How to change default browser windows

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  1. Select Microsoft Edge

  2. Next to Make Microsoft Edge your default browser, select Set default

We recommend you transition to Microsoft Edge  to enjoy a faster, more secure, and more modern browsing experience.

  1. Select the Start  button, and then type Default apps.

  2. Under Web browser, select the browser currently listed, and then select Microsoft Edge or another browser. 

We recommend you transition to Microsoft Edge  to enjoy a faster, more secure, and more modern browsing experience.

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  1. Выберите Microsoft Edge

  2. Рядом с пунктом «Сделать Microsoft Edge браузером по умолчанию» выберите «Задать по умолчанию»

Мы рекомендуем перейти на Microsoft Edge, чтобы обеспечить более быстрый, безопасный и современный интерфейс просмотра.

  1. Нажмите кнопку » Пуск» и введите приложения по умолчанию.

  2. В веб-браузере выберите браузер в списке, а затем Microsoft Edge или другой браузер. 

Мы рекомендуем перейти на Microsoft Edge, чтобы обеспечить более быстрый, безопасный и современный интерфейс просмотра.

How to Change the Default Browser in Windows

Pick the browser you like best

Updated on December 16, 2021

What to Know

  • For Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Apps > Default apps, choose a browser, and select Set default file types or link types.
  • From the Windows Start menu: Type Default apps. Under Web browser, select the current default, then choose a new option.
  • Make Chrome the default: Open Chrome. Select Menu > Settings > Default Browser > Make Google Chrome the default browser.

This article explains how to change your default browser, which is likely Microsoft Edge, on a Windows PC. Instructions cover Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

How to Install Google Chrome on Windows 11

Changing the Default in Windows 11

Chaing the default browser in Windows 11 requires a few more steps than previous Windows versions. You’ll need to choose which browser and what file types it will open by default. See how below:

  1. Open the Start menu.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. From the left panel, select Apps.

  4. Select Default apps.

  5. Select the browser to set as the default.

  6. Under Set default file types or link types, select each of the following types to set to your new browser default: .htm, .html, .pdf, .shtml, .svg, .webp, .xht, .xhtml, FTP, HTTP, and HTTPS.

  7. Close the Settings app.

How to Choose a New Default Browser From the Start Menu

If you have Windows 10, you might be able to change the default browser quickly, without launching any of the specific browser apps, as below.

First, type default apps into the Search field, then scroll down to the Web browser heading. Select the browser that is the default, and you’ll see a list of browsers available on your PC. Select the one you would like to open web links, and then close the window.

If that doesn’t work for you, give the following instructions a try, depending on which browser you use.

Google Chrome

To set Google Chrome as your default Windows browser, take the following steps.

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser.

  2. Select the Chrome menu button, represented by three horizontal lines and located in the upper-right corner of the browser window.

  3. When the drop-down menu appears, select the Settings option.

  4. In the left pane, select Default browser.

  5. Select Make default.

You can also access the Chrome settings interface by entering the following shortcut command in the browser address bar: chrome://settings.

Your computer opens the Default Apps applet, where you can choose Google Chrome as your default browser.

Mozilla Firefox

To set Mozilla Firefox as your default Windows browser, take the following steps.

  1. Open the Firefox browser.

  2. Select the Firefox menu button, represented by three horizontal lines and located in the upper-right corner of the browser window.

  3. When the pop-out menu appears, select Options.

  4. The first section in the General tab, labeled Startup, contains your browser settings. Select Make Default.

Microsoft Edge

To set Microsoft Edge as your default browser in Windows 10, take the following steps.

  1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.

  2. Select Settings and more, represented by three dots and located in the upper-right corner of the browser window, and choose Settings.

  3. In the left pane, select Default browser.

  4. Select Make Default.

Opera

To set Opera as your default Windows browser, take the following steps.

  1. Select the Opera menu button, located in the upper-left corner of the browser window.

  2. When the drop-down menu appears, select Settings.

  3. Locate the Default browser section. Next, select Make default. Windows displays the Default apps page and changes your browser choice to Opera.

Maxthon Cloud Browser

To set Maxthon Cloud Browser as your default Windows browser, take the following steps.

