Have you ever tried uninstalling pre-installed or system apps (such as Cortana, Microsoft Photos, Edge browser, People app, etc.) in Windows 11? It’s nearly impossible. Windows doesn’t offer any uninstall option to uninstall certain provisioned apps in Settings or Control Panel. You can’t even find an uninstaller in the app directory to remove them.
Microsoft and the manufacturer add several unnecessary programs to your computer to promote their apps and products. Most of these apps are bloatware, only there to drain your system’s resources and waste hard drive space. Provisioned apps are built-in apps that come pre-installed with Windows and are automatically installed when a new user account is created and signed in.
By clearing these unwanted built-in apps, you can save so much space and boost your PC performance. You can use Windows PowerShell to remove any System apps in Windows 11. There are three different ways to uninstall apps in PowerShell – Remove-AppxPackage cmdlet, DISM tool, or Winget command line tool.
Uninstall Built-In Apps on Windows 11 using Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a powerful command-line shell and scripting language that can quickly delete any preinstalled apps and programs. You can use the Remove-AppxPackage cmdlet to remove an app package from a specific user account or all user accounts.
Open the Start menu and search for ‘PowerShell’ in the Windows search. Then, click ‘Run as Administrator’ for the top results on the right. Or, right-click the result and select ‘Run as Administrator’. And choose ‘Yes’ when you see the User Account Control prompt.
Once the PowerShell window opens, type the following command and hit Enter.
Get-AppxPackageThe above command lists every system app and third-party application installed on your Windows 11 device including full app name, full package name, version, publisher, architecture, etc.
For your convenience, type the below command to get the list of only the app names and their corresponding full package name:
Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullNameAs you can see below, the above command only lists the app’s full name and its full package name (for the current user account).
To uninstall an app, you will need either the correct app name or the full package name. Copy or note down the app name or the package’s full name.
To show the list of apps on a specific user, type the below command:
Get-AppXPackage -User Lavin38 | Select Name, PackageFullNameTo get the list of apps along with their app package information, run the following command:
Get-AppXPackage -User Lavin38 Be sure to replace Lavin38 in the above example command with the user name of your account.
To get the list of apps on all user accounts, type this command:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Select Name, PackageFullNameor
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers 
Now, scroll through the list to locate the app you want to uninstall. However, if you find it difficult to locate a single app from a list of hundreds of apps, do this:
Right-click the Windows Powershell title bar, go to ‘Edit’, and select ‘Find’ from the sub-menu or simply press Ctrl+F.
In the Find window, type the name of the app (or a related keyword) you want to uninstall and click ‘Find Next’. For example, when we type ‘bing’ in the box and click ‘Find Next’, it will highlight the app name or app package that matches your search. You can also keep clicking the ‘Find Next’ button to find other instances of the same search word.
Now, copy or note down the app’s Name and FullPackageName. After locating the app in the list, highlight and copy the PackageFullName.
To uninstall individual apps, run the following command:
Remove-AppxPackage <PackageFullName>Example:
Here, replace <PackageFullName> with the actual full package name you just copied.
Remove-Appxpackage Microsoft.BingWeather_4.53.43112.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
The process will be over shortly and the app will be removed from the computer.
If you wish to remove the program from the current account, use this command instead:
Get-AppxPackage <App_Name> | Remove-AppxPackageWhere replace <App_Name> with the name of the app you want to remove. As you can see, here we are using the App name instead of the package name. You can locate the app in the list, highlight the app’s name, and press Ctrl+C to copy the name.
Example:
Now, replace <App_Name> with the actual full package name you just copied.
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.BingNews | Remove-AppxPackage
Using Wildcards to Uninstall Apps:
You can also use wildcards (*) with the part of the app name or keyword to save you time from looking for the app in the list. Instead of typing the whole name of the app or package name, you can use wildcards to simplify the commands. For instance, if you wish to uninstall all Xbox-related apps from your PC, instead of typing multiple commands you can just use *Xbox* for the app name parameter to remove all Xbox apps in one go.
