Run Windows 8 Apps on Industry 8 (Industry 8)

Article
04/29/2016

7/8/2014

Learn how to run Windows 8 apps on your Windows Embedded 8 Industry (Industry 8) device.

You can install and run Windows 8 apps on a Windows Embedded 8 Industry (Industry 8) device. However, Industry 8 does not support the Windows Store client, and users cannot use the Windows Store to download and install apps on an Industry 8 device. OEMS and enterprise customers can still install Windows 8 apps by either using provisioning or side loading.

Windows Store

You cannot use the Windows Store client on an Industry 8 device. This means that a customer that uses an Industry 8 device cannot download and install apps directly on the device by using the Windows Store client.

Install a Windows 8 App on Your Device

If you cannot use the Windows Store client to download and install Windows 8 apps on your device, how can you install apps onto your device? Depending on your role in device creation, you can use one of the following methods:

Preinstall a Windows 8 App That Is Certified by the Windows Store

If you are an OEM, you must use the App Certification Program for Windows Embedded 8 (ACPWE) to certify any Windows 8 apps that you want to preinstall on your device. This Microsoft program enables OEMs to work with developers to provide Windows 8 apps that are certified by the Windows Store. You can preinstall and run these apps on any activated Industry 8 device. For more information, contact your Microsoft representative.

Install a Windows 8 App That Is Not Store-Certified by Sideloading

If you are a developer or IT administrator, you can install Windows 8 apps on a device by sideloading.

Sideloading refers to installing line-of-business (LOB) Windows 8 apps that are not submitted to the Windows Store for certification. For more information, see Publishing your app to the Store (Windows) and Preparing and deploying apps to the enterprise (Windows).

For Industry 8, you can only sideload a Windows 8 app if you have enabled Group Policy or set the following registry key to allow all trusted apps on your device:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx\AllowAllTrustedApps = 1

Depending on your Industry 8 license and image configuration, you may need a special sideloading key to enable sideloading. For more information, contact your Microsoft representative.

After you install your LOB apps, you can disable the Allow trusted apps to install Group Policy setting if you want to prevent standard users from installing apps.

For more information about adding and removing LOB apps, see How to Add and Remove Apps on MSDN.

Developing and Testing Windows 8 Apps

You can use a developer license to build and test LOB apps on your device. A developer license must be renewed every 30 days, and you must register by using a Microsoft account.

Provisioning

Provisioning means preinstalling a Windows 8 app on a device for all users on the device. When a user signs into a device, any provisioned apps are automatically installed for the user if they are not already installed.

If a user uninstalls a provisioned app, reprovisioning the same version of the app does not reinstall the app for that user, but provisioning an updated version of the app does reinstall the app for all users. If you need to reinstall the same version of a provisioned app, you can manually reinstall the app for a specific user by using the Add-AppxPackage PowerShell command.

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