  1. Select the Maxthon menu, represented by three broken horizontal lines and located in the upper-right corner of the browser window.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. When the settings page appears, select Set Maxthon Browser as default browser.

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Whether Microsoft or Google, every company likes to have their browser as the default browser for Windows. In fact, users are offered lucrative advantages on switching the browser. And it isn’t enjoyable if someone takes over the browser settings. In this post, we will share how you can change the default browser from Edge to Chrome, Firefox, or any other in Windows 11.

Change default browser in Windows

Windows 11, unlike its predecessor, offers a rather difficult way to change the default browser completely. While setting the default browser is easy, the rest of the part is difficult, like changing the default app to open PDF or when you click on the link of an application and so on. In this example, I am switching from Edge to Chrome.

Best to set the browser as default during its installation

Change Default Browser Chrome

The easiest way to change the default browser is first to install the new browser, and it will automatically ask you to set it as the default browser.

It will instantly open the Default apps settings.

That said, you should instantly see Chrome as the default browser if you search for it. But it doesn’t end here.

How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11

  • Go to Windows Settings > Apps > Default apps to reveal the list of default apps for a file or link type.
  • In the search box, the name of the default browser, e.g., Microsoft Edge
  • Click to open detailed settings which offer all the extensions.

Change Default Links for Windows

  • Here you can change all associated file extensions that you want to open with the new default browser.
  • The list includes  HTML, pdf, shtml, svg, webp, xht, FTP, HTML and HTTPS and HTTPS

How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11

Microsoft has made it difficult to change the default browser in Windows 11. While you can do it, it takes more steps to cover every aspect related to the browsers.

Read: How to uninstall or disable Edge in Windows 11

However, if you want to keep it simple, then locate HTTPS link type in the list, and click on it. It will then display a list of browsers available on the PC. Most of the links are HTTPS these days, and no matter on which app or page you click the link, it will open in Chrome browser.

This post will be useful if Windows keeps changing the default browser.

This post will help you if you can’t set Chrome as the Default Browser in Windows 11.

Why does Windows keep changing my default browser?

It usually happens when Windows or Any other browser prompts, and you click on it without much thinking. It can also be a software or extension that you have recently installed with a hidden option to change the default browser. You will need to uninstall those software or be careful about such suspicious activities.

Read: How to change the default browser in Windows 10

How do I make Chrome my default browser in Windows 11?

If Google Chrome is not set as your default browser, it will show you a popup to set it as the default browser every time you open it. This feature is available in almost every web browser which makes it easy for the users to set browsers as default on their systems. You can also make Chrome or any other browser your default browser via Windows 11 Settings.

Set Google Chrome as default browser

The following steps will help you with that:

  1. Open Windows 11 Settings.
  2. Go to “Apps > Default apps.”
  3. Select Google Chrome.
  4. Click on the Set default button.

What is the default browser in Windows 11?

When you clean install Windows 11, Microsoft Edge is set as your default browser. If you do not want to use Microsoft Edge, you can install another browser and make it your default browser. The steps to change the default browser in Windows 11 are explained above in this article.

How do I disable Microsoft Edge in Windows 11?

Uninstall Edge is greyed out

Edge comes as a pre-installed product in Windows 11. Hence, there is no option to uninstall or disable the stable version of Microsoft Edge. However, you can uninstall other versions of Edge, like Dev, Beta, and Canary. If you try to disable or uninstall the stable version of Microsoft Edge, you will see that the uninstall option is greyed out in Windows 11 Settings. If you do not want to use Edge, you can install another browser and set it as your default browser.

I hope the post was helpful, and you were able to change the default browser in Windows 11. One of the biggest problems with the implementation is that when Microsoft Edge is set as the default browser easily, it is not the same with other browsers. While it is a one-click setup for Edge, Windows makes it difficult for every other browser.

Related: How to change default browser in Windows 10.

If you’ve updated your PC from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you may have noticed that when you click on a link for a website, a PDF document, or a variety of other file types, you will now be sent to Microsoft’s Edge browser. In its new version of Windows, Microsoft seems to have become especially aggressive in pushing its own apps over the apps that had been installed as defaults before the upgrade. In other words, Edge suddenly became your default browser.

