How to fix "You might need to take action in another window" in Windows?

"You might need to take action in another window" is not an error. Microsoft Store has started the publisher's own installer, and that installer is waiting for you to answer a User Account Control prompt. Find the prompt on the taskbar or behind the Store, select Yes, and the install continues.

Facts checked on 15 October 2026. Steps written for Microsoft Store on Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What "You might need to take action in another window" means

Microsoft Store sells two kinds of apps. Store packages (MSIX) install quietly for your account. Desktop apps are different: the publisher hands the Store a normal .exe or .msi installer, and the Store page says Provided and updated by that publisher. When you press Install on such an app, the Store downloads the installer and starts it.

Microsoft's rules for these installers require a silent install, with one exception. In Microsoft's words: "a User Account Control (UAC) dialog is allowed." So the one window that may appear is the UAC prompt, and the Store tells you about it with You might need to take action in another window.

Why the install waits: the causes, most common first

Microsoft publishes no ranking. The order below is ours, from the reports on Microsoft Q&A (the main thread has more than 700 "same question" votes) and from how the Store starts these installers.

How to fix "You might need to take action in another window"

Fix 1 finishes the install for most readers in under a minute. Fixes 2 and 3 restart an install that lost its prompt. Fixes 4 and 5 cover PCs where the prompt cannot appear, and Fixes 6 and 7 are for a damaged Store or an app that will not install from it.

Fix 1. Find the hidden User Account Control prompt and select Yes

1 minuteNo riskYou just pressed Install and the message appeared within a few seconds.

The installer runs from the Store in the background, so Windows often cannot bring its prompt to the front. Users and installer vendors report that the prompt then shows only as a flashing taskbar button. Once you answer it, the installer continues on its own.

1. Look at the taskbar. A button that flashes or is highlighted, often with a blue and yellow shield, is the prompt. Select it.
2. If nothing flashes, press Alt + Tab and look for a window called User Account Control.
3. Still nothing: press Win + D to show the desktop. The prompt may be under the Store window.
4. If you use a second monitor, a TV or several desktops, check each one. Win + Tab shows all desktops.
5. Read the prompt. It asks Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device? and names the publisher. Check that the publisher matches the app you chose.
6. Select Yes. If Windows asks for a password or PIN, enter the one of an administrator account.
7. Go back to Microsoft Store and wait. The status changes to installing, then to Open.

Fix 2. Cancel the install, close the Store and press Install again

3 minutesNo riskYou missed or refused the prompt, or the message stays and nothing is waiting anywhere.

When you select No, Windows Installer ends the install with "The user canceled installation" (code 1602). The Store window may not notice and keeps the old status. A clean start gives the installer a new prompt, this time with the Store in front.

1. In Microsoft Store, open Library and cancel the app if it is still listed as downloading or installing.
2. Close the Store window with the X.
3. Windows 11: select Start > Settings > System > System components, then the three dots next to Microsoft Store > Advanced options. Windows 10: Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Microsoft Store > Advanced options.
4. Under Terminate, select Terminate.
5. Open Microsoft Store again, search for the app and press Install.
6. Keep the Store window in front and answer the prompt with Yes as soon as it appears.

Stopping the Store this way does not remove apps or sign you out. The same page also has Repair and Reset; leave them for Fix 6.

Fix 3. End a stuck installer in Task Manager

3 minutesLow riskThe message stays after you selected Yes, or you started the same app twice.

Windows Installer runs one MSI install at a time. It refuses a second one with code 1618: "Another installation is already in progress." A copy of the installer from an earlier attempt, or another program's update, can hold that slot while the Store waits.

1. Open Task Manager. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Task Manager opens on the Processes page. On Windows 10, if you see only a short list of apps, select More details.

   

2. End the frozen app. Under Apps, select the app that is not responding, then select End task at the top. You can also right-click the app and select End task.

   

These steps were written for Windows 11 and Windows 10 (the steps are the same). The full page with the other versions and what each result means: Close a frozen app (Task Manager, Force Quit)

• Under Processes, look for the app's installer. It often has the app's name with Setup, Installer or Install in it.
• Look also for Windows Installer in the list. If you are not installing anything else, it is left over from an earlier try.
• Select the item and End task. Do not end Microsoft Store processes you do not recognise while an update of the Store runs.
• Restart the PC if the installer comes back by itself, then do Fix 2 again.

