The full name of wwahost.exe is Windows Wrap-Around Metro App Host. It is one of the core system files of windows and is used to host windows metro apps.
If you have recently seen WWAHost.exe on your Windows 8 or 10 then you don’t need to worry because it is not a virus. You can easily identify it by going to its file properties where you can find its digital signatures like this:
Quick Overivew
What is WWAHost.exe?
In short, WWAHost is a Windows inbuilt file that is used by the Metro apps. And if you right-click on the file properties (file located under C:\Windows\SysWOW64) then you will notice that “Microsoft windows web app host” is mentioned in the file location. That means it is used by the Windows app host.
File Size and Location
The size of wwahost.exe varies from 800 to 950 KB and it resides in C:\Windows\System32\ folder. However, there may be multiple copies of wwahost.exe in Windows 10 that could be located in C:\Windows\WinSxS\, C:\Windows\SysWOW64 etc.
WWAHost.exe Brief Detail
| File name: | WWAHost.exe |
| File description: | Microsoft WWA Host |
| File type: | Application |
| File version: | 10.0.19041.789 |
| File size: | 971 KB |
| Digital Signatures: | Microsoft Windows |
| Digital Signatures Digest Algorithm | Sha256 |
| Copyright: | Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved |
What’s the Uses of WWAHost.exe?
To understand the use of wwahost.exe we must have an idea regarding the windows metro apps or modern apps. These apps, not to be confused with applications, made their first appearance with the Windows 8. Examples can be File Brick, Work Notes Pro, etc. Presently these are all classified as Universal Windows Application apps or UWA. Characteristic features of these apps are as follows
- Can be downloaded from Microsoft Store
- Developed mostly on JavaScript
- Can run on any Windows device platform
- Without any input or output capabilities for their own networking, file access, or graphical interface,
- Always execute within a Web browser
- Touch-screen apps developed for Microsoft WinRT programming interfaces.
- wwahost.exe is the main facilitator behind the successful hosting and execution of these metro apps. It also maintains several support files for these apps. Without wwahost.exe the modern apps driven windows might not have been possible
Why WWAHost Consuming High CPU?
It has been reported on several occasions that wwahost.exe is consuming very high CPU or Memory resources. This can happen due to malware activity. As their name suggests, all exe files contain executable codes. Windows operating system call the relevant exe files whenever any execution needs to be done. Had there been no exe files, we would be simply not getting anything in the name of windows. For the sake of maximum user-friendliness, Microsoft has not specified any security rights and policies for the majority of these exe files. For this reason maximum malware target the exe files with a view to corrupt or modify those without the need for any escalation of privilege. When any exe gets infected by malware, it is definitely a virus and must be get rid of. It is to be noted here that some trojans use the same name and disguise them as a genuine exe file.
To determine whether wwahost.exe is genuine or not you must check these features.
Digital signature of wwahost.exe – It must bear digital signatures and certificates from Microsoft, you can check it from the properties of wwahost file. Here is how a genuine wwahost file digital signatures will look like:
Running location of wwahost.exe – It must be running from the locations, as specified above, you can check it from the task manager showing the running processes
File size of wwahost.exe – It must not be significantly higher from the specified size, you can check it from the properties of this exe file
Another probable reason for high CPU consumption by wwahost.exe can be too many running metro apps. It is to be remembered that metro apps simply will not work without support from wwahost.exe. There is a very high possibility of getting reports of wwahost.exe getting connected to the internet on its own. This is also to serve some metro apps. Frequently you will see the presence of wwahost.exe in the Task Manager when you have least expected.
Why does it Crash
Primarily this can be due to wwahost.exe getting corrupted and needs to be repaired. Another reason can be faulty metro apps
There are also occasions when wwahost.exe crashes with messages like
- WWAHost.exe – Bad Image
- WWAHost.exe Application Error
- WWAHost.exe could not be found
- WWAHost.exe could not be launched. Class not registered
- WWAHost.exe could not be started
- Error starting program: WWAHost.exe
- Windows failed to start – WWAHost.exe
How to fix it?
If you are receiving similar errors then best way to fix the corrupted wwahost file is to rung the sfc scan now command. Here is the video that describe how to execute it.
Can I disable wwahost?
If required you can disable wwahost.exe by stopping it directly from the Task Manager
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
- Go to Process Tab
- Select wwahost.exe from the list of running processes
- Click End Task
Otherwise, you can stop and uninstall the running metro apps to stop wwahost.exe
Remember disabling wwahost.exe will not have any impact on your windows operation, your metro apps will simply not work.
