Settings App Not Working in Windows 10? Here Are the Fixes

While many people will balk and wish that Microsoft wasn’t slowly burying the trusted Control Panel, the Settings app has grown into a key feature of Windows 10. It’s the launchpad into controlling your system – from adding devices to controlling users and gaming features. If Settings stops working, Windows becomes pretty dysfunctional.

So if your Settings app is stalling or just not opening in the first place, here’s a bunch of fixes that should get it back in working order.

A Simple Solution

Sometimes, the best solutions are those that seem too simple to be true. But in tech, that’s often the case. Here’s a simple solution:

1. Click the Start button, right-click the cog icon that would normally lead to the Settings apps, then click More and “App settings”.

2. Finally, scroll down in the new window until you see the Reset button, then click Reset.

Settings reset, job done (hopefully).

Alternative Ways to Open Settings

If you’re just looking for a quick workaround to a misbehaving Settings app, then your best bet could be to try and open it another way.

One method is to press Win + I to try and open the Settings app.

Alternatively, you can click the Action Center icon in the taskbar (the speech bubble at the bottom-right), and then click “All Settings.”

If these methods don’t work, or if your Settings app still can’t be accessed the normal way via your Start menu, then it’s time to try something a little more involved…

Reinstall and Re-Register Windows Apps

The Settings app in Windows 10 is counted among the official built-in Windows apps, so reinstalling it (along with every other Windows 10 app) should fix whatever problems you may have with it.

To do this, open the PowerShell (just type “powershell” into the Start menu Search, then right-click it and “Run as administrator”) and enter the following command:

That will re-register and reinstall all Windows apps, hopefully getting the Settings app (and others) back to full working order.

Run an SFC Scan

Before trying the more elaborate method of fixing the Settings app, here are a couple of quick fixes that might do the job:

• Scan your hard drive for errors – go to the Start menu, type cmd , open the command prompt, then type sfc /scannow
• That failing, you should try downloading the Windows Update Troubleshooter and see if that helps.

Create a New Windows User

If you still can’t open the Settings app, then it’s time for the more radical solution of creating a new administrator account and transferring your files over to it. Seeing as you can’t use the Settings app to create a new account, you can instead use the Microsoft Common Console Document if you have Windows 10 Pro.

1. Click Start and type lusrmgr.msc . In the Common Console Document, click Users, right-click users, then “add new user.” Enter your info, then sign out of your current account and into your new one either through the Start menu or Ctrl + Alt + Del .

If you have Windows 10 Home Edition, then you’ll need to create a new user through the command prompt instead.

Click the Start menu, type cmd , right-click Command Prompt, and then click “Run as administrator.”

In the Command Prompt type the following command but with the username and password that you want to create for the new administrator account:

You should see the message “The command completed successfully” to inform you that the account has been created.

2. Next, go to “Control Panel -> User Accounts -> User Accounts -> Manage another account.”

3. Select the new account you just created, “Change the account type,” then click “Administrator” in the new window, followed by “Change Account Type.”

The new user is now the administrator.

4. Sign out of your current account and into the new user account. Try accessing the Settings app, and it should now be working.

The next step is to transfer your files from your old Windows account to your new one.

Go to the system hard drive (where Windows is installed) in File Explorer, click View in the tab at the top, then tick the “Hidden items” box.

Navigate to your old user account in File Explorer (C:/Users/old account name by default) and double-click it. You’ll see the following prompt.

Click Continue, enter your account password when prompted, then copy and paste all the files from that account to your new one (located at C:/Users/newusername by default).

You’ll see a message asking if you want to merge the folders from your old account to your new one. Click Yes.

Uninstall Clashing Apps

Believe it or not, there are some apps that are known to prevent the Windows 10 Settings app from working. One such app is the Lenovo Onekey Theater app. This app is meant to simplify the audiovisual experience on Lenovo devices. However, it seems that it has caused issues for some users and caused their Settings app to just not work. Unfortunately, there might be some other apps out there like this, so you should consider researching to see if any of your recently installed apps caused an issue.

Wrapping Up

The Settings app is quite important in Windows and when it is not working, it can affect your work and productivity. Use the above methods to fix the issue. If your issue lies with Windows not starting, here’s the fix.