Fix 4. Check whether the app is already installed

2 minutesLow riskYou installed the same app from the publisher's website before, or a family member did.

The Store starts the publisher's installer, and that installer sees the copy already on the PC. Some installers then wait for an answer in a hidden window or quit, and the Store keeps showing the message. Users on Microsoft Q&A report finding the app already in Start.

1. Select Start and type the app's name. If it opens, the app is installed and you can ignore the message.
2. To let the Store manage it, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps (Windows 10: Apps & features).
3. Find the app, select the three dots and Uninstall. Keep the app's data folder if its installer asks.
4. Restart the PC, then install the app from the Store again and answer the prompt.

Fix 5. Set User Account Control back to the default and use an administrator

5 minutesLow riskNo UAC prompt ever appears, every desktop app hangs, or you use a child or standard account.

The installer needs administrator rights. With UAC at Never notify, Windows shows no prompt at all. On a standard account, Microsoft's default asks for an administrator's credentials, so the prompt waits for a password you may not have.

1. Open Control Panel > System and Security > Change User Account Control settings.
2. Move the slider to Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default) and select OK.
3. Restart the PC if the slider was at the bottom before.
4. Check your account type in Settings > Accounts > Your info. It says Administrator under your name, or nothing on a standard account.
5. On a standard account, ask the person who owns the administrator account to type their password in the prompt, or to install the app.

Fix 6. Clear the Store cache with wsreset, then repair or reset the Store

5 minutesLow riskEvery Store install hangs, or the message stays on an app that is already installed and working.

The Store keeps its own record of what it is installing. When that record is stale, the page keeps the message long after the installer has ended. Clearing it with wsreset.exe makes the Store read the real state again. Several users on Microsoft Q&A report that wsreset ended the message for them.

1. Press Win + R, type wsreset.exe and select OK.
2. A blank window opens. Wait until it closes and Microsoft Store opens by itself.
3. Install the app again and watch for the prompt, as in Fix 1.
4. If installs still hang, repair the Store and then reset it: Reset the Microsoft Store

Fix 7. Install the app with winget or from the publisher's website

10 minutesLow riskOne app keeps failing from the Store while other apps install fine.

A desktop app in the Store is the same installer the publisher offers elsewhere. Windows Package Manager (winget) can fetch it from the Store source and runs it in a console window, where you see its progress and errors.

1. Open the app's page in the Store, select Share and Copy link. The ID is the part of the link after /detail/.
2. Select Start, type Terminal or PowerShell and open it.
3. Run the command below with the ID you copied. Accept the Store agreement if winget asks for it.
4. Answer the UAC prompt with Yes when it appears.
5. If winget fails too, download the installer from the publisher's own website and run it.

Install a Store app by its ID (replace the ID):

winget install --id XP99XXXXXXXXXX --source msstore

Microsoft documents -i (--interactive) to show the installer's own windows and -h (--silent) to hide them. A version from the website and one from the Store can conflict, so keep only one. If the install ends with an error code, that code is what to search for next.

If the install still waits: where to find the real cause

The Store shows no log for desktop installers. The installer writes its result to Windows, and two places show it. A different Store message, "An error occurred while performing this action. Please try again later", is a Store failure rather than a waiting prompt: start with Fix 6 for it.

• Event Viewer: press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc, open Windows Logs > Application and look for MsiInstaller entries at the time of the install. Code 1602 means the install was cancelled, 1618 means another install was running, 1603 is a fatal error inside the installer.
• The publisher's log: many installers keep a log in %TEMP%. Press Win + R, type %TEMP% and sort by date.
• Another account: sign in with a second administrator account and install there. If it works, the problem is in your profile, not in Windows.
• Work or school PC: if a password prompt names another account, an organization manages the PC and only its admin can approve installs.

