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How can I remove apps that Windows doesn't seem to allow to be uninstalled, like Xbox and Groove Music?

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4 Answers 4

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  1. elevated Powershell command line

  2. this command to get list of packages:

    Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName

  3. Find package you want to remove

  4. This command to remove package (Copy/Paste package name):

    Remove-AppxPackage Microsoft.XboxApp_7.7.17003.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe

Caveat: During toying around, this does seem to remove the apps for the logged in user. They still existed for another user when I logged in as them. I'll toy around more and see if I can find a way to "ban" an app computer/network wide.

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Edit 1: Furthmore, you can remove the ProvisionedPackages so that they don't get installed in the future:

Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Select DisplayName, PackageName
Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage Microsoft.ZuneMusic_2019.6.11821.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

Edit 2: Finally, you can do a "Bulk remove" to "scorched earth" Packages and Provisioned.

Just a warning: This will uninstall the Windows Store. That's not an issue for me, but uninstalling everything isn't for the faint of heart.

Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online

It's probably wise not to completely remove the windows store. I haven't tried this yet, but this (in the comments) looks to be ballpark of what I'd use, to remove everything except Windows Store.

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | where-object {$_.name –notlike “*store*”} | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-appxprovisionedpackage –online | where-object {$_.packagename –notlike “*store*”} | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online    

Further resource: Delete Windows 10 Apps and Restore Default Windows 10 Apps

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  • Thanks, this works great!! If you want to do this network wide, drop it in a login script for a user or deploy via GPO.
    – StBlade
    Sep 29, 2015 at 7:02
  • You should almost never uninstall all the packages! For example, ShellExperienceHost manages the graphical interface. Uninstalling it will make the windows, task bar or start menu unusable.
    – Andrei B.
    Dec 9, 2016 at 10:01
  • @AndreiB. This process (getapp -... | RemoveApp) removes Store "Apps". Not "Applications" or "Windows Features". That is most likely not an "App" - it's, if I'm not mistaken, a windows feature. This won't remove Office (an installed "Application" or XBox (an "App" marked "vital").
    – WernerCD
    Dec 9, 2016 at 13:44
  • Also, "Important" store Apps won't get removed - with the exception of the Store (which is why the where-object notlike store is vital). I've been doing "uninstall all Apps" since shortly after I moved to 10 without issue (except for removing store by accident because, for some reason, it's not marked "vital")
    – WernerCD
    Dec 9, 2016 at 13:48
  • @AndreiB. are you saying WernerCD's "Edit 2" command will make the windows, task bar or start menu unusable?
    – johny why
    Mar 9, 2018 at 0:46
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If you find same universal or provisioned apps are difficult to remove, try the GRID command in Powershell:

PowerShell Commands to Remove Apps in GridView

Just use Out-Gridview to select which applications you want to remove.

Get-AppxPackage | Out-GridView -Passthru | Remove-AppXPackage

Keep in mind the above only removed the apps for the current user. To remove the apps from the computer for all users, run the following:

Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Out-GridView -PassThru | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online

This will display a grid of all installed apps. You can SELECT the apps (highlight in blue) you want to remove from the displayed list and click OK. Reboot.

(I found I could only delete a few apps at a time by repeating the above command and selecting a few each time I reran the command)

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You can target specific Apps without knowledge of the entire Package name with wildcard filters.

For individual, per-user Packages:

Get-AppxPackage *bing* | Remove-AppxPackage

For "Provisioned" Packages, which Windows installs for every user:

Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object {$_.PackageName -like "*bing*"} | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online
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Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -PackageName Microsoft.ZuneMusic_2019.6.11821.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

This is what will work for removing a single provisioned app.

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