Microsoft is testing changes currently that give users from many European countries more control over Windows 11. There are workarounds already for users from other regions to uninstall Edge without tools or commands.
Microsoft plans to introduce the change in the first quarter of 2024 in Windows 11. Two of the main improvements let users remove Microsoft Edge and Bing Search from the operating system.
Microsoft Edge is the default browser of Windows 11. Bing Search is used to populate, some would say pollute, search results with web results.
While there have been ways to deal with the two until now, both required some technical know-how or the right tools. AppBuster, for instance, is a free program to remove many locked apps from Windows 11.
Windows users who prefer a different browser use Microsoft Edge to download these browsers. What happens if Microsoft Edge is uninstalled prior to installing any other browser? Are you stranded then, left without any chance to install an Internet browser? Let’s find out.
How to uninstall Microsoft Edge
Once the change lands, users with administrative rights may remove Microsoft Edge from the system.
Tip: even if you live in a region that is not supported by Microsoft in regards to the change, you may still add the functionality to your system. It involves changing the region to that of a European country.
While you may do so manually, you may also use the open source tool MSEdgeRedirect to to it for you. Just enable Europe Mode in the app when you run it. The app makes the required changes in the background. You need to restart the system once before the changes take effect.
Removing Edge is done in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps on Windows 11. Just search for Microsoft Edge, activate the three-dots menu next to its entry and select the uninstall option from the menu.
Edge is removed after you confirm by selecting uninstall again. Note that there may be a small warning prompt that explains that removing Edge may impact apps and widgets that depend on the browser.
Windows 11 without a browser
With Microsoft Edge gone, you may notice a few changes right away. The first and most important one is that you may not have a web browser installed anymore.
Microsoft Edge is the default browser. Removing it removes the only browser from the system, unless you install a different browser first.
What happens when you try to open Internet links in that case? Windows launches the Microsoft Store page of Microsoft Edge so that you may install it again.
This is not your only option, however. You may also install other browsers, including Firefox, Brave Browser, Opera GX or Vivaldi Browser from the Store.
In other words: you are not in a cul-de-sac when you uninstall Edge without having access to another browser.
The better option is to use Edge to install a different browser first before removing it.
There is one situation, at the least, which puts you in a dead end after all. Windows has a hard limit on the number of devices associated with an account. If you happen to run into this limit after uninstalling Edge, you won’t be able to install any other browser
The thing is, you may install Microsoft Edge even if you hit the account limit. This may be because it was installed previously on the device, or because it is not affected by the imposed limitation.
If you have another device at hand, you may remove older devices from the Microsoft account to unlock the functionality. Still, it is definitely a nuisance if you hit the limit.
Other things to note
Some links may still require Microsoft Edge to open, at least in the current state of the feature. The “learn about this picture” link for instance, refuses to open in any browser but Edge, even if Edge is not installed and another browser is set as the default.
This may be because of the current state of development. It is unclear if these link will require Edge no matter what once they roll out to stable versions of Windows.
All in all, it will be interesting to see how Microsoft is going to tackle these issues. The most obvious option would be to allow them to load in the default browser, even if it it is not Edge. Whether that is going to happen remains to be seen, however.
Now You: which web browser do you use?