Fix: App Can’t Open Using Built-in Administrator Account

You can encounter the “… can’t be opened using the Built-in Administrator account. Sign in with a different account and try again” error message whenever you try opening a store or Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app through the built-in Administrator.

This Administrator is disabled by default on Windows, but you can enable it from the Local Users and Group (lusrmgr.msc) or using the command net user administrator /active:yes.

The normal administrator account behaves as a standard account unless you provide admin privileges every time you try performing any task. However, the built-in Administrator actually automatically provides the privileges, so some users may prefer using this account. However, it cannot handle the UWP apps by default, leading to the issue.

Apart from this, you can encounter this error even when you are not using the built-in Administrator account if you are booting in safe mode.

How to Fix App Can’t Open Using Built-in Administrator Account?

Here are the possible solutions you can apply to resolve the error in your system:

Enable Admin Approval Mode

If you are experiencing this issue on the built-in Administrator account, you need to enable a certain security policy to allow the account to run UWP apps. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open Run by pressing Win + R.
2. Type gpedit.msc to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
3. Go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
4. If you are changing the setting on a remote computer in the domain, you need to go to Security Options of the corresponding Group Policy Object (GPO) through the Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
5. Double-click on User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account.
   
6. Check Enabled and click OK.
   
7. Then, if you had changed the policy in a GPO,
   • Open Run again.
   • Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Elevated Command Prompt.
   • Enter the command gpupdate /force to apply the policy.
     
8. If not, restart your PC to apply the policy on a local computer.

If you have Windows Home edition, the Local Group Policy Editor is not available in your system. You can either download and install the utility and perform the above method or use the Registry Editor to make the corresponding changes.

To install Local Group Policy Editor,

1. Open Run.
2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Elevated Command Prompt.
3. Enter the following commands:
   • FOR %F IN ("%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientTools-Package~*.mum") DO (DISM /Online /NoRestart /Add-Package:"%F")
   • FOR %F IN ("%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientExtensions-Package~*.mum") DO (DISM /Online /NoRestart /Add-Package:"%F")
     

To use the Registry Editor,

1. Open Run and enter regedit to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
3. Look for the FilterAdministratorToken entry.
4. If it’s not there, right-click on System, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it FilterAdministratorToken
   
5. Double-click on FilterAdministratorToken.
6. Set the Value data to 1 and click OK.
   
7. Then, go to UIPI inside System from the left pane, i.e., to the Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\UIPI\ registry path.
8. Double-click on (Default) and set the Value data to 1.
9. Click OK.
   

Restart your PC to apply the changes and check if you still encounter the error.

Change User Account Control Level

You will also encounter this error on the built-in Administrator account if you have disabled User Account Control. So, you need to enable it to avoid such issues. Here’s how you can do so:

1. Open Run and enter useraccountcontrolsettings to open this Setting.
2. Set the slider to the second from the top (Recommended) or the top.
   
3. Click OK and then confirm with Yes.

Get Out of Safe Mode

You may also encounter this issue whenever you are in safe boot mode. The option to boot in safe mode from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) only enables safe boot for the particular reboot.

However, you can use the bcdedit /set {current] safeboot minimal command or use the System Configuration tool to permanently enable Safe mode, which leads to this issue on every boot.

Here’s how you can disable safe boot and resolve the error:

1. Open Run and enter msconfig to open System Configuration.
2. Go to the Boot tab.
3. Uncheck Safe boot and click OK.
   
4. Click on Restart to restart your PC and boot in normal mode. Then, check if you still encounter the issue.

Create New Account

Another option you have to resolve this issue if you don’t want to perform the first method is to use another account, as the error message says. If you don’t have any other accounts, you can create a local admin account and log into it. To do so,

1. Open the Elevated Command Prompt.
2. Enter the following commands while replacing “Username” with the name you want for the account:
   • net user “Username” /add
   • net localgroup administrators “Username” /add
     
3. Then, sign out of the current account and log in with the new one.

Check if you encounter the issue on this account as well.