Fix Timeline Won T Work On Windows 10 April Update

We already reported in a previous post that the new Timeline feature is not available for all Windows 10 April Update users. More specifically, the Timeline activity won’t show up in the Timeline window. Users are constantly prompted to “use their PCs more for activities” despite having enabled the three privacy settings necessary to turn on Timeline — Let Windows collect my activities, Let Windows Sync my activities and Show activities from accounts.

User can see their activities on the Microsoft account website. This clearly indicates the data is being collected and uploaded. The fact that there is no history on the PC suggests there is an issue with retrieving the data.

The good news is that there are a few workarounds available that could help you fix this problem. However, keep in mind that these suggested solutions worked only for a few users. In other words, the chances that the workarounds listed below will fix your Timeline issues are rather low, but you should nevertheless give them a try.

How to fix Timeline issues on Windows 10 April Update

First of all, make sure that Timeline is enabled. Check both options.

1. Tweak your Registry

If Timeline is unavailable on your computer, try tweaking your Registry values. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System and set the following keys to 1:

EnableActivityFeed
PublishUserActivities
UploadUserActivities

Make sure that these are DWORD keys. If they are not available on your machine, simply create them.

2. Perform a repair upgrade

Some users suggested that performing a repair upgrade could fix this problem. In other words, you need to download the ISO files of the latest Windows 10 OS version and launch the setup process. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the OS.

3. Clear your entire activity history

Make sure that you deleted all the information that Microsoft collected about your activity. Go to the Settings app > Privacy > navigate to Activity History > go to Clear activity history > hit the Clear button.

4. Switch to a different account/ Create a new account

Sometimes, Timeline may be unavailable on particular user accounts (we don’t know why this happens). Switching to a different user account or even creating a new one may fix the problem. To create a new account, go to Settings > Accounts > Family and other people > select Add someone else to this PC.

5. Run SFC scan

If some of your system files got corrupted or deleted, this may block certain apps and features. While it is very unlikely that this problem occurred shortly after upgrading, try running a SFC scan.

Go to Start > type cmd > right-click on the first result and launch Command Prompt as an administrator
Enter the sfc /scannow command > hit Enter
Wait until the process completes and then restart your computer

6. Delete previous Windows Installation folders

When you install a new OS version, many files and folders of the previous Windows version remain stored on your PC. The best solution is to simply delete them all using Disk Cleanup.

Go to Start > type ‘disk cleanup’ > double click on the first result
Select the drive where you installed the OS > wait until the OS populates the list of files
Select the Clean up system files button
This will open the Drive Selection window again
Select the same drive again > Disk Cleanup will scan the HDD again
Check the Previous Windows Installation check box > click Delete Files to confirm your choice.

There you have 6 workarounds that you can use to (hopefully) fix Timeline issues in the Windows 10 April Update. Let us know which solution worked for you. Also, if you’ve got additional suggestions on how to fix this problem, feel free to list the troubleshooting steps in the comments below.

How to fix Timeline issues on Windows 10 April Update#

1. Tweak your Registry#

2. Perform a repair upgrade#

3. Clear your entire activity history#

4. Switch to a different account/ Create a new account#

5. Run SFC scan#

6. Delete previous Windows Installation folders#