With the latest Windows 11 22H2 update Microsoft revamped the photos app with several new features that bring a gorgeous gallery, simplifying browsing, finding, management and consumption of your collection of photos. Also, make it Easily back up your Photos to OneDrive and keep your memories safe. Now It’s much faster and quick to view images on the Microsoft Photos app. But sometimes you may experience Can’t Open Photos in Windows 11 or the photos app crashing after update. A number of users report the Microsoft Photos app is very slow to open or not open after upgrading to Windows 11 update.
Why Photos App Not Working on Windows 11?
Apart from the system bugs, there are multiple reasons why Photos App Not Work or Windows 11 Photos app crashes. It’s because system files are corrupted and causing the Photos app to not work on your computer. Photos app may not support the file format of the image you try to open or the Photos app messed while the Windows 11 upgrade process. Resetting the Photos app and running related troubleshooter for fixing Photos and other apps helps fix the problem view images again on the Photos app. Also, Running system file checker and DISM restore health scans can sometimes solve Microsoft Photos not working issues as well.
What to do if Microsoft Photos is not working in Windows 11?
If you are also experiencing similar problem where the Windows 11 photos app fails to open or crashes when you try to open images on your computer, apply the solutions listed below.
First, restart your computer to clear temporary glitches that may present there and prevent the photos app open. In addition, perform a full system scan with the latest updated antivirus or antimalware application to make sure virus malware infection not causing the issue.
Update windows 11
Microsoft regularly releases patch updates to fix different bugs with Windows OS and improve system performance. Let’s check if any Windows updates are pending there and install them to ensure a bug-free user experience.
- Press the Windows key + X and select settings from the context menu,
- Go to windows update and hit the check for updates button,
- If Windows updates are pending there, allow them to download and install on your computer,
- Once done you need to reboot your computer to apply them.
In addition, open the Microsoft Store app select Library then click on Get Updates to see if a new update is available for the Photos App. New updates bring bug fixes and performance improvements to the photos app.
After upgrading the system build, check if the Photos app is still crashing or now it works. If not, try the other fixes mentioned in this guide.
Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter
Run the built-in Windows store apps troubleshooter diagnose and restore the Photos app to its working state.
- Press the Windows key + X and select settings from the context menu,
- Navigate the system tab, scroll down and click on troubleshoot then other troubleshooters.
- Scroll down to Windows Store Apps and click the Run button.
- Let the troubleshooter scan and fix issues with apps installed on your computer including for photos app,
- Follow on-screen instructions to apply the recommended changes.
- Once done reboot your system and check if the photos app working properly.
Reset the Microsoft Photos App
The latest Windows 11 allows resetting the built-in app to its default settings without uninstalling the app. Let’s quickly reset the photos app to restore the app to its default settings and check if this helps fix the problem or still, the app acts up.
To reset the Microsoft Photos app on Windows 11
- Press Windows key + R, type ms-settings: and click ok to open the settings app,
- Navigate Apps then click on the installed app to display all installed apps on your device,
- Scroll down to locate the Microsoft Photos app, Click the three-dots menu beside the Photos app and select Advanced options.
- Scroll down and click on the repair option first and check if the app working normally, If not try the Reset button.
- Then, click the Reset button once more to confirm the action.
Check for Corrupt System Files
If due to some reason, system files are corrupted, especially after the Windows 11 22H2 upgrade you may experience apps not opening, include the photos app won’t open or not responding.
It may be some corrupt system file that may require a fix
Let’s run the system file checker utility that scans all protected system files, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy that is located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\dllcache.
- Press Windows key + S and type cmd, Right click on command prompt and select run as administrator,
- When the command prompt window opens type sfc /scannow and press the enter key,
- This will start scanning for corrupted files on your system, and if found any the utility try to repair or replace them with the correct ones.
Note – the scanning process going to take a while. Make sure you are not interrupting the process while it fixes the issue.
After performing this scan if at all it was any corrupt system file causing the Photos app to crash, the issue should be fixed for good.
Reinstall the Windows Photos App
If all the above solutions not work for you still the photos app acting up when try to open images on Windows 11? Let’s uninstall the current build of the Photos app using PowerShell, then download and reinstall the latest version Photos app from the Microsoft Store.
- Open Windows PowerShell with Administrator privileges using the Window search.
- Type the following command and press enter to uninstall the Microsoft Photos app, get-appxpackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | remove-appxpackage
- Next, restart your computer, open the Microsoft Store and search for Microsoft Photos,
- Click on Get to install the photos app on your computer, once done open the app and check it’s working or open photos without any error or problem.
Install Media Extensions
In addition, you need to check and ensure that the image that you’re trying to open or the File Format is Supported by the Photos App.
- Press the Windows key + S and search for Default apps and select the first result,
- Scroll down to locate photos then click on it, and Check the file formats present there.
- For the file format that you want to use on Photos, check what is the default app set for that file format.
- If it is not set to Photos, then set it to Photos by selecting from the list of apps installed on your computer.
In addition, open the Microsoft Store app and download the extensions to get support for new and modern file extensions.
Here are some of the newer file extensions you can download:
Mostly above solutions fix the Microsoft Photos app not working problem on Windows 11. But if still you are experiencing problems with the app, you can explore the Microsoft Photos app alternatives. These third-party apps are less prone to crashes and offer better features.
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