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MS Apps like Calculator, sticky notes, and others are greyed out and will not open

Question

Thursday, September 13, 2018 2:36 PM

OK before any jumps on me for this issue let me explain the full scenario as I know there are other postings about greyed out apps but I believe my scenario is different.

For our computers we do not allow users access to the internet.  We have had windows 10 for about 1 year.  recently we have been getting a lot of calls that calculator and sticky notes are no longer working.  When I investigated I found that shortcuts were greyed out and when you click on them it gave an error to go to windows store.  If I were to login with internet access the app works just fine until I log off and they log back in.

I am trying to figure out why it took nearly 10 months for this issue to start to show up for us.  Was there a windows update that changed these settings?  Does anyone know how to fix this with granting user internet access to the store. 

All the post I have seen deal with this issue but with people that have internet access and it is not working. 

All replies (13)

Friday, September 14, 2018 4:35 AM

Hi,

Try the following methods on just one computer.
Way 1

  1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type "sfc /scannow".
  3. Once it is complete type " dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth".
  4. Restart your PC.
  5. Open Powershell as admin.
  6. Type "Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}" and press enter.
  7. View if apps were greyed out when finished.

Way 2We try to update all the applications according to the way in the article

If it does not work above, please provide the system information:

  1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type "systeminfo", Click "enter".

Tip: This answer contains the content of a third-party website. Microsoft makes no representations about the content of these websites. We provide this content only for your convenience.

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Friday, September 14, 2018 8:12 PM

These steps did not fix the issue.

OS name              Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

OS version            10.0.15063 N/A Build 15063

Friday, September 14, 2018 8:14 PM

Are these Apps licensed now since they are on the store?

Just trying to figure out why non-internet users lose access to the apps.

Monday, September 17, 2018 2:22 PM

Hi,
Can we uninstall the Apps and then re-download the program from the Microsoft app store and reinstall these apps?

Try the following ways to troubleshoot the issue:
method 1

  1. Open Powershell as administrator.
  2. Type "$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest" and press enter.

3. Type "Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}" and press enter.
4. View if apps were greyed out when finished.

method 2

The gray of the Windows 10 application may be caused by the failure of the Windows License Manager Service (referred to as WLMS) service to start normally. The description of the WLMS service in the system is: "Provide infrastructure support for the Windows Store.
This service is launched on demand, and if you disable this service, content obtained through the Windows Store will not function properly. ”
Enable the WLMS service method:

  1. Open "Run".
  2. Type " services.msc ".
  3. Set "Startup" as "Automatic" and "Service status" as "Running".

method 3
Whether there is a windows update recently, may be caused by this windows update, if there is such windows update, we try to uninstall this windows update. Then see if this problem is solved.

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Monday, September 17, 2018 6:44 PM

Uninstalling the Apps and reinstalling works half the time.  once it is reinstalled the issue eventually comes back.

The WLMS service is set to Automatic and started.  Again the Apps work just fine if I log in with an user that has internet privileges.  It only fails with non-internet privileged tm.  And it is not on every computer atleast not yet.

Some computers have been updated and others have not so I do not see that being the issue.

It does sound like with your Method 2 that Microsoft is forcing users to have internet  access and to use WLMS for basic programs is that accurate? 

Tuesday, September 18, 2018 5:27 AM

Hi,
I do not think Microsoft forces users to have internet access. Because in my Windows 10 Pro, I can use APPs when disconnected from the Internet.

  1. We can try to disconnect the Internet.
  2. Then we open the C disk and type "Calculator" is in the search box in the upper right corner as below：

3. Check to see if the following two programs exist on a computer that we can use Apps and on a computer that we cannot. The two programs exist at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pester\3.4.0\Examples

Maybe your version is not 3.4.0.**
**

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Tuesday, September 18, 2018 11:05 AM

Thank you for your suggestions however I feel you are not understanding my issue or maybe I did not explain it enough...  If a non user logs into the computer they loose access to MS apps. However if a user with internet access logs into the same exact computer they DO have access to MS Apps. both users are non-admins so don't assume it is a permission issue. THe only difference between the two users is one user has the ability to go to the internet while the other user is block on our firewall from going to the outside internet.

The version of the folder is 3.4.0.  When you say you can unplug your Ethernet cable and the MS apps work so you don't think MS requires internet, that is not a proper test.   As I stated in the original post we have had these computers for close to a year without being online.  So it could be a simple phone home and get a updated license every 6 months or once a year issue.   you unplugging the computer for 10 minutes to test unfortunately does not prove true or false on my question for MS requiring a net connection for licenses.   But again thank you for trying and testing.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 1:05 PM

Hi,
I'm sorry, but I may not have understood your meaning very well. In order to better understand your question, please confirm the following points:

  1. You mean that the computer itself is connected to the Internet. The first user can access the Internet after logging in and use those Apps, but the second user cannot access the Internet after logging in and cannot use those Apps. Is that right?

2. Your company administrator sets the computer to be connected to the Internet, but sets the user to be unable to access the Internet, is that right? If so, how do administrators prevent users from accessing the Internet?

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Wednesday, September 19, 2018 1:16 PM

All computers are connected to our local domain.

Based on AD groups and firewall permissions we restrict users from access the internet.

On computer1 if BOB logs in with their account and is a internet restricted user they can not go outside our domain to surf the web.  If MARY logs into the same computer and she is in the internet allowed group then she has access to websites outside our domain...i.e yahoo, google, Microsoft, etc.

When BOB logs in MS APPS are greyed out, when MARY logs in MS APPS work just fine.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 5:44 AM

Hi，

We can check whether it is a local APPs problem or a domain user's policy problem with the following tests:

  1. Create a new domain user account, we called the account as domainuser1.
  2. Disconnect the computer1 from the Internet.
  3. Restart the computer1.
  4. Log on the computer1 with domainuser1.
    If the domainuser1 can use these Apps, it means that local Apps have no issue.
    If the domainuser1 can not use these Apps, this issue can be caused by the policy of the domain user.

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Tuesday, September 25, 2018 9:34 AM

Hi,
If this question has any update? Also, for the question, is there any other assistance we could provide?

Best Regards,
Daisy Zhou

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Tuesday, September 25, 2018 11:29 AM

Still have not found a solution, but the more I look into this the more I wonder if Microsoft doesn't require a license for these apps to be updated on a regular basis.

Friday, September 28, 2018 6:59 AM

Hi,

I am sorry that the reply is late.

Since the issue has existed for a period of time, and general solutions cannot resolve it. I suggest you submit a service request to MS Professional tech support service so that a dedicated support professional can further assist you with this request.

The following web site for more detail of Professional Support Options.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/gp/contactus81?forceorigin=esmc&Audience=Commercial

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4051701/global-customer-service-phone-numbers

Thanks for your understanding and support.

Best Regards,
Daisy Zhou

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