Windows 11 makes changing the default browser more involved than previous versions — instead of a single toggle, you set it app by app or file type by file type. This guide shows the fastest way to change your default browser and covers the common problem where links keep opening in Edge despite changing the setting.
How to Change the Default Browser
- Go to Settings → Apps → Default apps
- In the search box, type the name of the browser you want to set as default (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, or Opera)
- Click on the browser in the results
- Click Set default at the top
This sets the browser as the default for all web-related file types and protocols at once — the quickest method.
Alternatively, some browsers prompt you to set them as default when you open them. Clicking Set as default in that prompt takes you to the same Settings page.
Why Links Still Open in Edge After Changing
This is the most common frustration. Windows 11 has additional protocol handlers — http, https, and Microsoft Edge links — that are set separately from the main browser default. If you use the Set default button in Settings, it should update all of them. But if links from some apps (like Outlook or Teams) still open in Edge, you need to check the individual protocol entries:
- Go to Settings → Apps → Default apps
- Scroll down and click on Microsoft Edge
- Look through the list of file types and protocols associated with Edge
- For HTTP and HTTPS, click them and change to your preferred browser
The MICROSOFT-EDGE protocol (used by links in Windows widgets and some Microsoft apps) will show a warning and cannot be reassigned away from Edge — this is intentional by Microsoft. Everything else can be changed.
How to Set Different Browsers for Different File Types
If you use different browsers for different purposes — for example, Chrome for work and Firefox for personal browsing — you can set each file type individually:
- Go to Settings → Apps → Default apps
- Scroll down to Choose defaults by file type or Choose defaults by protocol
- Find the extension or protocol (e.g. .htm, .html, HTTP, HTTPS)
- Click the current default app and choose your preferred browser
How to Set the Default Browser via the Browser Itself
Most browsers offer to set themselves as default from their own settings:
- Chrome: Settings → Default browser → Make default
- Firefox: Settings → General → Startup → Make Firefox the default browser
- Opera: Settings → Basic → Default browser → Make Opera default
This takes you to Windows Settings and pre-selects the browser — same result as the method above.
How to Change the Default Browser for Email Links
Links clicked in email clients (Outlook, Thunderbird) use the HTTPS protocol handler, so they follow your default browser setting. If they are opening in the wrong browser, check the HTTPS protocol entry as described above.
Outlook has its own setting too: in Outlook desktop, go to File → Options → Advanced and look for the Default Programs section — click Make Outlook the default program for email, contacts, and calendar (this does not affect browser choice, but resets Outlook as the mail client).
How to Set Edge as Default Again
If you have changed away from Edge and want to go back:
- Go to Settings → Apps → Default apps
- Search for Microsoft Edge
- Click it and select Set default
Or open Edge and click the prompt to set it as default if one appears.
Changing the Default Browser on a Work PC
On domain-joined or Intune-managed PCs, your IT administrator may have set browser defaults via Group Policy. If the settings are greyed out or revert after you change them, the default is being enforced centrally and you will need to ask IT to change it.
