WebP Images Not Opening in Windows Photos? Fix

Many users assume their Photos app is broken after a system update, but the behavior seems completely random until you look closer at the file extensions. If you open a photograph from your smartphone (usually a JPG or JPEG), it loads instantly. If you open a transparent graphic (a PNG), it works flawlessly. But the moment you double-click a WebP image, the Windows image viewer crashes. In some cases, the app manages to stay open but only displays a black screen, becoming entirely unresponsive.

After troubleshooting several Windows 11 systems with this issue, I noticed the crash almost always traced back to the Photos codec system rather than the image itself. I refused to just install a third-party image viewer and ignore the problem. I wanted to know exactly why Windows Photos crashes on WebP images while handling older formats perfectly. Here is a breakdown of what is actually happening deep inside Windows, a look at typical event logs, and the exact steps to permanently repair the image handler.

What Is a WebP File and Why Does Windows Care?

To understand why the crash happens, you need to understand how Windows treats different file formats. JPG, JPEG, and PNG are legacy formats. The decoding logic for these files has been hardcoded into the core Windows architecture for decades. Windows doesn't need to "think" about how to open a JPG; it just does it natively.

WebP is different. Developed by Google, WebP is an image format heavily based on the VP8 video codec. It was designed entirely for the web to provide better compression. Today, almost every major website serves images as WebP.

However, Microsoft chose not to bake WebP decoding directly into the deepest layers of the Windows OS kernel. Instead, they took a modular approach. For the modern Windows Photos app to understand a WebP file, it has to call out to a separate, isolated software component known as an app extension. If there is a communication breakdown between the Photos app and this specific WebP decoding extension, the application encounters an error and instantly closes itself.

Event Viewer Evidence: Exploring the Crash

To understand the root cause, we have to look at how Windows logs app failures. When digging into system diagnostics, users commonly report Event ID 1000 application errors and codec-related faults when investigating similar crashes. If you check the Event Viewer on a crashing system, a typical crash log will look similar to this:

This strongly suggests the crash occurs during image decoding. The exception code 0xc0000005 translates to an "Access Violation." This means the Photos app tried to read memory it wasn't allowed to, or it was fed garbage data. The faulting module, WindowsCodecs.dll, indicates that the app crashed specifically while trying to communicate with the codec responsible for decoding the image.

What Actually Causes the Crash?

Based on the event logs, the situation where Windows Photos closes instantly on WebP files usually boils down to a few specific failures:

• Broken WebP Image Extension: This is the primary culprit. Microsoft delivers the WebP codec via the Microsoft Store. If this package gets corrupted during a Windows update, it feeds unreadable data to the system codecs.
• Corrupted Microsoft Photos Cache: The Photos app generates a local database for thumbnails. If it previously tried to cache a corrupted WebP file, it will crash every time it tries to read that specific sector of the cache.
• Graphics Acceleration Conflicts: Modern Windows offloads image decoding to your GPU. If your graphics driver has a bug related to hardware-accelerated decoding, the driver crashes, taking the Photos app down with it.

Fix #1: Reset the Microsoft Photos App

Before diving into PowerShell, we must eliminate local cache corruption. Resetting the app wipes its temporary thumbnail databases and forces it to rebuild its configuration from scratch. This will not delete your actual photos.

1. Right-click the Windows Start Menu button and select Installed apps.
2. Scroll down to find Microsoft Photos.
3. Click the three dots next to it and choose Advanced options.
4. Scroll down to the Reset section and click Reset.
5. Restart your computer immediately. Do not skip the restart.

Fix #2: Repair the Photos App

If resetting didn't solve the issue, the application files might be damaged. The Repair function tells Windows to verify the integrity of the Photos app files without wiping your preferences.

1. Navigate back to the Advanced options menu for Microsoft Photos using the exact same steps from Fix #1.
2. This time, click the Repair button located just above the Reset button.
3. Windows will show a small checkmark next to the button once completed.
4. Attempt to open a WebP file.

Fix #3: Deep Reinstall via PowerShell

Sometimes, the standard Windows settings menu fails to fix underlying package corruption. I prefer to bypass the graphical interface and force the operating system to completely reinstall the app using PowerShell.

1. Click the Start Menu, type PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select Run as administrator.
2. Copy and paste the following command exactly as written, then press Enter:

3. Wait for the command line to return to the prompt. The Photos app is now completely removed.
4. Open the Microsoft Store app, search for "Microsoft Photos", and install it fresh.

Fix #4: Repair the Hidden WebP Image Extension

If you have reinstalled the Photos app and the crash persists, we have narrowed down the problem. As the Event Viewer logs suggest, the Photos app is likely fine, but the codec is broken. If WebP images still won't open in Windows 11, this is the most critical step.

Microsoft hides the WebP decoder in the Store. Because it operates silently in the background, users rarely know it exists until it breaks.

1. Open the Microsoft Store app.
2. In the search bar at the top, type exactly: WebP Image Extension.
3. Look for the app published by "Microsoft Corporation".
4. If it says "Install" or "Get", click it. The extension was somehow uninstalled from your machine.
5. If it says "Open" or "Installed", the package is likely corrupted. Click the Library icon in the bottom-left corner of the Microsoft Store and click Get updates to force Windows to refresh background extensions.

Fix #5: Disable Hardware-Accelerated Video Decoding

Because WebP is tied to the VP8 video codec, Windows sometimes attempts to use your graphics card's dedicated video decoding blocks to render the image. If your GPU driver has a fault, it will crash the app instantly. You can bypass the GPU and force your CPU to decode the image.

1. Open the Settings app in Windows.
2. Navigate to System > Display > Graphics.
3. Look for the Microsoft Photos app in the list. If it isn't there, click "Add an app", select "Microsoft Store app", and choose Photos.
4. Click on the Photos app entry and select Options.
5. Change the graphics preference to Power saving. This typically forces the OS to use integrated graphics or software rendering, bypassing dedicated GPU codec conflicts.

Alternative Fix: How to Open WebP Files Without Windows Photos

If you are in a rush and simply want to view an image right now, or if your WebP file won't open regardless of the system repairs you try, you don't actually have to use the Microsoft Photos app. There are excellent alternatives to easily open WebP files on your system.

• Microsoft Edge (Built-in): Web browsers are designed to handle web formats natively. Simply drag and drop your WebP file directly into a new tab in Edge or Chrome, and it will display perfectly.
• MS Paint (Built-in): If you want to convert the file so you never have to deal with it again, right-click the WebP file, select "Open with," and choose Paint. From there, you can easily select File > Save As > JPEG Picture.
• Third-Party Viewers: If you are looking for a reliable WebP viewer to replace the stock Windows app permanently, free software like ImageGlass or IrfanView use their own internal decoding engines and will never suffer from Windows codec crashes.

Testing the Results

I tested these fixes on three different Windows 11 machines. The PowerShell reset fixed two of them, and the Store Extension update fixed the third. Before applying the fixes, the WebP files resulted in a hard crash to the desktop. After the reinstallation and updates, every WebP file opened flawlessly without any black screens or application hangs. Once the codec is repaired, normal functionality returns immediately.

Conclusion

When Windows Photos crashes on WebP images, it is rarely an issue with the image file itself. It is usually the result of a miscommunication between the Photos app and the modular WebP decoder hidden in the background of Windows.

Based on this troubleshooting, simply clicking the "Reset" button in the app settings resolves the issue for a lot of users by clearing out a bad cache. For others, executing the PowerShell reinstall command and ensuring the WebP Image Extension is properly updated via the Microsoft Store is the definitive cure. By addressing the root cause of the codec failure, you can get back to viewing your web downloads normally.