Windows 11: Changing the default browser has become Difficult | Windows 11
Microsoft’s upcoming version of Windows 11 will make it even harder to change the default
browser and override browser defaults in new areas of the operating system.
The current Windows 11 beta has two functional changes that make switching browsers even
more complicated than before. First, the operating system no longer pops up a window asking if
you want to switch browsers the first time you click on a link after installing a new browser.
Next, the “default apps” screen removed the broad categories of apps currently available in
Windows 10. Therefore, Microsoft really wants to make it difficult for you to use a browser
that isn’t Edge .
In the current version of Windows, all you have to do is click on pop-ups or go to the Start menu,
type Default apps, find the drop-down menu, and select the apps you want for all your browsing
needs. However, that’s not how it currently works in the upcoming Windows 11 release, which
we were able to install and test. The new version of Windows 10, Windows 11, is a major
update to Microsoft’s operating system.
Changing default browser on Windows 11 becomes
complicated
To change the default browser, you will therefore have to dig into the settings to change the
default application for each specific file type. Therefore, you’ll need to tell Windows which
application should open an HTM, HTML, PDF, SVG, and XHTML file, and these are just a
sample of the file types a browser can open. This means that it will be time-consuming and
tedious to change the default application on the new OS version. .
If you don’t want to change this in the settings, it will be possible to click an “Always use this
app” box when you first open links. So far, it seems only Mozilla Firefox has been able to set
itself as the default browser without sending the user to the Settings app . Indeed, other
competing internet browsers, such as Chrome, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi, all require the user to
go through the lengthy process of changing the default app.
This change was rather poorly received by Internet users, so we hope that Microsoft will
backtrack and soon offer an update bringing back a simpler menu to change the default
browser. Microsoft had even dared to change the color of the famous blue screen of death in
Windows 11 . If you don’t like the new user experience after installing Windows 11, Microsoft
warns that you only have 10 days to upgrade to Windows 10.