How to uninstall Microsoft Edge on Windows 11

Microsoft has always encouraged customers to use its browser with Microsoft Edge pre-installed and set to the default as soon as they boot up their new computer. Despite their efforts, Edge barely makes up 4% of the browser market share, with most users opting for more popular browsers like Safari or Chrome. With Windows 11, not only is it tricky to change your default web browser, but it’s impossible to remove Edge from your standard computer settings. There is no harm in leaving it on your computer, even if it takes up the extra gigabytes. Additionally, uninstalling Edge may cause problems for other Microsoft applications that rely on the web platform. But if you’re willing to take the risk, here’s how to uninstall Microsoft Edge from Windows 11.

How to uninstall Microsoft Edge on Windows 11

You may have already tried to uninstall Microsoft Edge from the application settings on your computer, only to find that the Uninstall option is unavailable. Unfortunately, you can’t uninstall Edge as you would uninstall any other app on Windows 11 because Microsoft doesn’t want you to, keeping it as an option if you ever change your mind.

To uninstall Edge, you will need to use a bit of command-line magic, which we’ll walk you through step by step. First, you’ll need to find what version of Edge you are running. To do so, open Microsoft Edge and click the three dots in the top right corner. From there, select Help and Feedback and select About Microsoft Edge.

You’ll be taken to a settings page. Be sure to update Edge to the latest version and then copy the newest version number of the Edge application. You’ll need this to use in the command prompt application.

Now that you have the version number, search for the Command Prompt App on Windows 11 and click Run as administrator.

You’ll then see a black window appear with some lines of command code. First, type cd/ in the command prompt and press Enter. Then, copy and paste the following code into the Command Prompt screen.

Use the latest version number found in the previous step and paste it in place of “EdgeVersion” to locate the appropriate file pathway.

Press Enter on your keyboard. Then, copy and paste the following code and press Enter again to run the commands.

You’ll know the process worked when you see the Microsoft Edge icon disappear from your desktop. To reinstall Microsoft Edge, you’ll need to do so from the Microsoft store on your PC.

How to stop Microsoft Edge from reinstalling

Even after you’ve successfully uninstalled Microsoft Edge, it’s possible it could come back whenever you update Windows. You can stop this from happening using a simple registry tweak.

First, type “registry” in the Windows search box and click Run as administrator under the Registry Editor.

When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following pathway or copy and paste it into the Registry Editor address bar:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft

Right-click the Microsoft folder, and select New -> Key. Name the key “EdgeUpdate” and then right-click it. Select New, then “DWORD (32-bit) Value,” and name it “DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium.”

Once you’ve created the new DWORD Value, double-click it to open a new window and change the value to one. Click OK to confirm, then close the window.

Your Windows 10 PC should now be completely free of Microsoft Edge. If you decide you want the browser after all, just change the value you created to zero and download Edge from the Microsoft Store.

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