Sticky Notes has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Revamped with the release of Windows 10, Sticky Notes in Windows 11 is now better than ever. That is as long as it is working. Several users face a weird problem where Sticky Notes was not opening on their Windows 11 computer. Problems could include an internal setting, cache, or bug.
Table of Contents
Before We Begin
Here is a little hack for those who are in a hurry and need to access their notes ASAP. Sticky Notes automatically syncs to OneNote if you have enabled sync in app settings. That means you can access them on OneNote’s Android and iOS apps and also on OneNote.com. Moreover, if you have Microsoft Launcher installed, you can create, edit, and access these notes right on the homepage.
Let’s begin.
1. Update App and OS
Touche, I know but it can help, especially with common issues like Sticky Notes refusing to open. Since Sticky Notes comes preinstalled on Windows 11, you can update it from Microsoft Store itself.
1. Search for and open Microsoft Store from the Start menu.
2. Search for Sticky Notes using the search bar and open it.
3. If there is an update available, you will see the Update button. Otherwise, you will see the Open button in the top-right corner.
Now that we have updated the app, let’s see if there is an update for Windows OS. Each update brings with it several bug fixes, improvements, and features.
1. Press Windows+I to open Settings. In the left sidebar, scroll down and select Windows Update. In the right panel, click on Check for updates button. You will see Download or Install instead if the update has been received and is pending installation.
Depending on the updates, you may need to reboot the computer once before checking whether Sticky Notes is opening now or not.
2. Reset Store Cache
Cache is just old data that the system stores for different apps so it can launch those apps real quick. Saves time as it doesn’t have to redownload the data set. But like all data, it can get corrupt and hence, needs to be purged from time to time.
1. Press the Windows key to open the Start menu and search for CMD (Command Prompt). Click on Run as administrator to open it with admin rights. Click on Yes if prompted to give permission.
2. Type the command below and hit Enter to execute it.
wsreset.exe
Wait for the command to run and then launch Sticky Notes and see if it opens.
3. Re-Register Sticky Notes on Windows
This tip comes from the house of Microsoft so who are we to question? A simple command should do it. Just follow the steps to fix Sticky Notes not opening on Windows 11 error.
1. Launch the Start menu again and search for PowerShell. Again, open it with admin rights as we did above for CMD. Click on OK in the pop-up that follows to give correct permissions.
2. Copy-paste the command below and press Enter to run it.
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage MicrosoftStickyNotes).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}" Wait a few moments till the command executes. Try launching Sticky Notes and check if it opens.
4. Run Microsoft Store Troubleshooter
Windows 11, and even earlier versions, has a built-in set of troubleshooters that helps users fix common hardware and software problems. There is one for Microsoft Store which installs Sticky Notes.
1. Press Windows+I to open Settings. Search for Find and fix problems with Windows Store Apps. Note that the Windows Store was renamed to Microsoft Store but it still goes by its old names at several places within Windows OS.
2. This will open a pop-up. Click on Next at the bottom and simply follow the on-screen instructions after that.
No need to reboot the computer afterward. Just check if Sticky Notes is opening on your Windows computer or not now.
5. Disable Insights Feature
The reason this solution is so far below is that Sticky Notes must open before you can disable this feature in the app settings. I know. But if you do get to open the app even once, immediately disable the Insights Feature.
1. Open Sticky Notes as you normally do. Click on the gear icon in the upper-right corner to open Settings.
2. Click on the toggle for Enable insights under the General section.
This should help you avoid Sticky Notes launch issues in the future.
6. Run Antivirus and Malware
Malware, adware, or even virus could render one of the installed apps unusable. To be sure, run Defender or your favorite antivirus app once. Do a full scan rather than a quick scan. Similarly, download the free version of Malwarebytes and again run it to see if it finds anything.
7. Run SFC
We will only run SFC but not DISM because it is not required. System File Checker will scan critical OS-level files and run an integrity check to make sure nothing is missing or broken. Since Sticky Notes comes preinstalled, it is a good idea to do so here.
1. Open the Command Prompt or CMD again with admin rights as we did above. Now type the below command and run it.
sfc /scannow
If it displays ‘Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.’ messages then everything is okay. If it says ‘Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log.’ then that means there were some issues but the scan fixed them.
Hopefully, Sticky Notes is opening now and working just fine.
8. Repair or Reset Sticky Notes
Finally, the last resort is to reset or repair the app. If you have enabled sync in settings then all your notes are safe in the cloud. If not, fair warning, you will lose them all. But the good news is that there is a way to take backup of all local notes. Here’s how.
1. Press Windows+E to open File Explorer and paste the below folder path in the address bar.
%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
2. All your notes in Sticky Notes are saved in the plum.sqlite file. Make a copy of the file and either upload it to cloud storage or a pen drive.
Now that we have taken a backup of all notes, it is safe to repair or even reset Sticky Notes. All you have to do is copy-paste the file back to the same folder to restore notes once Sticky Notes opens normally.
1. Press Windows+I to open Settings again. Go to Apps > Installed apps.
2. Here search for Sticky Notes in the search bar. Then click on the kebab menu (three-dot icon) and select Advanced options.
3. Scroll a little and you find both Repair and Reset buttons. Repairing the app is a safer option as it will try and fix bugs without deleting user data. Reset will factory the app deleting all notes and settings. I recommend you try to repair first and keep reset as a last resort.
Stick It Anywhere
Sticky Notes is a versatile app and it is good that Microsoft has finally started paying more attention to it. I hope that the app is opening fine now and that one of the solutions above worked for you. There are far better note-taking apps available in the market that are free, easy to use and work on all platforms. Maybe it’s time to move on?
