How to fix
“An app default was reset” Pop-Up
on Windows

So, I installed Windows 10 Creators Update. Now, the Action center keeps showing me notification, which says “An app default was reset.” Each time this message shows, it notifies a different piece of software, for example, Photos, Mail, Edge, etc. to be reset. It seems that these messages slow down the machine. Can I stop those alerts?

Windows 10 OS is set to change the default apps that the user sets manually after the installation of Windows updates. While only a minority of regular updates and patches reset default apps, the new builds like Anniversary Update or Creators Update will definitely cause the changes regarding default app settings. Such changes may touch each of the default Windows 10 apps, including Microsoft Edge, Photos app, Universal Windows Platform Mail, Groove Music, OneNote, OneDrive, and so on.

Nevertheless, Windows 10 upgrade is not the only reason why most of the apps that people set by default manually are reverted. This may also happen after the installation of third-party apps or malware. Inappropriate software can corrupt the UserChoice Registry key, which stores the information related to file association. Consequently, the system may start returning Action Center notification, saying “An app default was reset.” The message also indicates the following information:

“An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .html files, so it was reset XXX.”

Although the “An app default was reset” pop-up is not an error message, it may resemble one because it may start re-occurring continuously resulting in flickering screen and PCs slowdowns. If you are encountering this situation, you can fix “An app default was reset” error by following these steps:

Disable “An App Default Was Reset” pop-up

If the “An App Default Was Reset” pop-up does not affect the apps that you are using, except that it annoys you to death, please follow these steps to disable it:

• At the bottom right corner of the screen, right-click on the notification icon.
• Select Turn on quiet hours.

Remove Windows Updates

If the “An App Default Was Reset” error emerged right after the installation of the latest Windows Updates and you cannot get used to it, then you can uninstall the latest update and wait for the next one to be released. To uninstall Windows Update, follow these steps:

• Press Windows key + I and select Update & Security.
• Click the Windows Update and open Update history.
• Mark the latest update/-s that triggered “An App Default Was Reset” pop-up and select Uninstall.

Reinstall/update device drivers

Windows 10 Anniversary Update and Creators Update have higher device driver requirements, so after installing one of them, one or several device drivers may become incompatible with the current OS version. To check that, right-click on Windows key and open Device Manager. Expand each driver category and check for drivers marked with a yellow exclamation mark. If you found one, click it and select Update Driver Software. Driver issues can also be solved automatically, but for that, you’ll have to install a tool like [d1] and run a scan with it.

Uninstall Built-in Windows Apps

If you are never using some of the Windows 10 Built-in Apps, for example, OneDrive, GrooveMusic or Edge, you can uninstall them to fix “An App Default Was Reset” error permanently. The problem is that pre-installed apps cannot be uninstalled in a regular way. The thorough guide on how to do that is provided on this post.