How To Stop Microsoft Edge From Opening?

Microsoft Edge is currently the default browser of Windows. It’s not a bad browser per se but some of the things Edge forces upon the user is, well, in fact, annoying.

The biggest issue that bugs us is that we cannot uninstall it from the control panel. We don’t have the option to choose whether we want the Browser on our PC or not.

On top of that, many users face Edge launching on startup automatically taking up resources. This problem might not affect high spec PC users, but ones that don’t have high-end PCs face a big problem.

So, we have taken it upon ourselves to find ways to tackle these issues once and for all. Check out the solution below to resolve these annoying issues.

Table of Contents

Stop Microsoft Edge from Opening as the Default Browser

Suppose you face Microsoft Edge as the default browser and want to change it to a new browser or are tired of links and files opening from Edge instead of your intended Browser. Follows the steps below to do it.

in Windows 10

Press the Windows keys and search Default Apps
As a list of apps appears, scroll down and find Browser Section.
If Edge is listed as a defualt browser, click on Edge and choose another browser.

in Windows 11

The option of switching the default browser is different from the Windows 10 Procedure. We can, however, change the default browser by two methods.

Mark our intended Browser (Firefox, Opera, Firefox Nightly, etc.) as the default browser from the Browser’s Setting Section.
Change Default Apps for individual files and link Types through Windows Settings>Default Apps.

Change to Default Browser From Browser’s Settings

This method will work for Firefox, Firefox Nightly, Opera, Brave Browser, etc. Go to the settings section of these browsers and find/select Mark as Default or Default Browser option.

There might be slight variation in how to get to the settings section, but every Browser has this option.

For Google Chrome, if we click on Mark as default, it will re-route us to the Default Apps section of Windows Settings. Follow Method 2 for Chrome or any other browser that re-routes to the Default Apps section.

This method will change the default apps section for HTTP, HTTPS pages, and .html, .htm files only. This is enough for normal web browsing. If we want to change other links and file types, method 2 is the only option.

Stop Microsoft Edge from Opening On Startup

Are you worried about Edge taking up resources by running in the background or during startup? Follow the procedures below and see which one works for you.

Toggle Off Restartable Apps Settings

Press Windows Key and Go to Settings.
Select Accounts and click on Sign-in Options.
Toggle off Automatically save my restartable apps when I sign out and restart them when I sign in.

Remove Edge from Startup in Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager OR Press Alt + Ctrl + Delete and choose Task Manager.
Click on the Startup option on the top panel.
Check if Microsoft Edge is listed. If found, Right-click on Edge and choose Disable.

Check Shell: Startup

Press Windows Key +R and run Shell:Startup command
A folder will open; check if Edge is listed there. If present, Delete Microsoft Edge from that folder.

Change Background Apps Settings in Browser

Open the Microsoft Edge Browser.
Select the three-dotted button on the top right corner of the Browser and select settings.
Select System and Performance on the left panel
Find the option “Continue Running Background Extension & Apps when Microsoft Edge is Closed” and toggle it off.
Restart the Browser for change to take effect.

Change Settings in Local Group Policy Editor

Please note home editions will not have this feature. We can, however, install it with a command prompt script (external link to be inserted). Professional and Enterprise editions do have these features built-in.

Press Win+R to open run and type gpedit.msc
On the Left Side panel, Under Local Computer Policy Go to Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates >Windows Component and select Microsoft Edge.
Under Microsoft Edge, Find the Policy Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows Startup, when the system is idle and each time edge is closed. Enable the policy.
Select Prevent Pre launching from the drop down.
Select Apply and click on OK to save your changes.
Next, find the policy Allow Microsoft Edge to start and load the Start and New Tab page at Windows startup, and each time Microsoft Edge is closed.
Enable this entry and select Prevent tab preloading from the drop-down option.
Select Apply and Click on OK to save your changes.

