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adrianghc's avatar
adrianghc
Steel Contributor
Feb 17, 2022

Regressions for installing apps via Edge

Installing apps via Edge doesn't seem to work quite as it used to anymore and has regressed in a few ways:

 

  • When an app is installed, there are two entries for it in the list of installed apps inside the Windows Settings app: One with the website's name as publisher and one with "Microsoft\Edge Beta". There used to be only one entry, and this is what the user would expect.
  • There is no "pin to start" button in edge://apps.
  • In Task Manager, the installed app is not displayed on the top level (showing "PwaHelper executable for Identity Proxy" when expanding the entry) - instead, it can only be seen as a tab under the Microsoft Edge entry.

It does not matter whether the app is a true PWA (installed through the address bar) or installed through the ... menu.

 

This screenshot shows the two entries in the installed apps list:

 

 

This screenshot shows how the "pin to start" button is missing for the Google Maps PWA and Discord pseudo-app, which have been installed after the regression, while Netflix was installed prior.

 

 

If I might venture a guess, I'd say that Edge somehow fails at recognizing that I'm using Windows 10 or later, and falls back to the Windows 8.1 and prior method of installing apps, which does not set up an app identity (needed e.g. for the entry in Task Manager).

 

Does this happen to anyone else? I'm using Edge Beta, currently on version 99.0.1150.16.

3 Replies

  • KenChong's avatar
    KenChong
    Iron Contributor

    Hi adrianghc 

     

    Testing Version 100.0.1163.1 (Official build) dev (64-bit):

     

     

    Testing Version 99.0.1150.16 (Official build) beta (64-bit):

     

    Sorry I cannot reproduce your problem.

     

    Regards,

    Ken

    • adrianghc's avatar
      adrianghc
      Steel Contributor
      Thank you for getting back to me! Can you confirm that the other two regressions I described do not apply to you either?

      I wonder if this issue might be caused by certain localizations somehow. Which Windows version do you use?
      • KenChong's avatar
        KenChong
        Iron Contributor

        Hi adrianghc 

         

        Sorry I do not have a Discord account so I cannot test it.

         

        For Google Maps I tested in another PC on hand without problem. Sorry that MS seems on the way of pushing this new feature so I have to use canary instead:

        Tested using Version 100.0.1168.0 (Official build) canary (64-bit)

         

        As mentioned above this PC's Edge Dev [Version 100.0.1163.1 (Official build) dev (64-bit)] has the old version of apps management page:

         

        For your reference, this PC is Windows 10 Home Traditional Chinese version 21H2, build 19044.1526, with Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.4170.0. The browser UI language settings are manually set to English US for dev and canary channel.

         

        I think you can try to create a new Edge profile to see if the problem still exists, and if not try a new Windows profile also. Of course, you may also reset/reinstall Edge, test using another PC or the canary channel.

         

        However before testing you may also want to use the submit feedback function (Alt+Shift+I) while on the edge://apps page and tick (or select allow) the "send diagnostic data to Microsoft" option, and choose to include the screenshot, or even record the steps that reproduce the problem. This will at least leave a record and allow the Edge team to investigate. As shown below you are recommended to sign in or provide email address so that they can contact you for more details if required.

        In most cases you will only receive a automatic reply, but in some rare cases I received further follow ups for more information, and "fix is on the way" notifications.

         

        Regards,

        Ken

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