Why Microsoft Store Sign-In Fails With Invalid Credentials on Windows 11

Quick fix: Run wsreset.exe from Run dialog to clear Store cache, then open Microsoft Store and sign in fresh. If the error persists, sign out of the Microsoft account in Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts and sign back in to refresh the credential token.

Microsoft Store says “Invalid credentials” or “The account credentials you provided are incorrect” — even though you can sign in to account.microsoft.com fine. The Store’s cached credential token is stale or corrupted. A cache reset usually fixes it.

What causes this

Microsoft Store caches credentials separately from Windows sign-in. The Store’s cache can go stale after: password changes (you changed the password on another device), Microsoft account security policy changes, expired authentication tokens, or Store package corruption. The fix is to clear the cache and re-acquire fresh tokens.

Method 1: Reset Store cache and re-sign-in

The standard fix.

1. Press Win + R, type wsreset.exe, press Enter.
2. A blank Command Prompt appears for ~30 seconds. Wait. Microsoft Store opens automatically.
3. If Store prompts to sign in, enter your Microsoft account credentials.
4. If “Invalid credentials” appears again, try the same password you use at account.microsoft.com.
5. For 2FA-enabled accounts, complete the verification challenge.
6. Sign-in should succeed.

This is the simplest fix.

Method 2: Sign out from Windows accounts and refresh

When Method 1 doesn’t resolve.

1. Open Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts.
2. Find your Microsoft account in the list (used by apps).
3. Click it → Remove. Confirm.
4. Sign out of any other Microsoft account if present.
5. Open Settings → Accounts → Your info. If the account here is also a Microsoft account, you may need to sign out, but this signs you out of Windows entirely — typically not required.
6. Open Microsoft Store. Click your profile icon. Sign in.
7. Enter your Microsoft account. Verify any 2FA prompts.
8. Sign-in should now succeed.

This forces fresh credential acquisition.

Method 3: Re-register the Microsoft Store package

For persistent failures after Methods 1 and 2.

1. Open Terminal (Admin).
2. Re-register Microsoft Store:

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

3. Restart the Microsoft Store install service:

   net stop InstallService
   net start InstallService

4. Reset Microsoft Store via Settings: Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Microsoft Store → Advanced options → Reset.
5. Reboot.
6. Open Store and sign in again.

This rebuilds Store state from scratch while preserving sign-in info at the Windows level.

How to verify the fix worked

• Microsoft Store loads with your profile picture and name displayed.
• Try downloading or updating an app — proceeds without sign-in errors.
• Run Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore | Select Status in PowerShell. Status: Ok.

If none of these work

If sign-in continues failing, three causes apply. Account is locked or compromised: visit account.microsoft.com in browser, sign in, check for security alerts. Microsoft may have temporarily locked the account if it detected unusual activity. Date/time wrong: authentication tokens are time-sensitive. Confirm Windows date/time is accurate. Region mismatch: if your Microsoft account is registered in one country but Windows is set to another, sign-in may fail. Settings → Time & language → Region should match the country your account is registered to. For corporate-managed PCs where personal Microsoft accounts are restricted, contact IT.

Bottom line: Store sign-in fails because of cached credential corruption — wsreset.exe clears it. If that doesn’t work, sign out Microsoft account from Windows and sign back in fresh.