How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11 (and What to Do When Links Still Open in Edge)
CodexFuse Team · 2026-10-27T06:17:48.991Z · 10 min read
Change the default browser in Windows 11 in one click, fix links that still open in Edge, and handle Windows 10, the EEA rules, and work PCs.
Learning how to change the default browser in Windows 11 takes about a minute once you know where the switch lives — but the one-click button does less than most people expect, and some links will still open in Microsoft Edge afterwards. Windows 11 opens every web link in Edge until you pick another browser, and the switch happens on the Default apps page in Settings, not inside the browser itself. This guide gives you the one-click method, the per-browser method, the Windows 10 steps, and the fixes for every stubborn case: links that still open in Edge, a setting that keeps changing back, and a browser that never appears in the list. If the Set default button is missing entirely, update Windows 11 first — older builds did not have it.
How Do I Change the Default Browser in Windows 11?
To change the default browser in Windows 11, open Settings > Apps > Default apps, select your browser, and click Set default at the top of its page. The change takes effect right away, with no restart needed. Follow these steps:
- Install the browser you want and open it at least once, so Windows can see it.
- Press Windows key + I to open Settings, then select Apps > Default apps.
- Under Set defaults for applications, type the browser's name in the search box — Chrome, Firefox, Brave, or whichever you use — and select it.
- Next to Make [browser name] your default browser, select Set default.
- Check the list below the button: HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html should now show your new browser's name and icon.
To jump straight to the page, press Windows key + R, type ms-settings:defaultapps, and press Enter. Links you click in email, chat apps, and documents now open in your new browser. If a prompt asks whether to keep Edge, click Switch anyway — choosing the suggested browser keeps the old default in place.
What Does the Set Default Button Actually Change?
Outside Europe, the Set default button assigns only four things to your browser: web links (HTTP and HTTPS) and saved web pages (.htm and .html). Everything else the browser can open — PDFs, SVG images, XML files — keeps whatever app it had before. That is why a PDF can still open in Edge after you switch browsers. The table below shows what the button changes in each case:
| Your Windows | Where to set it | What Set default changes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11, outside the European Economic Area | Settings > Apps > Default apps > your browser > Set default | HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, .html |
| Windows 11, inside the European Economic Area | Settings > Apps > Default apps > your browser > Set default | FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, read links, plus .htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml, .shtml, .svg, .xht, .xhtml, and .xml when the browser supports them; also offers to pin the browser to the taskbar and Start, and .pdf gets its own Set default button |
| Windows 11, one type at a time | Settings > Apps > Default apps > search for a file type or link type | Only the type you pick, such as .pdf or HTTPS |
| Windows 10 | Settings > Apps > Default apps > Web browser | The browser Windows uses for web links |
To change a single type, open your browser's page in Default apps, click the app shown under a type such as .pdf, choose your browser, and click Set default. Many people keep PDFs in a dedicated reader and move only web links to their browser — that is a sensible split, and the per-type controls are there for exactly that reason.
How Do I Change the Default Browser From Inside the Browser?
You can start the change from inside the browser, but on Windows the final switch still happens in Windows Settings. Most browsers either set themselves directly or open the Default apps page for you to click Set default. The paths are:
| Browser | Where the button is |
|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Menu (three dots) > Settings > Default browser > Make default |
| Mozilla Firefox | Menu (three lines) > Settings > General > Make Default |
| Microsoft Edge | Menu (three dots) > Settings > Default browser > Make default |
| Brave, Opera, Vivaldi | Settings, then search for "default browser" |
To make Chrome the default browser on Windows 11, for example, install Chrome, open it once, then open Settings > Apps > Default apps, search for Chrome, select it, and click Set default next to Make Google Chrome your default browser. The same pattern works for every browser: the browser's own button starts the job, and the Windows Set default button finishes it. If you want to change the default browser from Edge to Chrome, that is the whole process — there is no separate Edge setting to turn off first.
How Do I Change the Default Browser in Windows 10?
Windows 10 uses a simpler picker. Open Settings > Apps > Default apps, scroll to Web browser, click the browser currently listed — usually Microsoft Edge — and choose the browser you want from the list. If Windows suggests keeping Edge, click Switch anyway if the prompt appears. Windows 10 assigns web links to the new browser right away. On the original Windows 10 release, the Default apps page sits under System instead of Apps.
One warning: Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Consumer Extended Security Updates now run until October 12, 2027, and these steps still work on Windows 10, but upgrading to Windows 11 is the long-term way to keep getting security fixes.
Why Do Links Still Open in Edge After I Change the Default?
Some links ignore your default browser by design, and no setting on the Default apps page changes that outside Europe. Links from Windows Search, Widgets, Copilot, and some help pages open in Edge regardless of your default in many regions, and outside the European Economic Area Windows provides no supported way to change this. Do not install third-party tools that force those links elsewhere — they can break after Windows updates.
Outlook and Microsoft Teams are a different case: each app has its own link setting, and changing it fixes the problem properly. In new Outlook for Windows, go to Settings > General > Files and links and set Open hyperlinks from Outlook in to your default browser. In classic Outlook, go to File > Options > Advanced and, under File and browser preferences, choose your browser. In Microsoft Teams, go to Settings > Files and links > Link open preferences and choose your browser. The Outlook and Teams settings change each other, so setting one usually covers both.
If only one kind of file opens in the wrong place — a saved .html page, for instance — the Set default button was probably never applied to that type. Open Settings > Apps > Default apps, type .html in the file-type search box, choose your browser, and select Set default. Repeat for .htm.
What Do I Do When the Default Browser Keeps Changing Back?
