Why isn't my app showing up in the Microsoft Store?

Where to look

It hasn't finished publishing

Microsoft's certification process docs say certification can take up to three business days. After a submission passes, publishing takes a few minutes, and on average customers can see the listing within 15 minutes, depending on their location. When it's done, the status in Partner Center changes to In the Store.

If it's been longer than that, look at the status. A submission that passed can still be waiting on purpose. If you chose to publish manually under Publishing hold options, nothing happens until you select Publish now. If you set a date there, or a Release date in the Schedule section for a first release, it waits for that date. Our guide on how long certification takes goes through every step and what can slow it down.

The submission is pending or failed

If the status still says certification, the app isn't in the Store yet, and there's nothing to find. If certification failed, Microsoft sends a report that says which test failed or which policy wasn't met. You fix the problem and create a new submission, which starts certification again. Until a submission gets to In the Store, customers see whatever was published before it, or nothing for a new app.

Visibility settings hide it

The Visibility section on the Pricing and availability page has two parts, Audience and Discoverability. Microsoft's visibility docs describe what each option does.

A few details catch people out.

• Testers in a private audience need the link from your App identity page, the one that requires them to sign in, not the regular Store URL. They can search for the app in the Microsoft Store app, but Microsoft says the web listing isn't discoverable through search, even for them.
• A Stop acquisition date in the Schedule section has the same effect as the Stop acquisition option. To undo it, create a new submission and set it back to Never.
• Make product unavailable on the App overview page overrides your Visibility choices. Microsoft says the app stops being visible in the Store within a few hours. If someone on your account did this, select Make product available to bring it back.

To fix any of these, change the setting in a new submission. Once you've published with a public audience, you can't go back to a private one.

It isn't offered in that market

By default your app is offered in every market, including ones Microsoft adds later. If you or someone else unselected markets under Markets on the Pricing and availability page, new customers there can't get it. Our pricing and markets guide covers how market selection works.

Selecting every market isn't a guarantee. Microsoft's market selection docs say local laws and restrictions can keep some apps out of some countries and regions, and that some markets have age rating requirements an app has to meet before it can be offered there.

The age rating keeps it out

Your rating comes from the IARC questionnaire. Microsoft's age ratings docs say a rating can make an app count as inappropriate for a country or region, and Partner Center shows a message listing the markets it can't be offered in. If you think that's wrong, appeal through the link in the rating certificate email from IARC. If your answers were wrong, retake the questionnaire in your next submission. More in our age rating guide.

It doesn't support that device or Windows version

The Device family availability section on the Packages page shows which packages are offered to which Windows device families. Microsoft's package docs say that if a device family's box is unchecked, new customers on that type of device can't get the app. A package that targets Windows.Desktop is only offered on desktop.

The Windows version matters too. If a customer's device can't run any of your packages, for example because the MinVersion in your manifest is higher than the version of Windows they have, they won't be able to download the app on that device. If someone tells you the app is missing on their PC, ask which version of Windows they're on and compare it with the MinVersion in the TargetDeviceFamily element of your manifest. To support older versions, lower it in your next package, as long as your app still runs there.

It's live but hard to find by searching

If the app opens from its link and the status is In the Store, it's there, and the question is how people search for it. Microsoft says the keywords on your listing help your app show up when people search with those words, and you get up to seven. The listing also has an optional Sort title, which Microsoft says helps customers find the app faster if its name could be spelled or alphabetized in different ways.

Microsoft doesn't publish how search results are ranked. Our search terms guide covers what Microsoft does say about keywords, the title and the description, and what's guesswork.

Your listing changes haven't shown up

A new description, screenshots or search terms reach the Store in a submission, the same way a package does. Certification reviews the listing as well as the app, then it publishes. Check the status of that submission, and once it says In the Store, allow the 15 minutes or so Microsoft mentions. If you changed the product name, Microsoft says you pick a different reserved name on the listing in a new submission, after uploading packages that use the new name.

Microsoft removed it

Microsoft spot checks apps after they're published. If it finds a problem, you're told what the issue is and how to fix it, if that applies, or that the app has been removed from the Store. Look in the Action Center in Partner Center and the account owner's email for that message, then fix what it lists against the Store policies and submit again.

How StoreFast helps you check

If you publish updates with StoreFast, your app's page shows a tracker that goes from Submitted to In certification, Publishing and Live, with the errors Partner Center reported if certification fails. StoreFast emails you when an update goes live or fails, unless you turn that off. With Hold until I publish on, the tracker shows Waiting for you once Microsoft approves, so a held update doesn't look like a missing one.

On the Store listing page, each language shows Live when it matches what's in the Store, or Edited when it has changes that haven't been sent yet. The app's page also lists its top markets by downloads, which tells you where people are getting it. StoreFast doesn't read or change markets, visibility or device families, so fix those in Partner Center.

Questions

My app passed certification. How long until I can find it in the Store?

Microsoft says that on average customers can see the listing within 15 minutes after publishing, depending on their location. If the status in Partner Center isn't In the Store yet, the submission is still publishing, or it's waiting on a release date or a publishing hold.

Why can I open my app with a direct link but not find it in search?

Check Discoverability under Pricing and availability. With Make this product available but not discoverable in the Store selected, Microsoft says the app can't be found through search, browsing or curated lists, but the listing still opens from a direct link.

Why is my app not available in my region?

Either the market isn't selected under Markets on the Pricing and availability page, or something outside your selection keeps it out. Microsoft says local laws and age rating requirements can stop an app from being listed in some countries and regions even when you select all markets.

Why does my app show up for some people but not others?

A private audience, a device family you unchecked, or a package MinVersion higher than someone's version of Windows can all do this. Microsoft says a customer whose device can't run any of your packages won't be able to download the app on that device.

I updated my description, so why does the Store still show the old one?

Listing changes reach the Store in a submission, so they go through certification and publishing like an update. Check the status of that submission in Partner Center. Once it says In the Store, give it the 15 minutes or so Microsoft mentions.

Can StoreFast change my app’s visibility or markets?

No. StoreFast doesn't read or change markets, visibility or pricing, so set those in Partner Center. StoreFast shows where each update is, from Submitted to Live, and which markets your downloads come from.