Microsoft Store says "You need administrator privileges to pause updates" even though I am an administrator

Question

Microsoft Store says "You need administrator privileges to pause updates" even though I am an administrator

Aditya Bapat 0

I am using Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2, OS Build 19045.7548.

In Microsoft Store, I am trying to turn off App updates from:

Microsoft Store → Settings → App updates

When I try to turn it off, Microsoft Store displays:

Can't pause updates You need administrator privileges to pause updates on this device.

However, my Windows account is an Administrator. I have also previously been able to turn off Microsoft Store app updates on this same PC, so this behavior appears to have changed recently.

I have already tried the following:

Confirmed my account is an Administrator using netplwiz.

Ran wsreset.exe to reset the Microsoft Store cache.

Restarted the computer.

Checked Local Group Policy Editor → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Store.

The policy "Turn off Automatic Download and Install of updates" is currently Not Configured.

Other Store-related policies are also Not Configured.

Despite this, Microsoft Store still says that I need administrator privileges when I try to disable App updates.

Why is Microsoft Store incorrectly detecting that I don't have administrator privileges, and how can I restore the ability to turn App updates off from Microsoft Store Settings?

I would prefer to fix the underlying issue rather than using Group Policy to disable Store updates.

Mathieu De Ruyck 5 Reputation points

2026-09-17T02:28:23.87+00:00

wdwdwd
Mathieu De Ruyck 5 Reputation points

2026-09-17T02:50:04.2233333+00:00
Same issue here. Microsoft Store refuses to pause app updates because it claims that I do not have administrator privileges, even though I am using a normal personal Microsoft account and my Windows user is an administrator/member of the local Administrators group.

This is not a work, school or organization-managed PC, and never has been or will.

SYSTEM

Windows 11 Pro Version: 25H2 OS build: 26200.9457 Windows Feature Experience Pack: 1000.26100.360.0 Latest clean installation/reset: 12 September 2026

The issue was already present on previous recent 25H2 builds. I cannot say exactly which build first introduced it, so I do not want to attribute it to a specific cumulative update without evidence.

MAIN MICROSOFT STORE ISSUE

Microsoft Store > Settings > App updates > Pause

Result:

Can't pause updates You need administrator privileges to pause updates on this device.

The corresponding Store diagnostic entry is:

Access denied setting pause end time of auto update in "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InstallService\State". Exception Details: System.Security.SecurityException Function: PauseAutoUpdateAsync Source: .\src\Shell\WinStore.DesktopExtension\Methods\DesktopExtensionMethods.cs (224)

Checking for updates manually still works in the Store UI, but doing so can log:

Failed to check for updates. Exception Details: System.UnauthorizedAccessException Function: CheckForUpdates Source: .\src\Shell\WinStore.App.Acquisition\Acquisition\InstallerRetriever.cs (227)

This is reproducible after multiple clean Windows 11 25H2 installations/resets and has occurred on any clean installation before or either after applying my normal application/system configuration. Tested any Windows-setting, using only MS-Apps (Outlook, Edge, Store-apps, Onedrive). Also Onedrive has a lot of bugs/installation issues, especially when Office downrolls it to 23.X on a 25.X or 26.X Onedrive pre-installed device and makes sync crash so have to reinstall Onedrive from their website in any single new Windows-install on Pro 25H2.

This is why I do not think this is simply caused by a normal user-level Store setting.

WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN TESTED

This PC has already gone through extensive troubleshooting for the related Microsoft-account / Store / CloudStore / Crypto problems, including:

- Multiple Windows clean installations, including offline/clean installation testing - Full disk wipes / clean Windows installations - Multiple PC resets - Local-account testing - Microsoft-account removal/unlinking and reconnecting - Microsoft account/device cleanup - Password/passkey removal and reconfiguration - Windows Hello/PIN resets - TPM clears/resets through Windows and BIOS - BIOS resets - BIOS flashing/downflashing and different BIOS versions/settings - Secure Boot / TPM configuration testing - Store resets - Repeated repair attempts for the affected Windows components

None of this has permanently resolved the recurring Store/CloudStore/LiveID/Crypto problems.

I am therefore not looking for another generic wsreset, reinstall, TPM-clear or Windows-reset suggestion.

