Hi everyone! I've been trying to disable the Microsoft Store on my Windows Pro device using the Local Group Policy Editor. I set the policy to *Enabled* for "Turn off the Store application," but the Store still opens normally. I'm curious if the issue might be related to using Windows Pro instead of Enterprise or Education, where policies tend to be enforced more strictly. As a workaround, I'm considering blocking the Store's network access through the Windows Firewall, so it can open but won't be able to download anything. Has anyone had a similar experience? Does the firewall method really work, or is there a better solution? Also, I prefer not to delete the Store altogether.
3 Answers
For Windows Pro, you might want to try a different approach. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Store, and then enable "Only display the private store within the Microsoft Store." Without a private store set up, this should effectively block the entire Store from opening.
Incredible! This worked for me too, you just saved my day!
With recent patches, it seems like the removal of the private app store doesn't work anymore.
The description of that policy indicates it's mainly for enterprise editions, which might be why it's not functioning as expected for you. This is a pretty common issue; a quick Google search could lead you to various options to tackle it.
I’m going to give that a shot!
Blocking the Store isn’t straightforward because you can still download apps from the web. If you're looking to restrict just the Store app, you might want to use software restriction policies. Blocking the path %programfiles%WindowsAppsMicrosoft.WindowsStore* could prevent access to the Store GUI but won't stop the updating of existing apps. This has been my experience.
Thanks, I'll check those methods later.
You should be careful not to disable the store completely, as that could break some important features. Turning on the private store option is the better way to go.