On the Windows 11 platform, if you want to switch the default browser from Edge to Firefox/Chrome, the whole operation is now more complicated. Microsoft has removed the option to set the default browser with just one click. Users need to configure HTM, HTML, HTTP, HTTPS, SHTML, WEBP, SVG and other file types before switching to Firefox/Chrome.
In the Windows 11 version change, Microsoft redesigned the application and function pages. This page allows users to configure the default file to open the application, including browser and music player. For the browser, Microsoft has removed an option for all third-party browsers.
Now, if you try to change the default browser to Chrome or Firefox, you will need to manually change the file type for all possible web-related formats. This includes HTM, HTML, HTTP, HTTPS, SHTML, WEBP, SVG, and even PDF. If you forget to tick all necessary options, you will not be able to use Chrome or Firefox as your default browser.
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This kind of complex change is annoying, and users say that Microsoft is trying to force their own preferences. After users discovered this change, Microsoft also received counterattacks from rivals such as Google and Opera. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president, said that this new [default browser] change comes from this company’s claims to be the most open and the most selective company. This is not a choice at all. Firefox officials also criticized Microsoft for forcing to take extra and unnecessary steps to set and keep the default browser settings.
Fortunately, Microsoft finally decided to restore the complex default browser settings of Windows 11 through a new preview update. In Windows 11 Build 22509, Microsoft quietly enabled a new toggle key that allows you to modify the default browser settings for all network-related file formats/connections, including HTTP and HTTPS.