3 Best Fixes for Microsoft Photos Crashes When Importing Pictures

For Windows users, Microsoft Photos is one of the best apps for viewing and editing photos, videos, and other multimedia files. The import function of the app is also useful when you need to quickly send photos / videos to your PC from a smartphone or camera. However, the functionality is quite unstable. Several users have reported that the application freezes while importing photos and videos. We will share three troubleshooting methods to resolve this issue in this article.

Some users may have prevented the Photos application from crashing by restarting their computers. Many Windows 10 users have also fixed this problem by simply closing and restarting the Photos app. Check out the other fixes listed below if that didn’t help your computer.

1. Reinstall / update Microsoft Photos

This is the first course of action that we recommend if the Microsoft Photos application on your PC freezes while importing photos. Aside from the fact that the USB import of the Photos application is not reliable, a bug could cause the application to malfunction during use. Updating or reinstalling Microsoft Photos can help prevent the application from freezing and resolve other underlying issues.

Launch the Microsoft Store, find Microsoft Photos, and press the Update button. If the Photos app is faulty, you will see a Reinstall button. Press the Reinstall button to repair the application.

After that, check if the Photos app still hangs when importing photos. If so, go to the next method.

2. Run the Windows Store app troubleshooter

Running the troubleshooter for apps installed from the Microsoft Store could also bring the Photos app back to normal and prevent it from freezing. Here’s how to use the Windows Store app troubleshooter to resolve this issue.

Step 1: Launch the Windows Settings menu and enter Windows Store apps in the search field.

2nd step: Select the corresponding drop-down option, i.e. “ Find and fix problems with Windows Store apps ”.

This will launch the Windows Store application troubleshooter in a new window.

Step 3: Click Advanced in the lower left corner of the troubleshooting window.

Step 4: Make sure the “Apply repairs automatically” option is checked and press Next.

This will ask the troubleshooter to automatically resolve any problems you find. This will save you the stress and time it takes to do the same thing manually.

After a successful diagnosis, the troubleshooter will suggest solutions to resolve any underlying issues that cause Windows applications to malfunction. Typically, the troubleshooter will recommend that you reset any application that hangs or freezes.

Step 5: Tap Next to continue.

As you previously asked the troubleshooter to automatically fix any problems you found (in step 4), the fix was applied automatically.

You can also manually reset the Microsoft Photos app. Launch Windows Settings> Applications> Applications & Features> Microsoft Photos> Press the Reset button.

Note: Resetting an application will not affect the application data.

3. Reconnect the Microsoft account to the photos

Connecting your Microsoft account to the Photos app can also resolve the issue. If you’re signed in to your Microsoft account on the app, try signing out and signing in again. Here’s how.

Step 1: Launch the Microsoft Photos app and tap the profile icon in the upper-right corner of the app.

2nd step: Tap Sign out to disconnect your Microsoft account from the Photos app.

Step 3: Press the Logout button to confirm the action.

Now close the Photos app, open it again and continue with the steps below to reconnect your Microsoft account to Photos.

Step 4: Tap the profile icon.

Step 5: In the “Use one of these accounts” section, you can choose to connect to one of the Microsoft accounts previously saved on your PC. Select an account and press Continue to continue.

Note: The photos will automatically connect to the account you selected without asking you to provide the account password. This is because the account credentials are saved on your computer.

To connect a new account, choose an option in the “Use another account” section and press Continue to continue.

Note: You will need to provide your account password when connecting a new Microsoft account to the Photos app.

After that, check if Microsoft Photos imports images without crashing.

Alternative: import images using file explorer

As mentioned earlier, the Microsoft Photos app can sometimes be quite unstable. If the methods mentioned above do not solve the problem, you can try another, just as simple, method of importing images to your Windows PC using File Explorer.

Step 1: Connect your device to your computer and launch Windows Explorer.

Make sure to give your PC permission to access the connected device.

2nd step: Right-click on your device in the navigation pane of file explorer and select the option “Import photos and videos”.

File Explorer will scan your device for photos and videos.

Step 3: Then choose the option “Examine, organize and group the elements to import” if you want to import selected images from the connected device. Tap Next to continue.

Select the photos you want to import and press the Import button to send them to your computer.

Step 4: To import your entire image and video gallery to your PC, select the “Import all new items now” option and press the Import button to continue.

This will import all the images and videos to your computer.