Why Is Windows Store Download Slow On My PC?

Microsoft Store is becoming the go-to place for a majority of the users to discover and download new applications. It might also be considered safer, as the applications need to be verified for the presence of malicious code. The development team at Microsoft also does a decent job of maintaining the user interface so that it feels fresh and intuitive.

However, some users have reported an issue, where they face an issue related to Windows store download is slow. This is a recurring issue, with first reports emerging from the early days of its launch. Here I shall discuss why you may be seeing Microsoft store slow download speeds, and how you can solve the error on your device.

Why Is The Microsoft Store Download Speed Slow?

There can be a variety of reasons why Windows store download is slow. The most common reason being reported as users are mismatched and outdated cache data which led to the store crashing or providing slow download speeds.

There is also a glitch in Windows 10, where if you have any pending updates, the Windows store download speeds are slow. This is also a common reason, as users reported outdated Windows causing Windows store downloads slow frequently.

In a thoughtful move by the Microsoft developers, there is a hidden cap over the download limits for the Microsoft store. This is done so that you can browse other sites along with downloading applications and games from the Microsoft store. This cap can be removed easily, and I shall show you how to.

There are also some reports that third-party antivirus software may be causing interference with the internet connection, causing Windows 10 slow download speeds.

How To Solve If Windows Store Downloads Slowly?

Now that you have a slight idea about why you may be getting Windows 10 slow download speeds in Microsoft store, here are some of the potential solutions that you can use to diagnose which reason is causing the error on your device, and how you can solve it easily.

Solution 1: Update Windows And Microsoft Store

The update glitch in Windows 10 is a very frustrating bug, as it prevents the normal functioning of the entire operating system if the pending updates are not installed on time. Users have reported that if they did not update Windows 10, they experienced Microsoft store slow download speeds.

The only way you can solve this if you update your Windows 10 device by installing all the pending updates that are available for your device. This should solve the error and you should get good download speeds according to your bandwidth.

Inside the Microsoft Store, also check if there are any pending updates for the Store application itself. Update the store app, as outdated applications may also reduce the speed by malfunctioning.

Solution 2: Check Your Internet Speeds

There is also a possibility that there might be some error with your internet connectivity, which is causing Windows 10 slow download speeds. To confirm if there are any issues with your internet connectivity, check your internet speeds by using network monitors, or you can use free internet tests available online.

If the internet speed is slower than that of your bandwidth cap, reboot your router, and create a new profile for the same on your Windows 10 device. If you still see Windows store downloads slow, call your service provider, and have them troubleshoot the issue from their side.

Solution 3: Reset Windows Store

Some users have reported that outdated Windows 10 store caused the download speeds to fluctuate, leading to slow download speeds. The cache refers to the data stored by apps and sites, which are used to load them the next time faster than before.

To clear app cache, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Search.
2. Type wsreset and press Enter.

3. A command prompt window should open. Let this run for it a minute or two until it closes itself.

If the window closes on its own after some time, the Windows Store cache is now clear and you should be able to access the store as normal.

4. If the command prompt console takes forever to finish clearing cache (approx. more than 5-6 minutes) you must clear the cache on your own.
5. Next, exit the command prompt console.
6. Open a Run dialog (press Win + R).
7. Type the following path to navigate to the address:
   C:\Users\[your_username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe

Note: replace your  username in the above path

8. Here open the folder named LocalCache.

9. Delete all the contents from within the LocalCache

This will clear all the cache stored by the Microsoft Store app and it should work without any errors.

Solution 4: Remove The Hidden Download Speed Cap

To adjust the foreground and background usage, the Store download speeds are capped and the store does not download the applications and games at full speed. This is done so you can download apps in the background, and keep working online in the foreground.

This cap can be removed, and if this cap was limiting the download speeds on your device, here I shall show you how to remove this cap from your device.

1. Press Win + R to open up a Run dialog box.
2. Type “ms-settings:windowsupdate” and press Enter to open up the Windows Update tab of the settings app.
3. Inside the Update & Security window, select the Delivery Optimization tab from the left pane menu.
4. Inside the Delivery Optimization menu, click on Advanced options at the bottom of the screen.
5. Scroll down to Download settings and check the box next to Limit how much bandwidth is used for downloading updates in the background.
6. Push the slider below to 100%.

Now, open the Microsoft Store, download something and see if your download speed has improved.

Solution 5: Run The Store Apps Troubleshooter

There is an inbuilt troubleshooter in Windows 10 to diagnose and solve any errors in your device. This can come in handy to solve any errors easily if you don’t know what may be causing the problem on your device.

To run the Store apps troubleshooter, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows settings app. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
2. Click on Update & Security.
3. From the left pane menu, click on the Troubleshoot
4. In the right pane, locate and click on Windows Store Apps.
5. Click on the Run the troubleshooter button to launch the troubleshooter.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to diagnose and apply any fixes that the troubleshooter found for Windows store downloads slow error.

Solution 6: Disable Third-Party Antivirus

There have been reports among users that their antivirus software was interfering with their internet connectivity. This caused the internet speeds to throttle, leading to Microsoft store slow download speeds.

Turn off the antivirus shields for the duration of the download of the application from the store, and check if the connectivity throttles go away. This should solve the error on your device.

Solution 7: Clear Software Distribution Folder

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. Open Run by pressing Win + R and type cmd. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open cmd with administrator privileges.
2. Type the following command to stop Windows Update Service and press Enter:
   net stop wuauserv 
3. Type the following command to stop the BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service)
   net stop bits
4. Now open file explorer and go to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution
5. Delete all the files and folders inside the Software Distribution Folder.

6. Once you have deleted all the files inside the folder, you need to start the services you stopped inside the command prompt.
7. Open another elevated command prompt.
8. Type the following command to start the Windows Update service again:
   net start wuauserv
9. Type the following command to start the BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) again:
   net start bits

Once you start bits service, Windows will reconfigure the Software Distribution Folder and download the necessary components again.

Note: You will see that Windows Update takes longer than usual to scan for and install updates to your PC because the Windows Update agent will look for DataStore information and recreate it if unavailable.

Conclusion

So there you have it. If you too were facing Windows store download slow error, now you know how to solve this using the steps provided above. Comment below if you found this useful, and tell us which solution solved the error for your device.