The old version of this guide suggested removing the Store with Get-AppxPackage -allusers WindowsStore | Remove-AppxPackage. We left it out: the installer waiting for a prompt has nothing to do with the Store package, and removing it can leave the PC without a Store. For another Store install failure with a code, see error 0x80073CF3.

How to avoid the message next time

Frequently asked questions

What does "You might need to take action in another window" mean?

It means the Store has started a desktop app's own installer, and that installer is waiting for you in a window the Store cannot show. In almost every case the window is a User Account Control prompt that asks whether the app may make changes to your device. The message is not an error. Find the prompt on the taskbar or with Alt + Tab, select Yes, and the install continues. If no prompt is anywhere, cancel and press Install again with the Store window in front.

Why does Microsoft Store say I might need to take action in another window?

Because the app is not a Store package but a normal EXE or MSI program, marked Provided and updated by its publisher. Microsoft's Store policy requires these installers to run silently, with one exception: a User Account Control dialog is allowed. The Store cannot draw that dialog itself, since Windows shows UAC prompts outside apps, so it tells you to look for another window instead. Store-packaged apps install for your account without that prompt, which is why you see the message only with some apps.

Where is the other window?

Most often it is a flashing button on the taskbar, because the installer started in the background and Windows did not bring its prompt to the front. Press Alt + Tab or Win + D to find it. On a PC with a second monitor, a TV or several virtual desktops, it can open on the other screen, so check each one with Win + Tab. If none of these shows it, open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and look for the app's installer under Processes.

I selected No by mistake. How do I get the prompt back?

You start the install again. Selecting No cancels the installer, which Windows Installer records as code 1602, the user canceled installation. The Store page may still show the old message. Cancel the item in Library, close the Store, end it with Terminate in its Advanced options and open it again. Then press Install and keep the Store in front until the prompt appears, and select Yes this time. Fix 2 has the exact steps for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Is it safe to select Yes in the prompt?

It is safe when the prompt names the app and publisher you just chose in the Store. Desktop apps in the Store must have installers signed with a certificate from a trusted authority, and the prompt shows that publisher. If the prompt names a program or publisher you did not choose, select No, because something else is asking for administrator rights. Microsoft's standard prompt reads Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device, followed by the program name and the verified publisher.

Why does it happen with Epic Games Launcher and Filmora?

Both are desktop programs that the Store installs with the publisher's own installer, and users on Microsoft Q&A name them among the apps that show the message. The installer needs administrator rights to put files in Program Files, so a UAC prompt appears. Nothing is wrong with these apps or with your Store. Answer the prompt as in Fix 1. If the Store install keeps failing, the same programs can be installed from the publisher's website, but keep only one copy.

Does turning off UAC fix it?

Turning UAC off removes the prompt, but we do not recommend it, and Microsoft says the Never notify level isn't recommended due to security concerns. Every program could then change Windows without asking you. On a standard account it can even make things worse, because admin requests then fail without a prompt. If your PC never shows a prompt, set the slider back to the default level as in Fix 5 instead, and answer the prompt when it appears.

The message stays even after I selected Yes. What now?

Then the installer itself is stuck or another install blocks it. Windows Installer allows one MSI install at a time and refuses a second one with code 1618, another installation is already in progress. Open Task Manager, end the leftover installer or Windows Installer process, and start the install again from the Store. If the app turns out to be in Start already, it was installed earlier and you can ignore the message, or uninstall the old copy and install it from the Store.

What does "you might need to take action in another window" mean in Indonesian (artinya)?

This page is in English, but the meaning is the same in every language: the Store is waiting for you to answer a window it cannot show, usually the User Account Control prompt. In Indonesian it means that you may need to take an action in another window. Look for a flashing button on the taskbar or press Alt + Tab, open the prompt and select Yes, called Ya in Indonesian Windows. Then the installation continues in Microsoft Store.

I tried everything and it still does not work. What should I check?

Check Event Viewer under Windows Logs, Application, for MsiInstaller entries at the time of the install. They hold the installer's result code, which tells you whether the install was cancelled, blocked or failed inside the program. Then try another administrator account, and install with winget or from the publisher's website as in Fix 7. If it fails everywhere with the same code, contact the app's publisher with that code, because the Store only passes their installer on.