A default that reverts has one of two causes: another browser was allowed to make itself the default, or your organization reapplies a default associations file every time you sign in. Work through these fixes in order. First, open every browser you do not want as the default and decline its prompt to become the default. Then set your preferred browser again with Set default, and check all four types — HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html — because one reverted type is enough to send links elsewhere. Sign out and back in, then check the Default apps page again.
If the setting reverts at every sign-in on a domain-joined or managed PC, the Set a default associations configuration file policy is in use, and only your administrator can change it. Ask your IT team rather than fighting the policy — it will win every time.
If Windows itself is misbehaving more broadly — settings not sticking, apps crashing, the PC running hot — the browser setting may not be the real problem. Start by learning how to free up disk space on Windows 11, then update drivers in Windows 11, and if the PC is slow and hot, check CPU temperature in Windows 11. A factory reset Windows 11 is the last resort, only after you have backed everything up.
What If My Browser Is Not in the Default Apps List?
Windows lists a browser on the Default apps page only after it is installed for your user account, and usually only after you have opened it at least once. That is the most common reason the list looks wrong. Check Settings > Apps > Installed apps and search for the browser by name. If it is missing, install it from the vendor's own site or the Microsoft Store, open it once, and return to Default apps. Search for the browser by name under Set defaults for applications rather than scrolling the long list.
If Set default still does nothing, set HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html one at a time using the file-type search box. On a work or school PC, ask your IT administrator: organizations can deploy a default associations file that sets the browser for you, and the page may be locked by policy.
What Is Different in Europe (EEA)?
Under the Digital Markets Act, Windows 11 in the European Economic Area respects your default browser for more links — including many from Windows Search and Widgets — and lets you uninstall Edge. The Set default button also does more there: it assigns FTP and read links plus file types such as .mht, .mhtml, .shtml, .svg, .xht, .xhtml, and .xml when the browser supports them, offers to pin the browser to the taskbar and Start, and gives .pdf its own Set default button. Exactly how much changes depends on your region setting and Windows version. Outside the EEA, Edge stays installed because parts of Windows use it, and the button assigns only HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html.
What About a Work or School PC?
If the Default apps page is locked, or your choice resets after a restart, your organization may set the default browser through policy. Managed devices can block changes through Group Policy or MDM, and some Microsoft components may still open Edge regardless of the selected default. Contact your IT team: on a managed PC the policy decides, and no amount of clicking in Settings will override it. The same applies if a browser you never chose keeps becoming the default — the organization may be reapplying its associations file at each sign-in.
How Do I Check the Change Worked?
Four quick checks prove the switch took. First, open Settings > Apps > Default apps, select your browser, and confirm that HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html each show its name. Second, click a web link inside an app that respects the Windows default, such as a link in a document or an email. Third, double-click a saved .html file in File Explorer and confirm it opens in the same browser. Fourth, click a link in an Outlook email — if it still opens in Edge, change the Outlook link setting described above. No restart is needed after changing the default, but restart any app that was already open if its links still go to the old browser.
Sources
- Live2Tech — How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11 (and Windows 10) (updated October 12, 2026): the one-click Settings method, the per-browser paths, the still-opens-in-Edge fixes, the EEA differences, work-PC policy, Windows 10 steps, Windows 10 end of support (October 14, 2025) and Extended Security Updates until October 12, 2027.
- TechDows — How to Change Default Web Browser in Windows 11/10 (updated September 26, 2026): the install-first check, per-type and per-region tables, the browser-vendor table, the check-it-worked steps, and the full troubleshooting section — browser not listed, setting keeps changing back, Outlook and Teams link settings, .html opening in the wrong browser, and the Group Policy associations file.
- SolveYourTech — How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11 (updated 4 days ago): the step list, the ms-settings:defaultapps shortcut, and the EEA detail — outside Europe, Set default assigns HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, and .html only.
- SupportYourTech — How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11 (updated 7 days ago): the Settings steps and the per-browser Make default paths for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
- Simplified.guide — How to change the default browser in Windows: the "Switch anyway" prompt — selecting the suggested browser keeps the existing default — and the managed-device note that Group Policy or MDM can block changes.
- TechBaked — How to Change Default Apps by File Type in Windows 11/10 (updated 6 days ago): the reset-all-default-apps warning — resetting restores Microsoft's recommended defaults across file types, so change one type individually instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make Chrome the default browser on Windows 11?
Install Chrome and open it once, then open Settings > Apps > Default apps, search for Chrome, select it, and click Set default next to Make Google Chrome your default browser. In Windows 10, select Chrome under Web browser instead. Chrome's own Make default button under Settings > Default browser starts the same process, but Windows Settings finishes it.
Why do links still open in Edge after I change the default?
Links from Windows Search, Widgets, Copilot, and some help pages open in Edge regardless of your default outside the European Economic Area, and Windows offers no supported switch for them. Outlook and Teams have their own link settings — change those in each app. If only one file type is affected, such as .html, set that type individually in Default apps.
Can I uninstall Edge after changing the default?
Only in the European Economic Area. Elsewhere, Edge stays installed because parts of Windows use it. Changing the default browser does not remove Edge, and you do not need to remove it — it simply stops opening your links.
Will changing the default browser delete my bookmarks or passwords?
No. Each browser keeps its own data, and changing the default only changes which app opens links. To move bookmarks and passwords into the new browser, use its import option — nothing is copied automatically.
How do I change the default browser back to Edge?
Open Settings > Apps > Default apps, search for Microsoft Edge, select it, and click Set default. The same one-click process works in reverse, and it takes effect immediately.