How Windows 11 May Soon Make It Mandatory For You To Use Microsoft Edge
How Windows 11 may soon make it mandatory for you to use Microsoft Edge
While browsing through your newly updated Windows 11, you may have noticed that some of the system's links open in Microsoft Edge, even if your default browser is Chrome or Firefox. This is because Microsoft Edge is the system's default browser, not Chrome or Firefox. What is happening may be perplexing to you, and you are not alone in this.
The occurrence of this problem is more frequent when you open a link in one of the Windows 11 apps. In the "News and Interests" widget, for example, clicking an article always launches Microsoft's browser, rather than the one you've selected as the default for visiting websites.
What is the cause of this, on the other hand? Let's take a closer look at what's going on.
Defeating Edge's Greatest Rival, EdgeDeflector
Microsoft Edge's primary competitor, Google Chrome, was considered the best for a long time. EdgeDeflector, on the other hand, has recently become number one Edge’s rival
EdgeDeflector is a third-party application that forces Windows to open links in the user's default browser instead of the default browser of the computer. Therefore, it has become extremely popular among Windows 11 users who are tired of links opening in Microsoft Edge when they click on them.
EdgeDeflector works by identifying the microsoft-edge:// URL that was included in the original Windows 11 link. It is then necessary to change the URL to include the https:// prefix, which will open the webpage in the system's default browser.
EdgeDeflector, on the other hand, has since been disabled by Microsoft. It prevents the Deflector from redirecting web applications or changing the Microsoft-edge protocol after installing this update.
Initial reports indicated that the block appeared in an early Windows 11 Preview Build, and that it was initially thought to be a bug that would be resolved in due course. That, on the other hand, was not the case. Following this announcement, Microsoft has confirmed that it will implement an update that will prevent app developers from tampering with the microsoft-edge protocol links. Therefore, all links in Windows 11 will begin with microsoft-edge:// and will direct users to the Microsoft Edge web browser.
Daniel Aleksandersen, the developer of EdgeDeflector, confirmed the news on his CTRL Blog, which can be found here. He agreed that users will be unable to prevent the launch of web pages in Microsoft Edge with the latest EdgeDeflector disabling feature, which is currently in beta.
He provided some insight into potential third-party applications; however, it is likely that they will end up causing more harm than good to systems and that they will cause more harm than good.
Microsoft's Attempt to Prove Edge's Superiority Over Other Browsers
Additionally, as a result of the recent Windows 11 update, users will no longer receive the error message "An app default was reset." The system will completely disregard the user's registry selection for browsing applications in favor of the Microsoft Edge protocol registry, which will be completely ignored by the system.
Therefore, Microsoft is requiring users to use Microsoft Edge, even if they attempt to uninstall the browser from their computer. When a user attempts to force Windows to use their preferred web browser, the system now displays a void Universal Windows Platform window with an error notification, rather than the previous void Universal Windows Platform window.
The Future of EdgeDeflector
It does not matter whether or not Microsoft decides to suspend its operations; users can still install EdgeDeflector, just not the most up-to-date version. Changing internal link URLs in Windows 11 will only be possible if Microsoft reverses its patch and re-enables the ability to change internal link URLs in Windows 11.
Despite this, there are still additional methods that people can use to prevent Microsoft Edge from being forced to launch; however, as previously stated, they are likely to have negative consequences for their computer's performance.
The Situation with Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge's popularity has fallen short of the developers' high expectations of it, despite the developers' high expectations of it from users. Finally, Microsoft has made the decision to take matters into its own hands in order to avoid being overtaken by competitors such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and other web browsers.
Windows 11's stringent rules are perceived by its users as unimpressive and unjustified, which is something Microsoft is failing to recognize. If nothing is done to correct the situation, Microsoft may end up driving away the traffic that it was hoping to attract with its browser in the first place.
