download windows store apps from a different source Apps won't install on Windows 10 S. My Windows 10 S PC won't install some apps. Is that normal? If you have a Windows 10 PC running Windows 10 S (such as a Surface Laptop), you may notice that it won't install apps from outside the Store. Don't worry—that's the way we designed it. By exclusively running apps from the , Windows 10 S helps keep your PC running fast and secure and provides peace of mind by removing the risks that come with downloading apps from other places. I want to use a different browser or search engine. Microsoft Edge is the default web browser on Windows 10 S, and Bing is the default search engine in Microsoft Edge. You can install any browser available in the Microsoft Store and browse to any other search engine website. If you want to install a browser (or any other app) not in the Microsoft Store, you'll need to switch to Windows 10 Pro. An app I really need isn't available in the Microsoft Store. What can I do? Try checking with an app's publisher for the latest info on when that app is coming to the Microsoft Store. If you need the app right away, you'll need to switch to Windows 10 Pro to install it. The Windows Store Isn’t the Only Place to Find Apps: Here Are a Couple of Alternatives. Whatever platform you look at — iOS, OS X, Android, Windows, — there is some form of store available. Android users have been able to enjoy (under various guises) for some time, and Apple’s is well known even outside of tech circles. Microsoft was a little slow to join the party, but ’s Store means everyone is now on the same page. But is the store that’s built into Windows 8 the best option? If you want to access the Windows Store, at least through an app, you need to be running Windows 8. This makes sense to some extent, but it is slightly restrictive. What about when you’re using a second computer that’s still running ? Well, in this instance you can browse through the Store online, but there are still limitations to keep in mind. The most notable limitation of the Store is that you are only able to browse through apps that have been made available in your country. You can search for apps using your favorite search engine, but this can be something of a hit and miss affair. But there are other ways you can sate your app needs. Whether you’re looking for modern apps for Windows 8, or just want a way to track down interesting software, there are plenty of ways to go about it. MetroStore Scanner. MetroScanner is a website that acts as a front end for the Store on the internet — something that Microsoft did not provide. You can search for apps just as you would with your web browser, but there are also filtering options to help you to home in on what you’re looking for. Drop down menus make it possible to limit the apps that are displayed to software that falls into a particular category, has been designed for particular platforms (32-bit, 64-bit and ARM) or is only available in specific countries. Statistic fans will be pleased to see information provided about how many new apps have been added and how many have been updated. Graphs are available to illustrate historic data. Allmyapps. It’s not just users of Windows 8 that are able to use an app store. Allmyapps is available to all versions of Windows and provides access to apps that have not had to go through the usual Microsoft vetting process. You won’t find anything designed specifically for Windows 8 here, but the app serves as a great alternative to blindly hunting for apps, or relying on software download sites. As an added bonus, Allmyapps also keeps track of software updates and notifies you when there are new versions available, even if update checking is not a feature supported by a particular app. Install the program on more than one computer and you can synchronize your software between machines so you never have to worry about missing out on something you need. . For all the talk of choice, the vast majority of software downloads are users grabbing installers for a fairly limited number of apps. App stores with hundreds of thousands of apps to choose from are certainly useful, but Ninite concentrates on making it easier to get your core apps set up. Rather than forcing you to visit countless web sites and download numerous installers for all of the software you need, Ninite enables you to select all of the apps you’re interested in and have custom installers made for you. This means that you can install dozens of apps in just a few clicks, and should any of the programs you choose include bundled bloatware such as toolbars, the custom installer will automatically decline their installation. Portable Apps. You don’t have to be running software from a USB drive to have an interest in portable software; there is a great deal to be said for programs that do not need to be installed. Grab yourself a copy of the PortableApps.com Platform and you can save yourself from having to hunt down portable versions of all the apps you use. Run through the installation to get the software up and running, and you will gain access to an interesting take on the traditional app store. It works like a combination of Ninite and Allmyapps, enabling you to select the apps you want to download from the directory and taking care of the rest for you. Once downloaded, you can use the supplied launcher to access the apps you have ‘installed’. What have you found to be the best source of software? Do you use the Store or are you more reliant on download sites? Cannot download app outside the Microsoft store in Windows 10. We do have Windows 10 S for Microsoft which has a specific configuration of Windows 10 Pro that offers a familiar, productive Windows experience that’s streamlined for security and performance. It exclusively runs apps from the Microsoft Store and uses Microsoft Edge as its default browser. Just to confirm, are you using Windows 10 S? If yes, then that could be the reason why you're unable to download an app outside the Microsoft store. Best Alternatives Of Windows 10 App Store. It is a known fact that you need apps for any platform that you are using. For example, your Android smartphone is of no use if you are not having any applications to run on it. Similarly, applications are available on Windows and macOS as well. If we talk about the Apple