Get-AppxPackage *Xbox* | Remove-AppxPackage
To uninstall an app from any specific user account, use the below command:
Get-AppxPackage -user <UserName> <AppName> | Remove-AppxPackageHere, replace <UserName> with the name of the user account and <AppName> with the name of the app or keyword with wildcards:
Get-AppxPackage -user Lavin38 *Xbox* | Remove-AppxPackage
To uninstall an app from all user accounts, enter the below command:
Get-AppxPackage -alluser *Xbox* | Remove-AppxPackage
Here, we compiled a list of commands that you can use to uninstall various pre-installed apps from Windows 11.
| APPLICATION | REMOVAL COMMAND |
|---|---|
| 3D Builder | Get-AppxPackage *3dbuilder* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Sway | Get-AppxPackage *sway* | remove-AppxPackage |
| Alarms & Clock | Get-AppxPackage *alarms* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Calculator | Get-AppxPackage *calculator* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Calendar and Mail | Get-AppxPackage *communicationsapps* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Get Office | Get-AppxPackage *officehub* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| AV1 Codec | Get-AppxPackage *AV1VideoExtension* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| VP9 Video Extensions | Get-AppxPackage *VP9VideoExtensions* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| News app | Get-AppxPackage *BingNews* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Weather | Get-AppxPackage *BingWeather* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Sports | Get-AppxPackage *bingsports* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| News, Sports, and Weather apps | Get-AppxPackage *bing* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| WebP image support | Get-AppxPackage *WebpImageExtension* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| HEIF image support | Get-AppxPackage *HEIFImageExtension* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Music app | Get-AppxPackage *ZuneMusic* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Movies and TV | Get-AppxPackage *ZuneVideo* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Get Help app | Get-AppxPackage *GetHelp* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Voice Recorder | Get-AppxPackage *WindowsSoundRecorder* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Photos | Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| MS Office | Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftOfficeHub* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Windows Camera | Get-AppxPackage *camera* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Skype | Get-AppxPackage *skype* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Maps | Get-AppxPackage *maps* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Microsoft Solitaire Collection | Get-AppxPackage *solitaire* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Get Started | Get-AppxPackage *getstarted* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| OneNote | Get-AppxPackage *onenote* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| People | Get-AppxPackage *people* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Your Phone Companion | Get-AppxPackage *yourphone* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Microsoft Store | Get-AppxPackage *windowsstore* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Voice Recorder | Get-AppxPackage *soundrecorder* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Screen & Sketch/Snipping tool | Get-AppxPackage *ScreenSketch* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Spotify | Get-AppxPackage *SpotifyAB.SpotifyMusic* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Microsoft Edge | Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftEdge* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Teams/Chat | Get-AppxPackage *Teams* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Microsoft To-Do | Get-AppxPackage *Todos* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Sticky Notes | Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftStickyNotes* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Feedback Hub | Get-AppxPackage *WindowsFeedbackHub* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| PowerAutomate | Get-AppxPackage *PowerAutomateDesktop* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Xbox Game Callable | Get-AppxPackage *XboxGameCallable* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Xbox Gaming Overlay | Get-AppxPackage *XboxGamingOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Xbox TCUI | Get-AppxPackage *Xbox.TCUI* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Windows Terminal | Get-AppxPackage *WindowsTerminal* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Xbox Speech To Text Overlay | Get-AppxPackage *XboxSpeechToTextOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Xbox and all related apps | Get-AppxPackage *Xbox* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| MS Paint | Get-AppxPackage *Paint* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Notepad | Get-AppxPackage *WindowsNotepad* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| ECApp | Get-AppxPackage *ECApp* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Mixed Reality Portal | Get-AppxPackage *MixedReality* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Screen Sketch | Get-AppxPackage *ScreenSketch* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Clip Champ | Get-AppxPackage *Clipchamp* | Remove-AppxPackage |
| Capture Picker | Get-AppxPackage *CapturePicker* | Remove-AppxPackage |
Remove All Pre-Installed Apps
If you want to remove all pre-installed apps from the current user with a single command, then use the below command:
Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackageIf you want to remove all pre-installed / default apps from all user accounts on your computer, then use the following command:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Remove-AppxPackageTo remove all inbuilt apps from a specific user account, type this command:
Get-AppxPackage -user <Username> | Remove-AppxPackageExample:
Get-AppxPackage -user Lavin38 | Remove-AppxPackageIf you don’t want to remove all pre-installed apps and keep a few specific apps, you can do that by using the ‘where-object’ cmdlet with the Get-AppxPackage cmdlet in the command. To do this, use the following commands:
To remove all apps while keeping a single app (e.g. Paint), enter this command:
Get-AppxPackage | where-object {$_.name –notlike “*Paint*”} | Remove-AppxPackage
If you want to keep more than one app, add a where-object {$_.name –notlike “*app_name*”} parameter in the command for each app you want to keep:
Get-AppxPackage | where-object {$_.name –notlike “*Paint*”} | where-object {$_.name –notlike “*store*”} | where-object {$_.name –notlike “*Office*”} | Remove-AppxPackage
Remove an App From New User Accounts
Even after uninstalling specific provisioned (pre-installed) apps or all pre-installed apps from all your accounts, they will be automatically installed when a new user account is created.
