(SOLVED) Video Export Stuck on Microsoft Photos App – Expert Fix

The Photos app on Windows 10 isn’t just a photo viewer. It can edit photos and it can also be used to create basic videos. You won’t be using the app for professional video editing but for basic video edits like trimming, adding or removing audio, or compressing the video, it will do the job.

The Photos app has a basic video editor but it struggles to work if the video is too long, you’ve made one too many edits, or if your system is slow/old.

Fix Microsoft Photos app video export stuck

When you’ve made edits to a video in the Photos app, you have to save the video i.e., export it. When you export it, it takes a little time to save the file however, it can also get stuck on the export step. Here’s what you can do to fix the problem

1. Wait for a while

If your system is old, or it uses an HDD instead of an SSD, the Photos app may take much longer to export the video. It is by no means an optimized app that will run well on older hardware or if system resources are in use by other apps. It’s a slow app so give it more time than you would a more efficient app.

2. Close and reopen Photos

Photos will allow you to save your work-in-progress as a project so save the project and then try closing and reopening the Photos app.

1. Click the more options button at the top right and select Back up Project.
2. Select a location to save the project.
3. Close the Photos app and open it again.
4. Go to the Video editor tab.
5. Click the more options button next to New video project.
6. Select the backup.
7. Try exporting it.

3. Uninstall and reinstall Photos

The Photos app can run into problems. It’s isn’t a core app on Windows 10 so you can fix problems with by uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

1. Open PowerShell with admin rights.
2. Run the following command to uninstall Photos.

get-appxpackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | remove-appxpackage

3. Install the Photos app from the Microsoft Store app.

4. Reset & repair Photos

Try resetting the Photos app if it still won’t export the video. 

1. Open the Settings app with the Win+I keyboard shortcut.
2. Go to Apps.
3. Select the Apps & Features tab.
4. Select Photos from the list of apps.
5. Click Advanced options.
6. Click the Repair button.
7. Once repaired, click the Reset button.
8. Try exporting the video now.

5. Microsoft app troubleshooter

Microsoft’s stock apps tend to run into trouble, especially after a major Windows 10 feature update. To fix these problems, Windows 10 has a built-in troubleshooter.

1. Open the Settings app with the Win+I keyboard shortcut.
2. Go to Update & security.
3. Select the Troubleshoot tab.
4. Click Additional troubleshooters.
5. Run the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter.
6. Apply the fixes that it recommends.

6. Try a different app

The Photos app may not be capable of handling the project you’re trying to export. The app only provides basic editing but too many clips, or edits may eventually mean the project is too much for the app to handle.

If you’re looking for a free alternative, you can start with Movie Maker. It’s a discontinued app but it works far better than Photos.

For a more advanced tool, give Lightworks a try.

Conclusion

The video editor in the Photos app is available out of the box and that’s most of its charm. If you regularly need to edit videos, getting a better tool is probably a good idea. For occasional video editing that won’t have you creating large projects, the Photos app will do.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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