How to Disable Microsoft Edge in 2024 [Change Default Browser] (2024)

Key Takeaways: Disable Edge in Windows

• Microsoft Edge is difficult to disable or remove from a device because it is tightly integrated with Windows and updated regularly by Microsoft. However, there are several ways to disable and uninstall it temporarily.
• You can disable Edge by changing the Edge folder name in the “system apps” tab on Windows 11.
• You can replace Edge with another browser as your default browser in your system’s settings.
• You can also remove Edge as a startup app by either disabling it from your system’s task manager or stopping background apps from running when Edge is closed.

Microsoft Edge is one of the best internet browsers. It runs on Chromium software — the same technology that powers Google Chrome — and now has an upgraded version of Bing, which comes with a more powerful conversational AI chatbot and AI image generator. Clearing its cache even boosts its performance. Unfortunately, Edge is quite tricky to disable or uninstall. In this guide, we’ll show you how to disable Microsoft Edge.

There’s no foolproof way to get rid of Microsoft Edge on Windows because regular Windows updates may keep reinstalling the browser. However, taking the steps in this guide will disable Microsoft Edge without uninstalling it completely, allowing you to use your Windows operating system without any interference.

We’ve rewritten this guide to include new information and images.

How to Change Your Default Browser

If your goal is to change your default browser instead of disabling Microsoft Edge completely, follow these steps.

How to Disable Microsoft Edge Quickly

A fast way to stop Microsoft Edge from working is to rename the Edge folder. However, this is only a temporary fix and will revert back to normal during the next Windows update. Follow these steps to disable MS Edge quickly.

How to Remove Microsoft Edge as a Startup App

Startups apps are apps that launch as soon as you boot into Windows. There are two ways to stop your Edge browser from running as a startup app.

Disable Edge From Task Manager

The task manager on your system has a “startup apps” directory. Here, you can disable any app you no longer want to run automatically when you switch on your device.

Disable Background Apps When Microsoft Edge Is Closed

The “continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed” option keeps the Microsoft Edge process still running in the background, even when Microsoft Edge is closed. This ensures that there are no delays when launching MS Edge and that it runs as a startup app when you sign in to Windows.

If you stop Edge from running in the background, you will also remove it from the list of startup apps. Follow these steps to do so.

How to Uninstall Microsoft Edge

Just like disabling Microsoft Edge, uninstalling Microsoft Edge can easily be undone by a Windows update. Hence, keep in mind that the tips we recommend are just temporary fixes.

The best way to remove Microsoft Edge is to use the command prompt. To do this, you’ll need to enter the conversion number of your installation of Edge, as well as a few commands, into the command prompt.

If you still want to uninstall MS Edge from your device, read our how to uninstall Microsoft Edge guide. The guide also contains steps that may help prevent Edge from reinstalling on your system.

Final Thoughts

There’s no permanent way to disable Microsoft Edge or remove it from your system, but you can disable it temporarily. To recap, you can disable MS Edge quickly by renaming the Edge folder in Windows’ system apps directory.

If you’d like to make another browser your default browser, you can do so by locating your default apps in your system’s settings and switching to a different default browser. You can also stop Edge from running automatically when you sign in to Windows by removing it from the startup tab.

For a breakdown of how Microsoft Edge compares to Google Chrome, read our Microsoft Edge vs Chrome review. To also learn more about other MS competitors and how they stack up against each other, read our Opera vs Firefox comparison.

We also have a guide for if you need to turn off your antivirus.

Were you able to disable Microsoft Edge? Did you succeed in uninstalling it? Do you have any other hacks for removing Edge from your device? Let us know in the comment section below, and as always, thanks for reading.

FAQ: Disable Edge Browser in Windows