5 Ways to Fix the Xbox App Error 0x87e00196 on a Windows PC

Many players have said they can’t download Game Pass games with the Xbox app because of error 0x87e00196. For example, one user said, “Game Pass (Xbox) app shows error 0x87e00196 when trying to download games directly from it.” Consequently, players can’t install Game Pass games with the Xbox app when this error occurs. This is how you can fix the Xbox app error 0x87e00196 on Windows PCs.

Start Gaming Services Via Task Manager

First, check Gaming Services is running on your PC. That app provides some essential gaming-related features. This is how you can start the Gaming Services app:

1. Start Task Manager by right-clicking any part of the taskbar and selecting its shortcut.
2. Next, click Services to view that tab.
3. Right-click GamingServices.exe to select Start if the service isn’t running.
   
   

   GamingServices.exe

4. If GamingServicesNet.exe isn’t running, right-click it to select Start.

Repair and Reset the Gaming Services App

The Xbox app error 0x87e00196 often occurs because of issues with the Gaming Services app. To remedy that, try repairing and resetting the Gaming Services app. You can apply this possible fix by going through the steps on this Microsoft page, which provides instructions for repairing and resetting apps.

Reinstall the Gaming Services

Reinstalling the Gaming Services is a potential fix for the Xbox app error 0x87e00196 that’s worked for many users. This is also an official resolution for error 0x87e00196 that the Microsoft Xbox support service recommends applying. You can reinstall the Gaming Services app like this:

1. Hold the Windows key and press S to bring up a search box.
2. Next, type in PowerShell.
3. Right-click the matching Windows PowerShell app inside your search box to select Run as administrator.
4. Input Get-AppxPackage *gamingservices* -allusers | remove-appxpackage -allusers and press Return to execute.
   
   

   The command for removing Gaming Services

5. To reinstall Gaming Services, input start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN and press Enter.

Reset the MS Store Cache

An outdated or corrupted MS Store cache can potentially cause the Xbox app error 0x87e00196 to occur. Resetting the MS Store cache will clear any corrupted data it includes. These are the steps for resetting the MS Store cache:

1. First, open Run by clicking Start with the right button on your mouse and selecting the app from the Win + X menu.
2. Next, type a wsreset.exe command in Run’s text box.
   
   

   The wsreset.exe Run command

3. Click OK to run the command entered.

Reregister Apps

Reregistering MS Store apps is another user-confirmed way to fix the Xbox app error 0x87e00196. Applying this possible fix will also reregister the more essential Gaming Services and Microsoft apps, among others. This is how you can reregister MS Store apps by executing a PowerShell command.

1. Go through steps one to three of the third potential fix above to open PowerShell.
2. Enter Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”} in PowerShell.
3. Press the Enter key to run the command entered.
   
   

   The reregister command

4. Close PowerShell and restart Windows when the command has finished reregistering apps.

The potential fixes outlined in the guide above will usually resolve the Xbox app error 0x87e00196 for the vast majority of users. If the issue persists, consider discussing that error code with the Microsoft Xbox help service by clicking Contact Us on this page. With that gaming issue resolved, you can download and install Game Pass titles with the Xbox app again.