of real‑world endpoints remain on an OS that will soon stop receiving routine security patches—creating an urgent migration and...

If you’re new to Windows or just upgraded to Windows 11, the Microsoft Store is the safest, simplest way to discover, install, update and manage apps on your PC — and it has evolved significantly in the last year to take on more desktop software and real-world update headaches. This guide shows...

HP Smart for Windows is a straightforward, free app that consolidates basic printer setup, printing, scanning and ink/toner management for HP customers — but the story is more nuanced than the quick guides suggest: HP is transitioning to a new unified "HP app" for broader device support, the...

Windows 11 Insiders are now seeing a new, unexpected entry in the parade of Copilot entry points: a floating “Share with Copilot” button that appears when you hover over an open app on the taskbar and use the window preview. The button launches Copilot Vision against the contents of that window...

Windows 10 will stop receiving free security fixes on October 14, 2025 — and if your PC can’t take the free Windows 11 upgrade, you have five realistic paths forward: enroll in Extended Security Updates (ESU), buy or rent a new Windows 11 PC (including cloud PCs), perform an unsupported upgrade...

Windows 11’s Widgets board is an underused but powerful way to surface the information you need without opening full apps — and adding, customizing, or removing widgets is straightforward once you know where to look and what to expect. This guide distills the practical steps for adding and...

Microsoft PC Manager quietly doing the heavy lifting on Windows machines deserves a closer look: it bundles cleanup, process control, storage analysis, and protection tools into a single, lean interface that many users find far more approachable than hunting through Settings and Task Manager...

Microsoft has quietly reworked the Xbox app on Windows 11 into a genuine one‑stop hub for PC gaming, and the implications reach well beyond a refreshed launcher: the app now aggregates installed titles from multiple storefronts, lets you launch non‑Microsoft games without opening third‑party...

Microsoft’s attempt to build a safe, centralized app ecosystem for Windows began as an inspired idea and then spent more than a decade bouncing between half-measures, bad product bets, and shifting incentives — but over the last two years Microsoft has quietly rebuilt the plumbing and the...

How to associate (and manage) devices for the Movies & TV (Films & TV) app on Windows A practical, forum-ready guide for WindowsForum.com — what the official docs say, what changed recently, and step‑by‑step workflows and troubleshooting to keep your movie library working across your PCs and...

Microsoft’s official guidance for the Movies & TV app clarifies how device association works, how to view the devices tied to your account, and how to remove a device when you reach capacity — but it also reveals practical limits and policy quirks that every Windows user who buys or downloads...

Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly evolved from a Game Pass storefront into a genuine, controller-friendly gaming hub capable of listing and launching installed titles from Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net and more — and the company is now rolling key pieces of that work out to wider...

Microsoft’s app-store experiment started with a clear promise — a single, safe place to find and automatically update Windows software — but for more than a decade the reality was a sequence of missteps, confusing platform shifts, and fragmented developer incentives that left most PC users...

Microsoft will begin automatically installing the standalone Microsoft 365 Copilot app onto many Windows devices this fall, pushing a dedicated Copilot entry into the Start menu on eligible machines unless administrators explicitly opt out — a move Microsoft describes as a background...

It still works to let you install Windows using a local account instead of a microsoft account, but the microsoft store, and its related apps, including notepad, photos, and windows terminal, will not work properly, and you can't switch to a microsoft account either.