Windows Media Player on Windows 11? There Are Two

You went to open Windows Media Player and got something that does not look like it. Or you searched for it and found nothing at all.

Both happen, and neither means the app is gone. Windows 11 ships two different media players with confusingly similar names. Which one you get depends on what you clicked.

I will sort them out by what you are trying to play. That is what decides which one you want, and it takes two minutes.

There are two of them, and they are different apps

Media Player is the modern one. Dark, tiled, built for music libraries, and it replaced Groove Music.

Windows Media Player Legacy is the old one. The same app you remember from Windows 7. Same menus, same library.

⭐ They are not versions of each other. Both can be installed at once, they keep separate settings, and neither replaces the other.

Documented by Microsoft on its Windows Media Player Legacy page: "Windows Media Player Legacy is available as an optional feature of Windows 10 and 11."

⚡ There is a third app too. Movies & TV handles video files and rentals. It is separate from both of the above.

If you want the old one back

The one most people are here for.

Microsoft's route: Select Start > Settings > System > Optional Features > View features, then search for Windows Media Player Legacy. Check the box, select Next, then Add.

A volunteer moderator on Microsoft's board gave the same answer in March 2026, and forty people marked it helpful: "Windows Media Player Legacy (App) is an optional feature in Windows 11. You can download it from Settings > System > Optional features."

⚡ A second moderator on that thread offered a one-line version instead. Right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin), and run:

DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"WindowsMediaPlayer" /All

⛔ A machine-written answer on that same thread added a claim about N editions and a Media Feature Pack. I did not use it. A route only a machine offered does not go on this page.

Ours, and read off the machine here: `wmplayer.exe` was already installed. It sat in both `Program Files\Windows Media Player` and `Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player`, dated May 2025.

On many installs it is already on your machine and only needs finding.

If you are trying to play music

On Windows 11, use Media Player, the modern one. Press Start and type its name.

It handles your music folder as a library, does playlists properly, and it is what Microsoft maintains now.

Ours, and marked as ours: the app still ships under its old internal name. On the machine I checked, the package reporting itself as Microsoft.ZuneMusic, version 11.2606.19.0, is the Media Player app. That is a leftover from Groove Music and it confuses anybody reading an app list.

⭐ Point it at your music folder once. Media Player, Settings, then add the folder. After that it behaves like a library rather than a file opener.

If you are trying to play a video

Movies & TV is the default for video files on a clean Windows 11.

Ours, and measured: it reports itself as Microsoft.ZuneVideo in the app list, which is the same naming leftover.

⚡ Media Player will play video too. Microsoft steers you toward it for anything demanding.

Microsoft's own guidance: "For modern video features like 4K, Microsoft recommends the Media Player app."

⚠️ The legacy player is the weakest of the three for video. It predates most current formats. A file it refuses is usually a codec it never knew, not a broken file.

If you are trying to play a DVD

The answer nobody wants, and Microsoft states it outright.

In Microsoft's words: "DVD playback isn't included."

⛔ That covers Windows 10 and Windows 11, and all three apps above. A disc that spins and does nothing is not a fault you can settle in Settings.

⭐ Ours: with a drive and discs you still watch, a free third-party player is the practical route. Windows will not do it on its own, and no optional feature adds it.

⚠️ And check the drive is seen at all before blaming playback. If the disc never appears in File Explorer, that is a drive problem. Not a player one.

If a file will not open at all

Work out whether it is the file or the app before you install anything.

Right-click the file, choose Open with, and try a different one of the three. If another app plays it, the first app lacked the codec and nothing is wrong with the file.

⚡ If none of them will play it, it is the format. MKV and some newer video codecs are the usual ones. That is what a third-party player is genuinely for.

⭐ Ours: try the file on your phone before concluding the PC is at fault. A file that fails everywhere is a damaged download, and no player fixes that.

What is actually on your machine right now

Two minutes, and it saves you installing something you already have.

Press Start and type each name in turn: Media Player, Windows Media Player, Movies. Whatever appears is installed.

⚡ Then check Optional Features at Settings, System, Optional features. If Windows Media Player Legacy is listed under the installed features, it is there.

The Start menu is simply not finding it by the name you typed.

⚠️ Search for the exact words. Typing "windows media player" finds the legacy one. Typing "media player" finds the modern one. They are close enough that people conclude the wrong app is missing.

Which one to leave as the default

Worth deciding once rather than fighting it every time you open a file.

⭐ Ours, and marked as ours: let Media Player have music and Movies & TV have video. Keep the legacy player only if something specific needs it.

Set it with Settings, Apps, Default apps. Search for the app, then set it per file type.

⚠️ Setting a default in Windows 11 is per file type, not per app. That is why one change never covers everything. Defaults that keep reverting have their own causes and the same mechanism applies here.

Status: checked over 23 August 2026. Windows Media Player Legacy is documented as an optional feature of both versions, with the Optional Features install route, the recommendation of the Media Player app for modern video, and the statement that DVD playback is not included. The DISM command and the Settings route are from dated Microsoft Q&A moderator answers. The app package names were read off a Windows 11 machine here.

Is Windows Media Player still in Windows 11?

Yes, as an optional feature called Windows Media Player Legacy. Install it from Settings, System, Optional features, View features, then search for it. Windows 11 also ships a newer app simply called Media Player. That is a different program.

What is the difference between Media Player and Windows Media Player Legacy?

Media Player is the modern app that replaced Groove Music. Microsoft recommends it for modern video features such as 4K. Windows Media Player Legacy is the old Windows 7 era app, kept as an optional feature you add yourself. Both can be installed at once.

Can Windows 11 play DVDs?

Not on its own. Microsoft states plainly that DVD playback is not included, and that covers Windows 10 as well. No optional feature adds it, so a third-party player is the practical route if you still watch discs.

Why can I not find Windows Media Player in the Start menu?

Either the optional feature is not installed, or you are typing the wrong name. Media Player and Windows Media Player are two different apps with almost the same name. Check Settings, System, Optional features to see whether the legacy one is there.

The Short Version

• Windows 11 ships two media players with almost the same name, plus Movies and TV for video.
• Windows Media Player Legacy is an optional feature. Settings, System, Optional features, View features.
• A DISM one-liner installs it too, from a Terminal opened as administrator.
• On the machine I checked, wmplayer.exe was already present in both Program Files folders.
• Media Player still reports itself as ZuneMusic in the app list, and Movies and TV as ZuneVideo.
• Microsoft recommends the Media Player app for modern video features such as 4K.
• Neither Windows 10 nor Windows 11 includes DVD playback. Microsoft says so outright.
• Open with is the fastest test. If another app plays the file, the first one lacked the codec.

Where to Next

Press Start and type Media Player, then Windows Media Player. Whichever appears tells you what you already have, and it takes ten seconds.

If the legacy one is missing and you want it, go to Optional features. Do not search the web for an installer. There is no download, only a feature to add.

If your file will not play in any of them, try Open with first. It is a codec far more often than a fault.

And if the legacy player is installed but invisible to Start menu search, drop the build you are on below. That combination is worth collecting.