Windows 10, a major makeover for Microsoft, brought many changes. One of them is the Microsoft Store. It's pretty neat to have all the Windows apps organized in one place. It makes it easy to find free and paid apps. The installation process is simple and you can easily update them.
But what if the app or game you're trying to download takes too long or doesn't download at all? You know that's usually the case, so what gives? It can be annoying, but it's not permanent. Here are some reasons why this happens and how you can speed it up.
Are Microsoft servers down?
It might not be something you immediately think of, but it's worth eliminating as an option. Microsoft Store runs on a cloud service platform called Azure. You can use a downplace detector to check if there is an outage for different types of vendors and sites, including Microsoft. If there is a problem, you will just have to wait for the problem to be resolved. If the report says everything is working fine, it's time to move on to the next solution.
Your internet speed
When something you're trying to download takes too long, it often has something to do with the speed or stability of your internet connection. Maybe you're trying to get something from the Microsoft Store, but you're away from home and don't know your Wi-Fi speed.
Or, your home network is having some issues. The first thing to do is to check your internet connection speed. If all is well, move on to the next suggestion. If there are problems, restart your router or call your Internet service provider.
Sign out of Microsoft Store
Let's stick to the basics before moving on to more complicated solutions. Launch Microsoft Store from the Windows menu and sign out of your account. You will see your profile in the upper right corner of the screen. When you do this, it's a good idea to restart your computer.
When you're back, launch the Microsoft Store again and sign in with your information. This approach works for many apps that have download issues, and it might help you with the Microsoft Store.
The Microsoft Store might be busy
Before you get too annoyed with slow downloads and lose your patience, remember that there is an app download order in the Microsoft Store. This means that if you try to download multiple apps at once, only a few will actually start downloading at once. The others line up.
Check for updates
If you are certain that something is wrong with the Microsoft Store and downloads are taking too long, it might be a bug. The best thing to do is to go and check if Microsoft has already fixed the problem and provided a solution in the form of an update.
Go to Windows Settings (Windows key + I) and select "Update & Security" to see if there are any new Windows updates. If there are, download and install them. Restart your computer and then sign in to the Microsoft Store again to check for other download issues.
Reset Microsoft Store
You can also reset the Microsoft Store by re-registering it to your Microsoft account. It does not mean that you should remove it from your computer. At worst, this action will delete your settings, but you can redefine them. Simply go to Windows settings and select "Applications". Search for the Microsoft Store, then select "Advanced Options" below. You need to scroll all the way down and select "Reset". That's all we can say about it. This may be the starting point for your apps to download faster.
Delete cache files
However, it might be the recent Windows update that spoiled the speed of Windows Store. If everything was working fine before the update, and all of a sudden it isn't, it's worth investigating. What you can do is delete the associated cache files to make sure they are not causing the problem.
Open the Command Prompt application from the Start menu and type the command “wsreset”. When the system is done cleaning the cache, check again if the Microsoft Store is successfully downloading the apps.
Delivery optimization settings
It's possible that your Windows settings have the download speed limit set to too low a percentage. The maximum download speed may be what prevents you from downloading the apps in question.
But you can easily solve this problem. Simply go to Windows settings and then type in the search box “Delivery optimization settings”. Go to "Advanced Options", then use the slider to change the percentage slider. Increase the bandwidth limit that can be used to download updates in the background and foreground.
The need for (download) speed
Whether you're trying to download Netflix, games, or messaging apps, you need the Microsoft Store for fast delivery. After all, it's a product from a tech giant and expectations are high. But sometimes it's not Microsoft's fault. And even if some settings are disabled, you can easily fix them. The main culprits are usually your Wi-Fi or trying to download too many apps at once. Anyway, there is always a solution.
Have you ever had problems downloading from the Microsoft Store? Were you able to fix it? Let us know in the comments section below.