side of things, you have iOS and MacOS which have their respective app stores. These are the iOS App Store and the respectively. In the same way, you have a Google Play Store for Android. For Desktop and Laptop users, you have a Windows which is used by millions of people at the moment. Therefore, it is inevitable that Windows also has an app store of its own. This app store for Windows devices is the Microsoft Store. You can get all your Windows app from the Microsoft store itself. Similarly, we have the best Windows 8 App store alternatives. If you are using Windows 8 check out the best app store list in our previous article. Now, that does not mean that you have to get the apps from Microsoft Store only. Because you have the option to download and install apps from outside as well. For this reason, we are here to tell you about the possible alternatives to Microsoft Store on Windows 10: 1. Great Windows Apps. In our list, Great Windows Apps gets the first position because it is arguably the best and most feature-rich app store available for Windows 10. As far as Great Windows Apps is concerned, you will only get quality apps on this store. This is because the store has a policy of not listing apps which are ugly, not useful and worthless. If you want to try out the Great Windows Apps store on your PC, it is completely free for you. However, you will have to shell out $2.99 to buy it for extended use. 2. Softonic. Possibly the biggest name in this industry, Softonic comes next in our list of Windows 10 Store alternatives. You must have stumbled upon this great website at least once in your lifetime. You will get anything and everything on this store. It keeps even older versions of any particular software that you need for Windows. To add to that, it a very good looking store with a simple-to-use website so you can never get mislead on this one. As opposed to the Great Windows Apps store, Softonic is completely free to use and download. 3. Ninite. Ninite is the next Windows 10 Store alternative in this list. However, it is also the last alternative that is working at the moment. As far as Ninite is concerned, you need to download its application with which you can download and install apps on your Windows 10 PC or Laptop. Well, Ninite is extremely handy for you when you are looking to set up your PC once again. As we all know, Windows does not support backing up data and files so you will be left with a clean Windows 10 installation after formatting. So with the help of Ninite, you can get all your favorite apps back on your PC and get going right from the word go. Of course, Ninite is free to download and install as well so you need not spend anything on this software. Conclusion. As we know, Windows 10’s default Microsoft Store is working well enough so other stores such as Intel AppUp Center and others have been discontinued. However, you will still need to download third-party apps whenever an issue arises with the default app and the list which we have compiled above should help you in the same. If you have any questions regarding the applications mentioned above, feel free to comment with your queries in the comments box below. How to Re-download Your Windows 10 Apps from the Store. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 or get a new PC your downloaded and purchased Windows 10 apps will be missing. But it’s easy to get them back via the Store. The Store app in Windows 10 includes free and paid apps, games, movies, and television. But if you perform a clean install of Windows 10 or use the Reset this PC feature, all apps and games will be removed. Or, if you purchase a new PC, you’ll need to get back the apps and other items you’ve downloaded over the years. It’s easy to get them back using the Microsoft Store app. Here’s how. Note: For this to work, you need to be logging into Windows 10 using your Microsoft account and not creating a local account. Reinstall Windows 10 Apps. Launch the Microsoft Store app and click the “ See more ” (three dots) button next to your profile avatar in the upper-righthand corner. Then from the menu, click on My Library . When your library opens up, you should see all the owned apps and other items you have downloaded over the years on other Windows 10 systems. You can break down categories from the dropdown menus at the top. Filter by Apps, Games, Movies & TV, and Avatars. Also, choose to show hidden products and sort by most recently installed or by item name. If the app or other item is already installed on your machine, you can click the Launch button. If an app isn’t on your computer, click the Install button. For example, I am installing the CBS Sports app that I had installed on a Windows 10 computer several years ago. Now you can scroll through and re-download and install all of the compatible apps to your Windows 10 system. This includes apps you were using on Windows 8.1 (If you ran that obnoxious version of Windows). Not all apps from your previous downloads will be compatible. The list will only show an Install button for the ones that will work with your Windows 10 device. If an app or game is not compatible, there will be no install button, and instead, it will display a circled checkmark icon. You probably want to click the “ More actions ” button (three dots) and hide it from the list for those apps. What Was that App Again? If you don’t remember what the app or game was, click on the app’s icon, and it will bring up its description, screenshots, and customer ratings. Then you can click the Install button to get it back. Just like with Apple and Android, if you already purchased an app or game, you don’t have to pay for it again. Final Thoughts. One final note. Microsoft only allows you to install an app on up to 10 Windows 10 devices. You can find this under the “Additional information” section at the bottom of an app’s description. This should be enough for most home users. However, 10 devices might be cutting it close for people who are all in with the Windows ecosystem. If you have multiple Windows 10 PCs and VMs…you could reach the max quickly. Some people already see the error: 0x803F7003 Device limit reached . If you get that error, make sure to log into your Microsoft account and remove any devices you no longer use. That should free up the allotted slots that apps can be installed on.