How do I fix the Xbox App saying it's launching but it never does?

Question

Recently I opened minecraft and it needed an update but it wasnt updating it was stuck at zero so I closed it to retry and when I opened it it said "You'll need a new app to open this msxbox link" and I clicked on look in Microsoft Store and xbox popped up and I downloaded it and opened it but it just says launching xbox but it doesnt launch no matter how long I wait. And when I open minecraft it just opens xbox app which doesnt even launch.

Answer 1

Hi Amani Dailey,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thanks for explaining what you’re seeing. From your description, this usually means the Windows gaming apps aren’t syncing correctly, rather than an issue with your device or account.

In addition to Q&A Assist's answer, here's a list of the possible checking steps that you can consider:

1 - Restart key gaming services

Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter, then restart these services:

• Xbox Live Auth Manager
• Xbox Live Game Save
• Xbox Live Networking Service
• Microsoft Store Install Service

2 - Refresh the Microsoft Store

• Press Windows + R, type wsreset and press Enter

3 - Repair Xbox and Minecraft apps

• Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features
• Select Xbox App > Advanced options > Repair
• Do the same for Minecraft Launcher
• Restart your PC

4 - Reinstall Gaming Services (recommended if Xbox won’t launch)

Open Windows Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin) then run these command lines:

get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-AppxPackage -allusers
start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN

If the issue continues, a Windows repair install or testing with a new Windows user profile can help resolve deeper app registration issues.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 2

If the Xbox App is stuck on "launching" and does not open, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Ensure the Xbox App is up to date: If your PC has been in a development sandbox for a long time, the Xbox App may not be updated. Switch to RETAIL mode to allow it to update automatically. You can check the version information in the Add or Remove Programs settings.
   • To update, launch PowerShell as an administrator and run the command: get-appxpackage Microsoft.XboxApp | remove-AppxPackage -allusers. Then, in the same PowerShell window, enter start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9mv0b5hzvk9z to reinstall the app.
2. Check if you are in the RETAIL sandbox: The Xbox App is only available in the RETAIL sandbox. Ensure you are not in a different sandbox environment.
3. Restart your PC: Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve issues with apps not launching.
4. Check Xbox services: Ensure that the necessary Xbox services are running. You can check the status of Xbox services on the Xbox Status page to see if there are any outages.
5. Licensing error: If you encounter a licensing error (0x803F8001), make sure to launch the Xbox App in the RETAIL sandbox first before switching back to your original sandbox.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may need to look into further troubleshooting or reinstalling the app again.