OTHER STORE DIAGNOSTICS

Opening or using Microsoft Store also produces recurring Store/InstallService/Store-SDK diagnostics such as:

Error while reading DirectDownloadReplacementSettings from OneSettings cache, value will remain empty Error: Unknown HResult Error code: 0xEFFFFFFF Function: DoInitializeOneSettingsConfiguration Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\installservice\lib\settings.cpp (1360)

Failure detected Error: Access Denied Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\installservice\lib\RegHelpers.h (198)

Failure detected Error: Unknown HResult Error code: 0x80240024 Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\installservice\libqueue2\uwainstallworkbridge.cpp (569)

Store licensing / collection operations also repeatedly log:

0x80072EE7 0x801901AD

Examples:

Function: Windows::Services::Store::Internal::GetNextUserCollection::GetNextAsync Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\licensing\winrt\lib\windows\getnextusercollection.cpp (91)

Function: GetHttpResponse Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\licensing\winrt\lib\iaputils.cpp (174)

Function: Windows::Services::Store::Internal::StoreContextServer::GetUserCollection Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\licensing\winrt\lib\windows\storecontextserver.cpp (1472)

Function: Windows::Services::Store::GetUserCollectionOperation::DoWork Source: onecoreuap\enduser\winstore\licensing\winrt\lib\getusercollectionoperation.cpp (94)

Other Store errors include:

TaskScheduler.UnobservedTaskException: Data request returned with null data: https://cdn.storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/assets/f1/f5/f1f59879-679a-43c6-b17b-f8068103574f.zip?n=PersonalizeHeaderModule-c7d3dc6e.zip Exception Details: WinStore.DataModel.DataUnavailableException

The Items collection in the mosaicList was null Error code: 0x80000000 Function: ValidateCollection Source: .\src\Core\WinStore.Core\DataModel\DataModelHelper.cs (315)

Call to AllowSetForegroundWindow failed. Install may not be able to bring its window to the foreground. Exception Details: System.UnauthorizedAccessException Function: Create Source: .\src\Core\WinStore.Core\Acquisition\PackageManager\WpmInstallerShim.cs (87)

RELATED CLOUDSTORE / MICROSOFT-ACCOUNT ERRORS

The Store problem is not the only recurring access/identity-related failure on these installations.

Examples from CloudStore / Microsoft-account components include:

Error: 0x80630109

and:

Cannot set MicrosoftDevice to true: Connection attempt failed.

WebCredentials CloudStore has also logged:

Downloading default$windows.data.security.vault.webcredentials$webcredentialscloudstore failed with error code: 0x80040105

LiveID/NGC-related diagnostics have included:

RPC call for WLIDAcquireTokensWithNGC returned error code: 0x80048051

and Store/licensing operations have also produced:

0x80072EE7

There have additionally been CloudStore operations returning Access Denied / 0x80070005.

RELATED CRYPTO-NCRYPT ERRORS

There is also a persistent Crypto-NCrypt error cluster which survives clean Windows installations and TPM/BIOS resets.

Recurring error codes include:

0x80090029 0x80090011 0x80090039 0x80280400 0x8009000D 0x80090035 0x8010002E 0x800704C7 0x80070005

Recurring providers/keys include:

Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider Microsoft Platform Crypto Provider Microsoft Passport Key Storage Provider NULL WindowsAIK_ECC_P256 WindowsAIK_ECC_P384 WindowsEK_ECC_P256 WindowsEK_ECC_P384 login.live.com PluginUvKey KEY FINALIZE

I am not claiming that all of these events have one single cause. I am including them because the Store “administrator privileges” problem appeared in an environment that is also repeatedly logging Access Denied and Microsoft-account/CloudStore/Crypto failures across clean installations.

STATE REPOSITORY

Another recurring boot diagnostic on recent builds is:

StateRepository Error: 0x15 misuse at line 185353 of [737ae4a347]

Again, I am not claiming this is necessarily the cause of the Microsoft Store problem.

EXPECTED BEHAVIOR

A local administrator using a normal personal Microsoft account should be able to use the Microsoft Store's built-in Pause updates function.

Microsoft's own Store documentation still states that automatic app updates can be paused.

ACTUAL BEHAVIOR

Microsoft Store displays:

You need administrator privileges to pause updates on this device.

while its own diagnostic logging shows:

System.Security.SecurityException Access denied setting pause end time of auto update

when PauseAutoUpdateAsync accesses:

SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InstallService\State

There is also at least one other recent Microsoft Q&A report showing the same administrator-privileges error on an actual administrator account, so this does not appear to be unique to my installation.

The main question is therefore why the current Microsoft Store / InstallService path rejects this operation with Access Denied on an administrator account, and whether this is a known Store regression.

2 answers

Your answer

Mathieu De Ruyck 5 Reputation points

2026-09-17T02:28:23.87+00:00

wdwdwd

Answer 1

Hi,

This could be a bug. I found the thread below, and it looks like you're not the only one experiencing this issue. Other users are reporting the same bug, including on Windows 11. Since you've already tried the possible solutions on your end, I recommend reporting the issue by clicking your profile at the top of the Microsoft Store, then selecting Send feedback > Report a problem. This will allow the team to investigate the issue and hopefully release an update through the app to fix it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1v7uzhg/cant_pause_updates_on_microsoft_store_even_though/

Disclaimer: This is a Reddit post, not an official Microsoft site. The information is based on user experiences and opinions.

Answer 2

Kapil Arya 38,451 Volunteer Moderator

Can you pls confirm, if this system is connected to work/school account.

If yes, your IT admin might have applied some restrictions.

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