Normally, the first time you go into another browser that is not Edge — say, Google Chrome — the not-Edge browser will ask if you’d like to make it the default instead. However, the process for changing your defaults in Windows 11 has become more complicated than it was in Windows 10. So you may not get that handy request — or if you do, it may land you on a complicated-looking page headed App > Default apps. Either way, here’s how to switch.

Switch default browsers

If you don’t want Edge to be your default browser, and your favorite browser isn’t offering to make the change for you — or if it did offer but instead sent you to the Default apps page mentioned above — here’s how to switch the default. For this example, I’m using Google Chrome, but this should work with any browser that you have installed on your system.

  • Select Settings > Apps > Default apps
  • Under Set defaults for applications, either scroll down to where your preferred browser is listed or type the name in the Search apps field. Click on the app.

At the top of your browser’s listing, there will hopefully be a “Set default” button.

At the top of your browser’s listing, there will hopefully be a “Set default” button.
  • At the top of the list, you will hopefully see a line that reads Make [browser name] your default browser and, at the right of that, a button labeled Set default. Click on the button.
  • Several browser-related file types will be listed beneath, under a subhead that reads Set default file types or link types. When you click on the Set default button, some of them — but not necessarily all — will switch from Edge to your preferred browser.

The “Set default” will change the important file / link types to your browser. You can also set them individually.

The “Set default” will switch important file types to your browser. You can also set them individually.
  • Look for the file types that were assigned to Edge, such as .HTM, .HTML, HTTP, HTTPS, and perhaps .PDF (unless you have another PDF reader you prefer). Click on any that did not switch and that you still want to change.
  • Be aware that there may be some file types that won’t offer your browser as an alternative.

You can change each file type for an appropriate installed app.

You can change each file type for an appropriate installed app.

Note: When it first shipped, Windows 11 made it much more difficult to change default browsers; depending on the browser you prefer, the process of switching may be even easier than this. For example, even when this was written, the first time I opened Firefox, it asked if I wanted it to become the default. I let it go ahead, and when I went to the Default apps section of setup, I found that Firefox was now set as the default for .HTM, .HTML, .HTTP, and .HTTPS files.

The Firefox default wizard switches some — but not all — of the browser file settings.

The Firefox default wizard switches some — but not all — of the browser file settings.

That won’t solve everything

But wait — there’s more. Even after you switch your browser default to something other than Edge, you’re still going to get Edge as the favored browser for a number of Windows apps. For example, bring up Windows 11’s new Widget pane (by clicking on the Widgets icon in your taskbar, the one that looks like a two-paned window), and click on one of the news items that appear there — and the link will open Edge.

If you find that irritating, there may be an app for that. In order to open Edge-specific links, you need to do the following:

  • Go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps.
  • Scroll down to the bottom until you see Choose defaults by link type.
  • Click on that, and then in the search box labeled Set defaults for link types, type Edge.
  • Under the label Microsoft-Edge, you’ll see (a bit redundantly) Microsoft Edge. Click on that, and you’ll see any other browsers that you can use to open those specialized links.

Interestingly, if you install Chrome or Firefox, you won’t see them as choices. But if you install the Brave browser, you will see it as an option — and if you select that, then whenever you click on a news link in the Widget pane, it will come up in Brave.

You can set the Brave browser to open widget links.

You can set the Brave browser to open widget links.

Another possibility is a tool called EdgeDeflector that was originally created to intercept any links in Windows 10 that were Edge-specific and rewrite them on the fly so that they can be opened by the default web browser. I did a little browsing and read that its latest version, v1.2.3.0, would work with Windows 11.

I installed and followed the directions for setup. Unfortunately, while that worked for most links, when I clicked on a link from the news sources in the Widgets pane, it didn’t quite work — the link opened in Chrome, but none of the graphics came through. I’d keep an eye on this app, though…

Update April 15th, 10:23AM ET: This article was originally published on October 8th, 2021, and has been since updated to include directions for allowing the Brave browser to open certain specialized Windows links, to add a note about Microsoft blocking EdgeDeflector, and to reflect changes in the process of switching browser defaults.

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