Microsoft confirms annoying Photos app on Windows 11 issue that stops it from launching

Microsoft has been revamping its Photos app on Windows 11, just like any other features, tools, and even apps that are now filled with AI features.

The Photos app now goes beyond simply showing your pictures: you get new features like easy access to key actions, a dynamic zoom slider, visible photo metadata, new device import options, and improved viewer performance.

But it seems like it’s still yet far from perfect. Following lots of complaints, the Redmond tech giant said in a recent update on its health release page that the Photos app on Windows 11 might fail to start when BlockNonAdminUserInstall is enabled.

It affects folks using the Photos app version 2024.11050.29009.0 above from June 2024’s update. Basically, instead of launching, you get a spinning circle that quickly disappears, and it affects Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 users.

“This issue is most likely to occur if you have enabled either the Prevent non-admin users from installing packaged Windows apps policy or its Configuration Service provider (CSP) equivalent policy, BlockNonAdminUserInstall,” Microsoft explains, promising that a fix will be shipped in the future release of the Photos app.

The Photos app on Windows 11 has been getting a lot of AI features. Not too long ago, folks in the Windows 11’s insider community spotted that Microsoft has been testing features like object recognition, extraction, and setting desktop backgrounds through the Copilot side panel for the Photos app, similar to those on iOS and Android.