Strange Windows Store update?

Is anyone else experiencing this? So far I have not seen it mentioned anywhere. Yesterday I noticed various apps had stopped launching, including Mail and MS Stickies. Many of their icons were greyed, as were tiles in Start. These apps could not be reset.

When I went to the Store to re-install them I discovered what seemed to be an update to the Store itself, it behaves differently, and I would say the presentation has been improved. But at the same time a great many apps (over 25) were listed as being in need of updating. Some still worked but many did not. Their tiles were blanked. I repeatedly tried to re-install / update most of them and in each case the download got near to completing before it stopped with 'ERROR'. I persisted with many repeats, eventually getting most to complete ---- including briefly, Mail. Now Mail is caput again. The desktop icon for Mail is still corrupted and the Start tile does not launch the app, plus it has gone back to its previous state ---- for a while it had clearly been upgraded as it displayed icons for the different accounts Mail contains: Outlook, Google, and even Yahoo which for some time I have not been able to re-add in Mail (this last issue I am fairly certain is a fault with Yahoo, not Windows.)

I have looked at update history, but all that is listed is security signatures for Defender.

It seems that somehow I have got an update to the Store, which was defective but (hopefully) is gradually getting repaired. I have not yet received the October update, so it is not part of that.

clayto said:

Is anyone else experiencing this?...

No, not me.

I have looked at update history, but all that is listed is security signatures for Defender.

Store Apps are not listed there, their updates appear in Reliability History.

Thank you, I would not have thought to look there without your guidance. There is a list of app update failures there, followed by a later list of successful app updates. In the Store I still have 5 which so far have not updated successfully. From past experience I think the Store keeps trying periodically, until it finally succeeds? What is it that causes such failures? Probably a dumb question as I guess there are many possibilities. I have just had this message pop up: "Something went wrong with your extensions, so we had to reinstall them. You'll need to turn them on again." It is keeping me busy.

Try the Troubleshooters for Windows Store Apps & Windows Update. Does this behaviour happen in all accounts or just one account? If the latter then you might have a corrupted user profile. If the problem persists consider a repair install or recover from the last working backup.

What do you think of this? It shows the upgraded tile for Mail, displaying icons for its three accounts I have added (though Yahoo does not work). It appeared yesterday, along with the Store upgrade. This morning it was there only for a tiny fraction of a second, then reverted to the earlier tile. Stable it is not.

I spent some time browsing the 'new' Store. It is a fairly significant upgrade, more modern and professional in appearance, with more information and graphic displays (but still unable to process payments for a paid for app, an annoying shortcoming I have had for months.) Is it really the case that I am the only user to have got it? If I am it is bizarre. There seems no reason for it. If I had a high spec machine that might be an explanation, but the reverse is true ---- my small storage 2-in-1 tablet is low spec and still waiting for October.

I am going to try the Troubleshooters now.

The Trouble shooter did not provide a solution.

I contacted MS Support Chat and was told it was necessary to install the October update. As I wanted it anyway I was happy to do that, although it took several hours. The issues with the Store apps were largely eliminated as a result. One that I have had for a couple of months remains ---- I am still unable to install any apps which require a payment, all I get in response to clicking "Get" is a message saying 'something has gone wrong' with no indication of what to do about it.