In this guide, you will see How to Completely Remove Microsoft Edge Windows 10 manually by changing ownership to the user. Also how to Uninstall Microsoft edge completely windows 10 in an easy way with a tool. At last, we will see how to Remove Microsoft Edge from windows 10 with PowerShell. Completely Remove Microsoft Edge Windows 10.
The Microsoft Edge browser is set as the default web browser in Windows 10 and in case you didn't know, there’s no way to uninstall it. However, just because there's no uninstall option doesn't mean you can't banish it from your web browsing experience. If you'd prefer, you can restore to Internet Explorer 11 (or another preferred browser) if you want, completely disabling Edge altogether.
Choose a New Browser
Luckily, you aren't stuck with Edge because there are many popular web browsers to choose from: Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox, and Opera's, well, Opera. If you want to use one of these browsers and it’s not already installed on your computer, you’ll need to download it yourself.
Good news if you like Internet Explorer — it’s already on your Windows 10 computer and you don’t need to do anything else (just skip to section 2). Assuming your default browser is set to Microsoft Edge, to obtain your desired web browser from Edge if you don’t yet have it on your PC:
- Click the link above that corresponds to the browser you’d like to install.
- Click the Download or Download Now button.
- Locate the link to the download in the bottom left corner of the Edge browser and click it. (Click Open if that appears.)
- When prompted, accept any Terms of Service, and click the option to install.
- Click Yes if prompted to approve the installation.
Set Any Browser as the Default
The default web browser is the one that opens when you click a link in an email, document, web page, and so on. By default, that’s Microsoft Edge. If you prefer another browser, you need to manually set that browser as the default in the Settings app.
To set a browser as the default in Windows 10, including restoring to Internet Explorer 11:
How To Uninstall Microsoft Edge Windows10
- Click Start > Settings > Apps. Then click Default Apps. (This might already be open if you just downloaded a new web browser.)
- Click whatever is listed under Web Browser. (It might be Microsoft Edge.)
- In the resulting list, click the desired default browser.
- Click the X in the top right corner to close the Settings window.
Remove the Edge Icon From the Taskbar, Start Menu, or Desktop
To remove the Microsoft Edge icon from the Taskbar:
- Right-click the Microsoft Edge icon.
- Click Unpin From Taskbar.
There is also an entry for Edge in the left pane of the Start menu. You can’t remove that one. However, you can remove the Edge icon from the Start menu’s group of icons if one exists. These are set off to the right. If you see an icon for Edge there:
- Click Start.
- Right-click the Edge icon and click Unpin from Start.
If there’s an icon for Edge on the Desktop, to remove it:
Add an Icon to the Taskbar, Start Menu, or Desktop
Finally, you can opt to add an icon for the browser you prefer to the Taskbar, Start Menu, or Desktop. This makes it easier to access when you need it.
To add Internet Explorer to the Taskbar or to the Start menu (adding any other browser is the same):
- Type 'Internet Explorer' in the Search window on the Taskbar.
- Right-click Internet Explorer in the results.
- Click Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start (as desired).
- Use the steps above to pin the desired icon to the Start menu.
- Left-click the icon on the Start menu and drag it to the Desktop.
- Drop it there.
Microsoft Edge is included with Windows 10 by default, replacing Internet Explorer as the default browser for Windows. Getting used to Microsoft Edge takes time, as the feature set and the user interface is different from Internet Explorer. Some users have grown to like Edge and use it regularly, but other users have chosen other browsers as their default browser.
If you're using a different default browser and want to remove Microsoft Edge from your computer, follow the steps below.
NoteIt is not possible to entirely remove Microsoft Edge from your computer, due to how it is integrated into Windows and how other programs in Windows require Microsoft Edge to run correctly. The steps below will allow you to prevent Microsoft Edge from loading, while not hurting other programs that rely on Edge files to run properly.
Change ownership of Microsoft Edge folder
Before you can hide, or block, Microsoft Edge on your computer, you need to change the ownership of the Microsoft Edge folder in Windows. By default, the Microsoft Edge folder is owned and controlled by Windows and will prevent any changes. Gaining ownership of the folder will allow you to make changes to files in that folder.
NoteYou must be logged in to Windows with an administrator account.
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the following folder: C:WindowsSystemApps
- Locate the Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder. Right-click on that folder and select Properties.
- Click on the Security tab.
- On the Security tab, click on the Advanced button.
- At the top of the Advanced Security Settings window, click the Change link for the Owner.
- In the Select User and Group text box, type Administrators and click the Check Names button. Windows will find and suggest the administrator account. Click OK to select the administrator account.
- Back in the Advanced Security Settings window, check the box next to Replace owner on subcontainers and objects. Click OK to confirm the owner changes.
- Back in the folder Properties window, on the Security tab, click the Edit button.
- In the Group or user names section, click on the Administrators account.
- In the Permissions for Administrators section, under the Allow column, check the box for Full control. Click OK to save the permission changes.
How To Uninstall Edge Browser
- Click Yes in the Windows Security message box to confirm the permission changes. Click OK again in the Properties window to make the permission changes.
Prevent Windows from changing permissions or files
It may still be possible for Windows to change the permissions of the Microsoft Edge folder and files when a Windows update is installed. To prevent the permissions from being changed, undoing the changes you made above, follow the steps below.
- Right-click on the Microsoft Edge folder again and select Properties.
- On the General tab, in the Attributes section, check the box next to Read-only so that it is checked. You may need to click the Read-only box twice for the box to be checked.
- Click OK to apply the change.
Prevent Microsoft Edge from running
With ownership and permissions changed for the Microsoft Edge folder and files, you can now prevent the Edge browser from running in Windows. Follow the steps below to block the Edge browser.
- Open the Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder.
- Locate the MicrosoftEdge.exe and MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe files. Rename both files to something else of your choosing. For example, rename the files to blockMSEdge.exe and blockMSEdgeCP.exe.
By renaming the files, Windows will no longer be able to find the MicrosoftEdge.exe and MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe files, preventing Microsoft Edge from running.
In the future, if you want to use Microsoft Edge again, rename the two files back to MicrosoftEdge.exe and MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe.
Additional information
- See our Microsoft Edge definition for related information and links.