[Solved] Photos Cannot Open in Windows 11/10

Updated to Troubleshooting Tips by William on Jan 5, 2024 | Approved by Daryl Baxter

Windows 11/10 has numerous exciting features that make using a Windows PC seamless. It comes with the Photos app, which allows you to view, edit, and organize pictures and videos on your device. However, this does not mean that it does not have its issues.

One of the issues that Windows PC often encounter is "photos cannot open Windows 11/10". Different things may contribute to photos not opening on your device. Some of these include:

4 Ways for How to Fix Photos Cannot Open Windows 11/10

Regardless of how long you have been having the issue of "photos cannot open PNG", you can follow the simple solutions enumerated in this post. It should be noted that some of these solutions are easy while some are not.

Try to start with the simple ones to see if they can solve the issue. If they cannot, you can progress to the more difficult solutions. You do not have to worry though, we have provided a detailed step-by-step guide on how to resolve the problem.

Solution #1. Repair the Image Viewer Program in Windows PC

Windows 11/10 has made the provision to repair apps that are not properly working on its operating system. If you are wondering why is my JPG file not opening? The app may be damaged or corrupted. However, you do not have to fret; you can repair the Image Viewer program on your device. Here are the steps to follow to repair the image viewer program on your Windows device.

  1. Hold down the "Windows + i" Keys at the same time. Then the "Windows Settings" will be open. Now, please click "Apps" and scroll down to locate the "Microsoft Photos" program causing the problem.
  2. Click it and select "Advanced Options".
  3. Next, scroll down the tab and locate "Repair" and click on the button.
  4. Close the window when the repair has been completed and click on the JPG file to open it in the program.

That should solve the problem. If you still have issues with photos that cannot open in Windows 11/10, follow the next methods to resolve the issue.

Solution #2. Restore to the Default Photos App

This method has been proven to solve the problem of why can’t I open JPEG pictures on my device? All you have to do is restore the Photos App to its default setting to resolve the issue.

  1. Click on the "Windows" key and select "Settings".
  2. Navigate to "Apps", then look for "Microsoft Photos" and click on the icon.
  3. Select "Advanced Options" and click on "Reset".

This will reverse any updates that have been done to Photos viewer and return the app to its default setting. With this, you should be able to view your photos from the app. If you are still unable to view your pictures after going through this process, we recommend that you use the next method.

Solution #3. Run an SFC Scan

When there are broken components in the operating system of your Windows 11/10, it becomes impossible for some apps not to work, including the Photos App. To resolve the issue, you can fix the issue by running an SFC scan on your device. To do this, follow the steps below:

  1. Click the "Search" icon, it is on the right side of "Start". Then type "CMD" in the search box.
  2. Next, right-click on "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as Administrator".
  3. Type in "SFC/scannow" and click on "Enter".
  4. Next, restart your computer and try to open the picture again.

Solution #4: Update Windows 11/10 Photo Viewer

If the reason you can’t open JPG file is related to a system issue or the Photo viewer is conflicting with the system, the first solution is to update the operating system and the Photo Viewer on your device. Click on the "Windows" key and then tap on the "Settings" icon.

  1. Select "Update & Security" and then "Windows Update" and look for available updates.
  2. Install the available updates on your Windows device. After installing the updates; the next step is to update the Photos Viewer first navigate to "Microsoft Store" and search for "Microsoft Photos". Look for update and if there is any, install the latest version of "Photos App" on your Windows 10/11 system.

When you have completed the installation, try to open the Photos viewer and see if it opens. If an update is an issue why you can’t open JPG photos, this should fix it.

With these four methods, you should be able to resolve the problem with photos cannot open Windows 11/10. If it is still impossible to view photos on your Windows device, it may be that the photos are corrupted or damaged. That means that the photos viewer would be unable to open the photos.

The next step is to recover the photos using a professional data recovery app. For this, we recommend iBeesoft Data Recovery software.

What is the iBeesoft Data Recovery Tool?

The iBeesoft Data Recovery tool is an all-inclusive and 100% safe and efficient professional photo recovery software. It is designed to help users recover deleted/lost photos and files from different sources, including hard drives, RAW drives, HDD/SSD, USB drives, Camera memory cards, and more.

It is highly effective for the recovery of data caused by accidental deletion, formatted drive, partition loss or deletion, and deletion caused by wrong operations, among others. It can also recover data caused by virus attacks, Windows reinstallation, and system/software/hard drive crashes, among others.

The iBeesoft Data Recovery tool supports various storage devices, including Windows 11/10 PC & server, memory card, USB flash drive, external hard drive, digital camera, and other drivers. It also supports various files including photos, videos, audio, documents, archives, and other files.

Guide for How to Recover Deleted/Lost Photos with iBeesoft Data Recovery Tool

You can recover lost and deleted photos and files from your Windows 11/10 in three simple steps. Follow the steps below to recover your data:

  1. The first step is to download and install the software on your Windows PC. To do this, download the iBeesoft Data Recovery for Windows. The download and installation are free and it is virus-free. When you have installed the software, click to launch it.
  2. Select the folder where the lost photos were originally saved. You can select multiple folders, hard drives, SD cards, or any other external device where the photos have been saved. Next, click on "Scan". It is also possible to filter the file types to reduce the scanning time. To do this, click on "Go to Settings" located at the bottom of the window, and from there, you can deselect file types that you do not need. Wait for the scanning process to complete.
  3. After the scan, check the details of the scanned files and preview them. When you have found the files that you want to restore, select all of them and simply click on "Recover". This will save the recovered photos and files on your computer.

After the quick scan is complete, if you notice that all photos have not been recovered, You can keep waiting for the "Deep Scan" mode to search further. This may take a longer period but it will search every inch of your device to locate the lost photos and files.

Different reasons may be responsible for why photos not opening in Windows 11/10 are happening on your device. You have nothing to worry about though because it is possible to fix the problem. This post has shared four different methods that you can use to solve the issue.

It also looked at how you can recover photos if none of the methods highlighted worked for solving the problem of why are my pictures not opening in Windows 111/10 The post recommends a professional tool, iBeesoft Data Recovery software, to recover photos and other files from your device.

With the information shared in this post, you should not have a problem resolving the problem of photos cannot open in Windows 11/10.