Related:

William has been fiddling with tech for as long as he remembers. This naturally transitioned into helping friends with their tech problems and then into tech blogging.

One comment

None of these methods work. The first two methods did not work, and Command Prompt won’t open either, so the third option doesn’t work as well.

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App permissions

Some apps or games in Microsoft Store are designed to take advantage of specific hardware or software capabilities on your Windows device. A photo app might need to use your phone’s camera, or a restaurant guide might use your location to recommend nearby places.

In Windows 10, use the Privacy page to choose which apps can use a particular feature. Select Start > Settings > Privacy. Select the app (for example, Calendar) and choose which app permissions are on or off.

The Privacy page won’t list apps with permission to use all system resources. You can’t use the Privacy settings to control what capabilities these apps can use. Windows Desktop apps fall under this category.

To see the permissions for an app, go to the app product page in Microsoft Store or online. If you don’t want an app to use any of the features listed, you can choose not to install it.

Here’s more info on what permissions allow an app to do:

Access all your files, peripheral devices, apps, programs, and registry: The app has the ability to read or write to all your files (including documents, pictures, and music) and registry settings, which allows the app to make changes to your computer and settings. It can use any peripheral devices that are either attached or part of your device (such as cameras, microphones, or printers) without notifying you. It also has access to your location, and can use platform features, such as location history, app diagnostics, and more, which are denied to most Store apps. You can’t control most of the permissions for this app in Settings > Privacy. Note that while the app has the ability to access these resources, it might not actually do so. For more info about what the app collects or uses, review the privacy policy of the developer.

Account Info: Access any of your account info.

Allow elevation: Allows the app to run with administrator privileges without prompting the user first.

App diagnostics: Get diagnostic information about other running apps.

Bluetooth: Activate and use any Bluetooth connections between your device and other devices.

Calendar: Access your calendars.

Call history: Access history of phone calls you made on the device, in Skype or other telephony apps.

Contacts: Access your contacts, people, or address book apps.

Custom install actions: Install additional software.

Email: Access your email and account info for your email accounts.

Facial recognition: Activate and use any facial recognition hardware.

File system: Access the files and folders to which you have access and read or write to all your files (including documents, pictures, and music).

Fingerprint reader: Activate and use any fingerprint reader hardware.

Local system services: Install a service on the machine that runs with maximum privileges.

Location: Activate and use the GPS or other location-finding features on your device. Access location data in Maps and other location apps.

Messaging: Access your instant messages and account info.

Microphone: Activate and use the microphone on your device.

Modifiable app: Enable the user to modify the app.

Motion: Activate and use the accelerometer or other motion-sensing feature on your device.

Music library: Access any music files from the Music library on your device.

Near field communications: Activate and use any near field communications (NFC) connections between your device and other devices.

Notifications: Access your notifications, found in action center.

Packaged services: Install a service on the machine.

Package write redirect compatability shim: Allows the app to create, modify or delete files in the app’s install folder.

Pictures library: Access any picture files from the Pictures library on your device.

Tasks: Access your task list in Outlook and other task-tracking apps.

Unvirtualized resources: Write registry entries and files that are not cleaned up on uninstall.

Video library: Access any video files from the Video library on your device.

Voice recognition: Activate and use any voice recognition hardware.

Webcam: Activate and use the camera on your device.

WiFi: Activate and use WiFi connections between your device, the internet, and other devices.

Wired connections: Activate and use any wired connections, including Ethernet, USB, and Serial communications between your device, the internet, and other devices.

Settings and quick actions that can be locked down in Windows 10 Mobile

Applies to

This topic lists the settings and quick actions that can be locked down in WindowsВ 10 Mobile.

Settings lockdown in Windows 10, version 1703

In earlier versions of Windows 10, you used the page name to define allowed settings. Starting in Windows 10, version 1703, you use the settings URI.

For example, in place of SettingsPageDisplay, you would use ms-settings:display.

See the ms-settings: URI scheme reference to find the URI for each Settings page.

Settings lockdown in Windows 10, version 1607 and earlier

You can use Lockdown.xml to configure lockdown settings.

The following table lists the settings pages and page groups. Use the page name in the Settings section of Lockdown.xml. The Settings section contains an allow list of pages in the Settings app.

