5 Ways To Fix WhatsApp Desktop App Not Opening In Windows 11: Improve Your Work Efficiency!

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps for smartphones around the world. And WhatsApp Desktop is a free app that generally allows you to use it on your Windows PC or Mac. This application usually gives Windows 11 users a convenient and modern way to communicate with their friends and family. 

According to the report of Backlinko, WhatsApp has more than 2 billion active users around the world and over 100 billion messages are sent each day on WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp app users are facing various issues recently on Windows 11 devices.

Many people are facing issues with the WhatsApp Desktop app not opening in Windows 11. Also, sometimes it takes too long to open or fails to sync your messages across devices. So, you might be looking for some simple and easy solutions to resolve these issues. 

In this article, we have shared 5 quick ways to fix the WhatsApp Desktop app not opening in Windows 11 so that you don’t have to face problems while connecting with your favorite people. Also, here we have covered why your WhatsApp Desktop app is not opening and how you can fix WhatsApp Web not downloading files issue. 

So, let’s get started. 

---

Why Your WhatsApp Desktop App Is Not Opening

If you want to open the WhatsApp desktop application on your Windows 11 device, but it is not opening, then there could be various reasons for it. Here we have listed some of the most common reasons. 

• WhatsApp Application Is Not Updated: If your WhatsApp desktop app is not updated, then this can be the reason why it is not working properly. 
• Third-party Antivirus Program: If your Windows 11 desktop has a third-party antivirus program, then this could also be the reason why you are facing the WhatsApp app not opening issue. 
• Unstable Internet Connection: Also, if you have an unstable or poor internet connection on your computer, then this might prevent the WhatsApp application from launching in Windows 11.

---

How You Can Fix WhatsApp Desktop App Not Opening In Windows 11: 5 Quick Tips

A lot of people are facing problems while connecting with their friends and other people because the WhatsApp Desktop app is not working properly on Windows 11. That is why here we have explained 5 simple ways to fix the WhatsApp Desktop app not opening in Windows 11. 

1. Update WhatsApp To The Latest Version

One of the easiest and simplest things that users can do to solve their issues related to WhatsApp is to update the WhatsApp application to the latest version. And if you don’t update your apps regularly, then they will get outdated eventually.

Also, if your issues with the WhatsApp application are mainly due to an outdated app build, then updating the app should solve the issues most of the time. You can do this just by going to the Microsoft Store app.

Then, you need to click on the library icon. After that, you need to click on Get Updates to download updates for all the apps installed on your system. 

This will update your WhatsApp application and then you should restart it to check if the problem is solved or not. 

---

2. Force Close Whatsapp And Then Restart

The WhatsApp Desktop app might not open on Windows 11 or the application might fail to function properly if some of the app processes that run in the background are encountering some issues. Because this can prevent the application from launching properly. 

So you might want to use this second option which is to force close the WhatsApp app on your PC by going to the Task Manager on Windows 11 and then restarting it. 

You just need to press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the Task Manager. Then, you should go to the Processes tab, right-click on WhatsApp and then select End task. 

After that, you can restart WhatsApp on your PC and try using it again. That is how you can simply force close the app and restart it again to make it work properly.

---

3. Repair Or Reset The WhatsApp Desktop App

if these above solutions could not resolve your issues, then you can repair or reset the WhatsApp Desktop application. 

Because Windows generally come with a mechanism that allows you to repair an app without losing any data. 

You just need to click on the search icon on the Taskbar, then type WhatsApp in the search box and select App settings. After that, you should scroll down to the Reset section and click the Repair button. 

However, if the issue still persists even after repairing the app, then you can try resetting the app from the same menu. But, you should remember that resetting the app will remove all your messages and login data. 

Also, there is another option which is to reinstall the WhatsApp Desktop application. For that, first, you need to click on the Search icon on your Taskbar and then search for WhatsApp on your device. 

After that, when the search results pop up, just click on the Uninstall option. Then, you need to search for the application in the Microsoft Store app and download it again. Finally, you can check if the problem is resolved or not. 

---

4. Check App Permissions On Your Desktop

Like every other app, WhatsApp also requires a few permissions to work smoothly and continuously. 

So, if you have previously denied WhatsApp access to your PC’s camera or microphone for some reason, then you might face some problems connecting calls or sending voice messages. 

And you need to know how you can fix it. First, you should right-click on the Start icon and then select Installed apps from the menu. 

After that, you can search for WhatsApp on the list and click on the three-dot menu icon next to it. Now, you need to select Advanced options from the resulting menu. 

Finally, you can use the toggles under App permissions to enable all the permissions. Then, you should restart the app to check if the problem still persists or not.

---

5. You Should Allow WhatsApp Desktop App To Run In The Background

If your WhatsApp Desktop application does not have the necessary permissions to run in the background, it might fail to send notifications or sync your messages till you open the app.

