Windows Phone Store
Microsoft's mobile app store closed after the operating system had already stopped receiving new features, leaving old phones unable to reinstall software.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Officially Gone
- Peak stage
- general availability
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
The official application distribution service for Windows Phone devices.
The official application distribution service for Windows Phone devices. The store delivered apps, games, updates and licences to Microsoft's mobile operating system through several platform generations.
Existence timeline
The Windows Phone 7 ecosystem begins distributing third-party apps.
A new platform generation expands devices and store activity.
Microsoft confirms that Windows Phone will no longer receive new product features.
Support guidance warns users about the app-store deadline.
Windows Phone 8.1 devices lose official app downloads and reinstalls.
Why it ended
Following the end of Windows Phone 8.1 support and the retreat from mobile OS development, Microsoft shut the store for 8.1 devices on 16 December 2019.
Last confirmed trace
Installed apps may remain on surviving phones, but factory-reset devices cannot restore the original catalogue from the closed store.
What it left behind
Its closure makes the hardware's software history unusually fragile and shows how an app store can be part of the operating system's practical lifespan.
How we classified it
The archive unit reached normal public release or operation and is no longer obtainable in its original public form.
Verified normal public availability maps to 100 under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.