Use Registry Editor to Make Changes to Windows Registry

Please make sure to have a backup of the registry before using the command. Press Windows Key + R and type Regedit to open the editor.

On the top left corner, go to File and select Export. A new screen will then pop up where you can name the file and choose its destination folder. Remember to select the Export Range as ALL on the bottom of the pop-up. This will create a backup of the registry.

Mistakes on Registry editor can damage windows files. If you have doubts, do not go for this step.

Make the following changes once the backup is created:

Paste the following address on the address bar of the registry editor. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
Right Click on the Microsoft , and select New>Key
Name the Key just created as Microsoft Edge.
Right Click on Microsoft Edge, and select New>Key again.
Name the New Key just created as Main
On the right panel of the editor, right-click and select new>DWord (32bit) Value.
Name the Key as AllowPrelaunch
Double click on the new AllowPrelaunch and assign the value as 0.
Go back to the Microsoft Edge Key and right-click on it, and select new>key
Name the new key as TabPreloader
Right-click on the right panel of the editor and select New>Dword (32-bit value).
Name the newly created DWord (32-bit value) as Allow TabPreloading.
Assign the value for the DWord as 0 by Double Clicking on it.
Restart the computer for changes to come into effect.

Disable Edge Update Tasks from Task Scheduler

Press Windows Key and Search Task Scheduler.
On the left panel, select Task Scheduler Library. You will see a list of tasks listed on the right as soon as you click on the Task Scheduler Library.
Find ones with Microsoft Edges written into them. For eg MicrosoftEdgeUpdateTaskMachineCore
Right Click on them and select Disable.

Can I Uninstall Microsoft Edge?

Completely getting rid of Microsoft Edge is no easy task. As Microsoft shuts down any new workarounds people find on their next windows update. For now, the solution stated below will force Edge to uninstall and stop it from coming back.

Step 1: Force Edge to Uninstall

Press Windows Key + R to Open Run
Copy & Paste the Following Command which will take you to the file location of Edge in C drive)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\
Find a folder with complete numbers on it. E.g., 92.0.902.62 and click on it. ( Folder number might be different on your pc)
Go to the folder named Installer, where you will see a setup file.
Once here, Copy the file path from the address bar above. It will look something like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\92.0.902.62\Installer\ (Might be different for you)
Press Windows Key again and search for Powershell. Right-click on it and run as administrator.
Type cmd in Powershell.
Run the following command with your own file path:
“FilePath From Step 5\ setup.exe" – uninstall – system-level – verbose-logging – force-uninstall

For Eg:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\92.0.902.62\Installer\ setup.exe" – uninstall – system-level – verbose-logging – force-uninstall
Press Enter to run the command, which will force uninstall Edge.

Step 2: Stop EDGE from Coming Back

This step will focus on creating a key in the windows registry. In layman terms, the command stated below tells Windows that we are using the legacy Edge from the Microsoft store, which isn’t a part of chromium, and we do not want the chromium edge.

Copy the following command in notepad:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate] "DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium"=dword:00000001
Save the File as Stopedge.reg on desktop
Right-click on the saved File and select open with and click registry editor.
We will get a warning about adding information to the registry. Select Yes.
A confirmation message will pop up stating the key is added. Select OK.

I’ve changed the default browser still edge is opening. What should I do?

If Microsoft edge opens even after you’ve changed the default app, you may have to change the default browser for each file type. And also, link it through windows settings. To do so,

Press the Windows key and search Default Apps.
You will see a Search for Default Application section. Search Microsoft Edge and Click on it.
A list of Files and Link Types will be listed. Select the files and links that we want to change the default app of and mark the Browser of your choice as default.
Change HTTP, HTTPS pages, .htm, and.html files for a bare minimum. These changes should be enough for normal day-to-day browsing.

Please google about the rest of the file types before changing them as they serve a specific purpose. E.g., changing .pdf means files that we want to view on the internet in pdf format will use the selected Browser to display it.