That is why you should allow WhatsApp to run in the background. First, you need to open the Start menu and click on the Settings app.

Also, you can press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. After that, go to the Apps tab on the left and then click on Installed apps on the right section.

Now, just scroll down to find WhatsApp on the list and click on the three-dot menu icon next to it to select Advanced options from the menu that appears. 

Then, go to the Background apps permissions and use the drop-down menu to select Always. Finally, you can restart the WhatsApp application and check whether it is running in the background or not. 

---

How You Can Get WhatsApp To Open On Startup In Windows 11

If you can get WhatsApp to auto-launch every time you log into your Windows 11 device, then it would allow you to keep a record of your conversations.

And if you want to easily do this, first you need to open the WhatsApp application on your desktop.

Then you should click on the three-dots icon at the top right of the screen and select Settings from the drop-down menu that appears. 

After that, you need to scroll down and tap on the Desktop Settings option. Finally, just click on the checkbox next to the Start WhatsApp at Login option. 

---

Fix WhatsApp Web Not Downloading Files: 4 Ways To Fix The Issue

WhatsApp Web can do almost everything that WhatsApp mobile can do including downloading files also. However, sometimes WhatsApp Web has problems downloading files for different reasons. Here are 4 ways to fix WhatsApp Web not downloading files issue.   

1. Reconnect To WhatsApp Web In Your Computer Browser

If you are trying to download some media files in WhatsApp Web and the download doesn’t even start or it says the download failed, then the first thing you should do is to try logging in again to WhatsApp Web. 

It means that you should disconnect from WhatsApp and try reconnecting. The app might not function properly from time to time. 

So it can be a quick and effective way to solve that problem. And for that, first, you need to log out from it. To do this, you will need to open WhatsApp Web and click on the three-dot icon above the chat list on the left panel.

And from the drop-down menu, select Log out and it will disconnect you from WhatsApp Web. After that, you will be asked to simply scan the QR code with your phone once again and you will be reconnected. 

Then, you should try to download the files, and hopefully, you would be able to do this. 

---

2. Restart Your Browser And PC 

If you have already tried to reconnect to WhatsApp and still media files are not downloading, then the issue can be with your browser. You can use the basic and one of the most popular solutions which is to restart the browser. 

So, if you are not able to download files from WhatsApp Web, you can close your browser and then open it again. After that, you can try downloading the files. 

However, after restarting your browser, if this issue is still not resolved or WhatsApp download problems still persist, then you need to reboot your PC also. 

It means that you need to do a full reboot of your computer this time. However, it might not always help to solve the WhatsApp download problem, but if it can fix it, you can definitely save some time. So, you should definitely try this.

---

3. Checking Your Network Connection

If you could not download your files from WhatsApp Web, one of the first things that you should do is to check the internet connection of your computer system whether it is working or not. You need to make sure that the internet is working properly on the computer. 

Because, sometimes, the internet might not be working on your PC and that is why you could not download the files. 

Also, from time to time, due to an unstable internet connection on the computer, the download button is disabled.

So, first, you should try opening a new page in the browser and if the website doesn’t load properly, then there is some network issue. 

And before you try downloading again, check the stability of your internet on your PC and make sure it is working properly. 

---

4. Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies

Also, this issue can sometimes be resolved just by clearing your browser cache and cookies.

And if you do this, it would not delete your downloaded files or browsing data, as it will only clear temporary files. Here are some steps to clear the cache on the Google Chrome browser.

First, you need to open Google Chrome and then click on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner. After that, just select Settings, go to the Privacy and Security tab on the left, and click on Clear browsing data. 

Finally, select the checkbox next to ‘Cookies and other site data’ and ‘Cached images and files’ and tap on the Clear data button.

After that, you can close your browser and log in to WhatsApp again to see if the problem is resolved or not.

---

Wrap Up On WhatsApp Desktop App Not Opening

It can be really frustrating when your favorite messaging app such as WhatsApp is not working properly on your PC. 

But one of these above-mentioned solutions should help you fix the WhatsApp Desktop app not opening issue on Windows 11, as these options are the best ways to do it. 

However, if you have tried all these fixes above and still could not resolve the issue, then the problem might be more complex. 

Also, if none of these options work, you can use WhatsApp Web for a while. You should use the latest version of WhatsApp Web on your computer in your favorite browsers such as Chrome or Safari.  

We hope that our helpful guide has answered all your queries about how to fix the WhatsApp Desktop app not opening. Please let us know in the comments below, which of these methods has helped you to solve your problem.  

---

FAQ: WhatsApp Desktop App Not Opening

Many people want to use the WhatsApp Desktop application on their PC for many different reasons, however, a lot of them are facing this problem. That is why they have several questions and we have tried to answer some of them here.