(disabled in Assigned Access)

Main menu	Sub-menu	Page name
System	SettingsPageGroupPCSystem
Display	SettingsPageDisplay
Notifications & actions	SettingsPageAppsNotifications
Phone	SettingsPageCalls
Messaging	SettingsPageMessaging
Battery	SettingsPageBatterySaver
Apps for websites	SettingsPageAppsForWebsites
Storage	SettingsPageStorageSenseStorageOverview
Driving mode	SettingsPageDrivingMode
Offline maps	SettingsPageMaps
About	SettingsPagePCSystemInfo
Devices	SettingsPageGroupDevices
Default camera	SettingsPagePhotos
Bluetooth	SettingsPagePCSystemBluetooth
NFC	SettingsPagePhoneNFC
Mouse	SettingsPageMouseTouchpad
USB	SettingsPageUsb
Network and wireless	SettingsPageGroupNetwork
Cellular & SIM	SettingsPageNetworkCellular
Wi-Fi	SettingsPageNetworkWiFi
Airplane mode	SettingsPageNetworkAirplaneMode
Data usage	SettingsPageDataSenseOverview
Mobile hotspot	SettingsPageNetworkMobileHotspot
VPN	SettingsPageNetworkVPN
Personalization	SettingsPageGroupPersonalization
Start	SettingsPageBackGround
Colors	SettingsPageColors
Sounds	SettingsPageSounds
Lock screen	SettingsPageLockscreen
Glance screen	SettingsPageGlance
Navigation bar	SettingsNagivationBar
Accounts	SettingsPageGroupAccounts
Your info	SettingsPageAccountsPicture
Sign-in options	SettingsPageAccountsSignInOptions
Email & app accounts	SettingsPageAccountsEmailApp
Access work or school	SettingsPageWorkAccess
Sync your settings	SettingsPageAccountsSync
SettingsPageAppsCorner
Time & language	SettingsPageGroupTimeRegion
Date & time	SettingsPageTimeRegionDateTime
Language	SettingsPageTimeLanguage
Region	SettingsPageTimeRegion
Keyboard	SettingsPageKeyboard
Speech	SettingsPageSpeech
Ease of access	SettingsPageGroupEaseOfAccess
Narrator	SettingsPageEaseOfAccessNarrator
Magnifier	SettingsPageEaseOfAccessMagnifier
High contrast	SettingsPageEaseOfAccessHighContrast
Closed captions	SettingsPageEaseOfAccessClosedCaptioning
More options	SettingsPageEaseOfAccessMoreOptions
Privacy	SettingsPageGroupPrivacy
Location	SettingsPagePrivacyLocation
Camera	SettingsPagePrivacyWebcam
Microphone	SettingsPagePrivacyMicrophone
Motion	SettingsPagePrivacyMotionData
Notifications	SettingsPagePrivacyNotifications
Speech. inking, & typing	SettingsPagePrivacyPersonalization
Account info	SettingsPagePrivacyAccountInfo
Contacts	SettingsPagePrivacyContacts
Calendar	SettingsPagePrivacyCalendar
Phone calls	SettingsPagePrivacyPhoneCall
Call history	SettingsPagePrivacyCallHistory
Email	SettingsPagePrivacyEmail
Messaging	SettingsPagePrivacyMessaging
Radios	SettingsPagePrivacyRadios
Continue App Experiences	SettingsPagePrivacyCDP
Background apps	SettingsPagePrivacyBackgroundApps
Accessory apps	SettingsPageAccessories
Advertising ID	SettingsPagePrivacyAdvertisingId
Other devices	SettingsPagePrivacyCustomPeripherals
Feedback and diagnostics	SettingsPagePrivacySIUFSettings
Update and security	SettingsPageGroupRestore
Phone update	SettingsPageRestoreMusUpdate
Windows Insider Program	SettingsPageFlights
Device encryption	SettingsPageGroupPCSystemDeviceEncryption
Backup	SettingsPageRestoreOneBackup
Find my phone	SettingsPageFindMyDevice
For developers	SettingsPageSystemDeveloperOptions
OEM	SettingsPageGroupExtensibility
Extensibility	SettingsPageExtensibility

Quick actions lockdown

Quick action buttons are locked down in exactly the same way as Settings pages/groups. By default they are always conditional.

You can specify the quick actions as follows: