Microsoft Store on Windows 10/11 for Enterprise users?

Question

We have have used the Microsoft Store for Business and allowed our Windows 10 users to install a number of whitelisted apps through this way to their computers. Now Microsoft said, the Store for Business will go away in 2023, but before they will start something new.

Well, now they brought the Windows 11 store app to Windows 10 and the Store for Business is broken.
Users will receive an error code that apps are blocked by company policy. Even though we have allowed the installation of this app (i.e. Microsoft To Do) via Store for Business, it will not install.

On Windows 11 machines the Store for Business does not appear in the Store app at all and all app installations are blocked with the same messages about the company policy.
When I try to download an app, I'll see 0x800704ec error code. It looks like the store needs a login with a personal Microsoft account, but of course none of our users has such an account. We use an AzureAD Hybrid configuration, which seems not to be supported at all.

So instead of having the Store for Business working at least on Windows 10 until 2023, it is gone now without prior notice.

What is the solution in this case?
Our users want to use i.e. Microsoft To Do and this needs to be installed and updated on client computers via Microsoft Store. How do I do this now and in the future?
The Store app itself is working and updating Inbox apps. But currently we have no way to allow users to add additional apps.

Thanks, Ingo

Answer 1

Hello @Windingo-4604

The successor of the Store for Business was announced since July 2021. Here you can see an article of the steps moving forward and how to implement them.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/evolving-the-microsoft-store-for-business-and-education/ba-p/2569423

By default, it is always recommended to test a pilot set of computers and users when migrating to a new version, so you can detect potential failures of internal applications, systems, etc...

The other option would be to roll back to Windows 10. Windows 11 has a feature called "Go back to Windows 10" (search from start menu) but you can also browser to Settings->System->Recovery and select "Previous version of Windows"

Hope this helps with your query,

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