If you want to ensure that Windows 11 doesn’t install built-in apps when a new user is created, you have to remove the provisioned package.
To remove an app from new accounts, type the below command:
Get-AppxProvisionedPackage –online | where-object {$_.packagename –like "*AppName*"} | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage –onlinewhere replace AppName with the name of the app you want to remove from future accounts.
Example:
Get-AppxProvisionedPackage –online | where-object {$_.packagename –like "Windows.CBSPreview"} | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage –online
If you feel the above command is hard to use, you can also use the Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage cmdlet to remove provisioned (pre-installed) apps.
To view the list of provisioned apps, run the below command:
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online | Select PackageName
To remove a specific provisioned app, use the below command:
Remove-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName <PackageName>Where replace <PackageName> with the package name you got from the above command.
Example:
Remove-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection_4.15.11210.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
To remove all provisioned apps from your device, execute the below command:
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online
Reinstall/Restore System Apps in Windows 11
In case you accidentally uninstalled a particular system app, you can easily reinstall it through PowerShell.
First, run the below command to get the list of available default apps in the Windows image:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Select Name, PackageFullNameThen copy the ‘PackageFullName’ from the list for the app you wish to reinstall.
To reinstall a specific built-in app on Windows 11, use the below command:
Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\PackageFullName\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentModeHere, replace PackageFullName with the full package name you copied.
Example:
To reinstall the BingNews app, try the below command:
Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.BingNews_4.55.43072.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode
Now, if you want to reinstall all the pre-installed apps that you uninstalled on Windows PowerShell, you can do that with a single command.
To reinstall or restore all the built-in apps in Windows 11, execute the below command:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
This command reinstalls all the pre-loaded apps for user accounts in your Windows 11.
The reinstalling process is comparatively lengthier. You may encounter numerous error messages on the Windows PowerShell page. But don’t worry. Give the process as much time as possible, and allow it to complete.
Wait until the list of commands come down to the Windows system command, then check if the previously uninstalled built-in applications are back on the apps list. After the process is complete, restart your PC.
How to Remove Bloatware Using DISM in PowerShell
If the Get-AppxPackage command doesn’t work, you can use DSIM ( Deployment Imaging Service and Management) command line to delete default system apps from your Windows 11 PC. Let us see how you do that:
First, open PowerShell with administrative privileges. To do that, type ‘PowerShell’ in the Start menu and select ‘Run as Administrator’ from the right.
Then execute the following command to View the entire list of pre-installed software on your PC:
DISM /Online /Get-ProvisionedAppxPackages | select-string PackagenameFrom the list, find the app you want to delete from your system and copy the full package name. Here we want to remove Bing News app.
Use the below command syntax to uninstall a system app or bloatware:
DISM /Online /Remove-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackageName:PACKAGENAMEEnsure to replace PACKAGENAME with the package name you copied from the list that you generated earlier.
For example:
DISM /Online /Remove-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackageName:Microsoft.BingNews_4.11.3002.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
Repeat the command to delete the bloatware or system apps you want to remove. After uninstalling the apps, restart your computer to apply the changes.
