“App is Not Available to You" Error in Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Just a quick tip to share with you all, as I’m sure many of you will be caught by this one eventually.

Before the big update this month, when you hit a device limit for Windows 10 (which, by the way, is 10 devices), an error message would lead you directly to the spot online to manage your devices. Here you can remove devices that are no longer in use, freeing up app licenses.

In Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the message has changed and has become more obscure. Instead of telling you you’ve hit your device limit, it will say something like the following when you try to run an app…

I was hit with this early this morning and it took me a while to figure it out. The app simply stops running, displays this error, and tells you to go to the Store – but that’s where the assistance stops.

When I finally looked through my managed devices, I had exactly 10 devices in the list. The limit is supposed to be 10, but it now looks as if 10 is the stop-dead count. When you reach 10, things stop working. It would be nice if Microsoft provided a better, more informative message.

To get to your own managed devices list, open the Windows Store, tap or click the dropdown menu for your profile, and choose Settings.

Page down the Settings page and choose Manage Your Devices

You’ll be whisked away to your Microsoft account page on Microsoft’s site where you can remove unused devices to keep the number at 9 or under.