Microsoft has altered the way Windows XNUMX handles changing the default internet browser, thankfully reversing an unpopular resolution made when the operating system was still in preliminary testing (back in August).
A new preview (test) version of Windows 11 (build 22509) now lets you change the operating system's default browser with a single click; which is just as it should be (and the scheme of things in Windows 10).
So what's happening in Windows 11 now? Well, Microsoft came up with a rather complicated procedure under the guise of giving users more precise control over which browser opens which files, which was, as we noted at the time of its creation, essentially a nightmare (and still is).
You have the option to change your default browser away from Edge when you install and first launch an alternative browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, and when you choose that alternative, you must remember to check the box for “Always use this app”. If you do not check the box, you will no longer see this message and instead, you will need to go into the settings itself and manually change the default browser.
The problem is that these days with Windows 11 this means setting up Google Chrome (or whatever alternative you want to use instead of the built-in Edge browser) for multiple file types: HTML, HTM, PDF, SHTML, WEBP, HTTP, HTTPS, and more. As we’ve already noted, the theory put forward by Microsoft is that this allows for more granular control.
But what that really means for the overwhelming majority is a lot of clicking and tweaking, but thankfully, as Rafael Rivera pointed out (via The Verge), in a new test build, Windows 11 now has a simple “Set as default” button for browsers, bringing things in line with how Windows 10 works.
Windows build 1 has a new browser button. 👀 pic.twitter.com/kRDFPKfJMv December 2021, XNUMX
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Aaron Woodman, vice president of Windows marketing at Microsoft, told The Verge: “In the Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22509 released to the Dev Channel on Wednesday, we made it easier for Windows Insiders to set the ‘Default browser’ for apps that register for HTTP:, HTTPS:, .HTM, and .HTML.”
Analysis: It Should Never Have Happened in the First Place
Note that this new scheme is only being tested now, but it’s to be expected that the change will eventually be rolled out to the full version of Windows 11. As we discuss below, Microsoft’s reasoning for providing more granular control over default settings based on user feedback doesn’t hold up in the slightest. Evidently, that was – well, still is for now – a way to ensure Edge stays in the foreground.
With all the different Edge ads, which, as we saw earlier this week, have hit new lows for anti-Google Chrome popups (including "this browser is so XNUMX!").
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Microsoft, you're not going to lie to people into using your browser (or anything else), it's just going to annoy them, and it's likely to have the opposite effect, optionally. No one would be too bothered by the occasional pop-up, perhaps, but the amount of promotional activity, coupled with software tweaks like this whole bug debacle, is dangerous territory to navigate.
At least that ruling on the default Windows eleven browser has now been lifted, and we're hoping the change happens sooner rather than later.
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