How to Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

Windows 10 is a pretty refined operating system but it also features a ton of useless apps that slow down its performance. One such app is the Photos app. Sure, the Photos app has some great features, but the photo viewing experience on the app is sluggish and laggy. Plus, it lacks the raw performance of its predecessor – Windows Photo Viewer. While Windows 10 does come with Windows Photo Viewer included, users, can use it to the only view.TIFF files and nothing else. Natively, Windows does not give the users the option to set Windows Photo Viewer as their preferred photo viewing software. Luckily, there’s a workaround for that. So if you’re annoyed by the stagnant performance of the default Photos app, read on, as we discuss how to restore Windows Photo Viewer and set it as your default photo viewer in Windows 10:

Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

Note: The following procedure requires Administrative Rights, so make sure that you are logged in as a user with administrative privileges.

• To start off, download the Windows Photo Viewer enabler registry file from here.


• Once you’ve downloaded the file, double-click it to run it. A User Account Control window will now appear, asking you whether you want to allow the app to make changes to your device. Just click on “Yes” to continue.

• A dialog box will now appear, warning you about adding changes to the Windows registry. Simply click on “Yes” to continue editing your registry file.

• The program will now proceed in making changes to your registry file. Once completed, it will show a dialog box that all the keys and values have been successfully added to the registry. You can now click on “Ok” to close the window.

• Next up, open the Start Menu, and type in “Default App Settings” and once the result is displayed, click on it to enter the default apps menu.

• Once you’re inside the default apps menu, scroll down to the “Photo Viewer”option. Click on the icon that says “Choose a default”. Do note that depending on your previous preferences, a different application might be displayed underneath this option.

• A pop-up menu will now open up. Select “Windows Photo Viewer” from there.

• And that’s it. Windows Photo Viewer is now set as your default photo viewing app. Simply open any photo and it will be opened in Windows Photo Viewer.

Get Windows Photo Viewer Back on Your Windows 10 PC

Windows 10’s stock Photos app is quite slow, and the traditional Windows Photo Viewer proves to be a good replacement. It’s fast, robust, and dependable. While the UI on the Windows Photo Viewer might be a little more classic, it is still very functional, that makes it a better choice. Tell us about your experiences with the stock Photos app, and why you prefer to use the Windows Photo Viewer over it in the comments section below.