Windows Phone has been dead for half a decade at this point. Support ended in early 2020, so anything that continued to work after that point was potluck. Indeed, it appears that luck is starting to wear thin, as the Microsoft Store app has stopped working as of this week.
The Microsoft Store on Windows 10 Mobile has been a bit of a mess for a long time. Since Windows 11 launched, many of the apps that appear in there aren’t even compatible with the dead mobile platform. It’s also still using the old Windows 10 app store layout, which was web based and incredibly slow.
Naturally, this version of the store appears to be no longer be fully functional, resulting in a white screen whenever you try to access an app’s download page. It’s not like there were many apps left anyway, but now there’s no longer a working official storefront for grabbing the remaining few that still existed.
What’s unfortunate is that all the behind the scenes plumbing for app downloads and updates still exists and is likely working fine, but because the front end is web based and is no longer online, the end user is no longer able to actually press download on an app.
You can still sideload apps, which is likely what people will have to do from now on if they intend to install any apps for Windows 10 Mobile. Of course, you’ll have to source the apps on your own, and since nobody is actively developing UWP apps these days, you’ll be looking for much older and outdated apps.
It’s somewhat admirable that the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 Mobile continued to function this long on a platform that the company abandoned over five years ago. Windows 10 Mobile hasn’t been viable as a daily use platform since before support even ended.
Other core apps such as Mail & Calendar have also stopped working in recent months, likely because the company has abandoned those apps on Windows desktop and replaced them with the terrible new Outlook app. OneDrive is a similar affair, with certain functions no longer working in the app, including uploading files and photos.
Honestly, if you are still using a Windows 10 Mobile device for whatever reason, it’s seriously time to move on. You can find new cheap Android phones that will function much faster and better than your aged Windows 10 Mobile device, and so it’s probably time to consider one of those. Or an iPhone.
The best Windows phone experience in 2025 is one that’s paired with Windows Phone Link, which is an excellent feature built-in to Windows 11 that lets you sync your Android or iPhone’s notifications and photos. You can see all your recent text messages and notifications directly from your PC.
In recent years, Microsoft has attempted to re-enter the smartphone market with two Android devices, the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2. These devices were treated just like Windows Phone was, and were eventually abandoned just as the concept was picking up steam.
But at least with the Surface Duo, these devices will still be usable for a number of years to come, thanks to the open nature of Android. Even though Microsoft has abandoned support for these dual-screen phones, most, if not all modern Android apps are still fully supported on the Surface Duo, which came out five years ago this year.
Microsoft has abandoned a number of forward leaning projects in recent years, including Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens, as well as its streamlined mobile app platform known as UWP, and Android apps on Windows. The company has well and truly given up on mobile devices powered by Windows, and has pivoted to focusing on experiences designed to enhance traditional PC form factors.