Uninstall Pre-installed Apps using Winget in PowerShell
Windows Package Manager (Winget) is a command-line-based package manager that enables developers to find, download, install, upgrade, configure as well as uninstall applications (Windows and third-party apps). Similar to the DISM tool, Winget allows you to remove non-removable default apps from your Windows 11 computer. Here’s how you do this:
Winget tool comes bundled with Windows 11 by default as the App Installer. By any chance the App Installer is not installed on your device, you can install it from the Microsoft Store or the GitHub page. You can search for ‘App installer’ in the Windows Store and install it.
Launch Command Prompt with administrative privileges. Once the PowerShell window opens, execute the below command to view the list of apps installed (both default and third-party apps) on your device:
winget list
If you are using Winget for the first time, you will be asked to agree to the source agreement terms by saying “Do you agree to all the source agreement terms?”. Type Y and hit Enter to accept.
The tool will list all the applications on your Windows 11 computer with name, package id, version, and source as shown below.
After generating the list of apps, note the app ‘Name’ and ‘ID’ of the app you want to remove.
To view options and more information about the Uninstall command, use the below command:
winget uninstallor
winget uninstall -?
The syntax for uninstalling the app with Winget:
winget uninstall [[-q] <query>] [<options>]The following options are available for the uninstall command:
-m,--manifest: The path to the manifest of the package--id: Filter results by id--name: Filter results by name--moniker: Filter results by the moniker-v,--version: Use the specified version; the default is the latest version-s,--source: Find the package using the specified source-e,--exact: Find package using exact match-i,--interactive: Request interactive installation; user input may be needed-h,--silent: Request silent installation--force: Direct run the command and continue with non-security-related issues--purge: Deletes all files and directories in the package directory (portable)--preserve: Retains all files and directories created by the package (portable)-o,--log: Log location (if supported)--header: Optional Windows-Package-Manager REST source HTTP header--accept-source-agreements: Accept all source agreements during source operations-?, --help: Shows help about the selected command---wait: Prompts the user to press any key before exiting- --verbose, --verbose-logs: Enables verbose logging for Winget
--disable-interactivity: Disable interactive prompts
You can use the above options to further refine your selection of the correct application you want to uninstall.
First, note down the full name of the application you wish to remove using the winget list command.
Example 1:
To uninstall Bing News, type the following command in PowerShell and hit Enter:
Winget uninstall NewsWhere substitute News for the name of the app you wish to remove. The name of the ‘Bing News’ application in the Winget list is ‘News’.
Example 2:
To uninstall the ‘Microsoft People’ app, we are using the below command:
winget uninstall "Microsoft People"Here, replace Microsoft People with the name of the app you wish to install. Since the app name (query argument) has a space, we enclosed it in double quotation marks.
The specified application will be deleted in the background.
Example 3:
In case, the app you are trying shares parts of the same name with another application, Winget will ask you to refine your query. Because it doesn’t which one to delete.
For example, Windows 11 6 Xbox-related apps. When you list the ‘Xbox’ applications on your computer using winget list xbox command, you will get multiple results. So, you can use the --name option to filter the app by name with a specific name you want to uninstall from your PC.
winget uninstall --name "Xbox Game Bar" -eFurthermore, you can also add the exact query -e option to limit the selection to the exact app name.
Example 4:
However, if the app you are trying to uninstall has a duplicate name, the above --name option doesn't work. As you can see below, there are two apps with the exact same name.
In this case, you can use the application ID option to specify the correct application instead:
winget uninstall --id=Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.Stable_8wekyb3d8bbwe
Example 5:
When you uninstall an application, it can leave tons of software residue files like history, registries, save files, etc.
To clear all the saved data and settings of the app, try running the below command:
winget uninstall "Windows Maps" --purgeThe --purge option will delete all the files and folders in the package directory.
To remove an app but keep all the files and folders created by the application, use the --preserve option instead:
winget uninstall "Windows Maps" --preserveTo uninstall an application with an interactive wizard, run the below command:
winget uninstall Office -e --interactiveThe --interactive option will open the app’s uninstaller in which you can select what to delete or keep.
To suppress all UI and remove an application in silent mode, run the below command:
winget uninstall Office -e -hThat’s it. Hopefully, you can now uninstall any unnecessary system apps from your Windows 11 PC with complete ease.
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