Why Microsoft Store Shows 0x80131500 and How to Fix the TLS Setting

Quick fix: Open Internet Properties (inetcpl.cpl) → Advanced tab, scroll to the Security section, tick TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3, untick SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0, apply, reboot — the 0x80131500 error is a TLS handshake failure on the Store endpoint.

Microsoft Store fails to load, shows the error code 0x80131500, or displays a generic “Try that again” message. Other Microsoft sites and Windows Update work fine. The error specifically indicates a TLS protocol mismatch between the Store client and Microsoft’s servers — the Store requires TLS 1.2 or 1.3, and if either is disabled in your Windows TLS settings, the handshake fails before any content can load.

What causes this

The 0x80131500 error code is .NET’s general “assertion failed” — but in the Store’s context it consistently maps to a TLS negotiation failure. Three common causes: TLS 1.2 disabled (sometimes by older endpoint security software, sometimes by manual hardening), TLS 1.3 missing (older Windows installs without proper updates), or the date/time being so wrong that certificate validation fails. Less common but possible: a corrupted system certificate store, or a third-party antivirus intercepting HTTPS traffic and breaking the handshake.

Method 1: Enable TLS 1.2 and 1.3 in Internet Properties

The most common fix. Catches manual hardening or AV-disabled TLS.

1. Press Win + R, type inetcpl.cpl, press Enter.
2. Switch to the Advanced tab.
3. Scroll to the Security section near the bottom.
4. Tick: Use TLS 1.2 and Use TLS 1.3.
5. Untick: Use SSL 2.0, Use SSL 3.0 (these are deprecated and shouldn’t be enabled anyway).
6. Click Apply → OK.
7. Reboot.
8. Open Microsoft Store. It should load past the splash screen and show the Home tab.

If you don’t see TLS 1.3 as an option, your Windows 11 build is old — install the latest cumulative update first, which adds TLS 1.3 support to the system stack.

Method 2: Fix system date/time and reset network stack

Use when Method 1 didn’t help. Bad clock is a frequent cause of TLS handshake failures.

1. Open Settings → Time & language → Date & time.
2. Confirm Set time automatically is On.
3. Click Sync now. The Last successful time sync should update to within the past few minutes.
4. Open Terminal (Admin) and force-resync from a known time server:

   w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"time.windows.com" /syncfromflags:manual /update
   net stop w32time
   net start w32time
   w32tm /resync

5. Reset the network stack to clear any residual TLS state:

   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset

6. Reboot.
7. Reopen Microsoft Store.

A clock that’s more than a few minutes off invalidates certificate chains — TLS handshake fails as a result.

Method 3: Reset certificate stores and re-register Microsoft Store

For persistent 0x80131500 after Methods 1 and 2 — corrupted certificates or Store package manifest.

1. Open Terminal (Admin).
2. Rebuild the system certificate store from Windows’ baked-in defaults:

   certutil -setreg chain\ChainCacheResyncFiletime @now

3. Reset Store cache:

   wsreset.exe

   Wait for Store to open (~30 seconds), close it.

4. Re-register the Store package:

   Get-AppxPackage *WindowsStore* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppxManifest.xml"}

5. Run Windows Update → Check for updates — install any pending updates, especially root certificate updates.
6. Reboot.
7. Open Microsoft Store.

This sequence addresses three layers at once: certificate freshness, Store cache, and package manifest integrity.

How to verify the fix worked

• Microsoft Store loads to the Home tab without error 0x80131500.
• Search and download work.
• Run Test-NetConnection -ComputerName store.microsoft.com -Port 443 in PowerShell. TcpTestSucceeded: True.
• Run [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol in PowerShell. The output should include Tls12 and ideally Tls13.

If none of these work

If 0x80131500 persists after all three methods, three remaining causes apply. Antivirus HTTPS inspection: third-party AV (Kaspersky, Avast, Bitdefender, Norton) sometimes intercepts HTTPS to scan it, replacing real certificates with their own. This breaks the Store’s certificate pinning. Disable HTTPS inspection in your AV (Norton calls it “Encrypted Connections Scanning”; Kaspersky calls it “Examine encrypted connections”), then retry. VPN or proxy: a VPN that routes Microsoft traffic through unusual paths can break the handshake. Disconnect any VPN, disable any proxy, retry. Corporate network with TLS interception: enterprise security tools (Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella, custom MitM proxies) intercept HTTPS at the corporate firewall — the Store specifically rejects these intercepted connections. Contact your IT admin to add *.microsoft.com and *.windowsupdate.com to the TLS bypass list. Persistent failure on a fully-personal PC with no security software interference may indicate a Windows 11 installation deeply out of date — install the latest cumulative update first, since major updates after 2023 added the TLS 1.3 implementation that the modern Store requires.

Bottom line: Error 0x80131500 is TLS-related — enable TLS 1.2 and 1.3, fix the system clock, and reset certificates if needed. The fix is on the TLS layer, not the Store itself.