If Windows 8 changed a lot for longtime Microsoft users than Windows 8.1, it made those changes easy to swallow.
Microsoft’s free update added new customization options for the Start Screen and options to disable the Charms Bar so they never made it to the Desktop. It’s not hard to imagine the biggest change being the Windows Store apps and how they’re updated.
Launched with Windows 8, Windows Store apps were a way for users to easily download secure solutions for all their problems. The apps and games are available in the Windows Store, and users can rest assured that each one of them has been checked to ensure that they do not harm the user’s devices in any way. Since Microsoft links Windows app purchases to user’s accounts, apps they purchase through the Windows Store can be used on any device they sign in with their Microsoft Account. Many apps even sync information across multiple devices.
While improving the app experience in Windows 8.1, Microsoft fixed one of the biggest Windows Store app bugs. With Windows 8, apps had to be updated manually. When users need to update their apps, Microsoft would roll out an app update on the Windows Store live tile but let users do the heavy lifting on their own. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft turned these app upgrades into something that happens in the background – often without users noticing until they open the updated app.
This can be a bad thing for those who don’t want app updates to be random and hence Microsoft also allows users to update their apps manually. Here’s how to update apps downloaded from the Windows Store in Windows 8.1.
Of course, you will need Windows 8.1 before you start. Microsoft started updating Windows 8 users to Windows 8.1 about a year ago. It is free and does not require users to pay anything extra to Microsoft. If you’re waiting to upgrade to Windows 8.1, don’t. Must Be Mobile We talked in detail recently about how avoiding the free Windows 8.1 update due to app compatibility and performance is a very bad idea stemming from past Windows update issues. If you haven’t already, go to the Store app to update to Windows 8.1.
Press on your keyboard or next to the screen of your tablet or convertible.
Now look for the Windows Store app in your list of pinned apps on the Start Screen. It looks like a shopping bag. If you’ve changed your Start Screen layout, you’ll need to open the Windows Store from the list of all apps installed on your device. Touch users should place their fingers anywhere on the Start Screen and . Mouse and keyboard users should click the bottom left corner of their screen.
Now search for Store in the list of installed apps. By default, apps are sorted in alphabetical order.
Welcome to the Windows Store. Don’t touch or click anything yet. Mouse and keyboard users should take their pointer and place it in the lower right corner of their screen to open the Charms Bar. Touch users should place their fingers on their screen and reveal the Charms Bar.
Whichever you have, tap or click Charm.
Tap or click .
Now tap or click. The punch button you see. Before leaving this screen, you can also choose to turn off automatic updates if you are looking for a way to do this.
This is how you manually update apps downloaded from the Windows Store. To be clear, Windows 8.1 updates Windows Store apps by default. You can turn this off as shown here, but there’s really no reason unless you want to monitor changes to your apps or fear broken features in future updates. Just because you can turn off automatic app updates doesn’t necessarily mean you should.
If you turn off automatic app updates, be sure to pin the Windows Store Live Tile to your Start Screen so you always know you have pending updates. You can then scroll through the list of pending updates and decide which ones you want to continue with.
Windows 8.1 also added settings sync. Therefore, you may think that by turning off automatic app updates on your tablet, you are disabling them on your other devices running Windows 8.1. That doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for now. If you want to disable App Updates on all your devices, you have to manually change the settings on each device.
