New to widgets in Windows 11? Give them a try and see how useful they can really be.

Why Does It Matter?

Microsoft has removed any official way to change the browser and search engine used by the features mentioned above, so looking in the settings or registry won’t help. By eliminating user choice and pushing its own services, Microsoft is making the user experience for Windows worse in the name of profit. This is a step in the wrong direction for big tech software, leading us to a future where companies like Microsoft get to decide what you install and do on your own computer. Besides this, there are also real disadvantages at play:

Your browser search history gets split with Edge, making it harder to find things you searched for and making auto-complete less useful. You don’t get to use your chosen browser’s features and extensions, like an adblocker, and have to install them separately on Edge. You may get worse web search results from Bing. You may sacrifice your privacy by not being allowed to use free/non-profit services.

The best solution to get links open in other browsers is called MSEdgeRedirect, which is a Windows utility that is free to install and use. Alternatively, you can also opt for OpenWebSearch, which is a command line-only solution. Note: Edge Deflector and Search Deflector are popular options that have stopped working since late 2021. If you see any articles or tutorials mention these two programs, they are outdated.

Note: before trying out the new redirections capabilities, make sure you’ve set a new default browser in Windows. Downloading and installing the MSEdgeRedirect .EXE file is easy, but it might cause your browser or computer to complain about an unsafe file. There are a few ways to install MSEdgeRedirect, and you can opt for the method that is more convenient for you.

Install via Command Line

You can also install MSEdgeRedirect via the command line. The easiest way is to install it via the Windows Package Manager by typing a short command in the Windows Terminal. Tip: you can use Command Prompt for many things, including running a Java program.

Troubleshoot MSEdgeRedirect Issues

MSEdgeRedirect is still in beta, and we found the latest version, 0.7.2.0, to be a bit unstable. If it doesn’t seem to work for you, try these solutions below.

Update to the latest version of Windows and restart your computer. We found that before the KB5019980 update on November 8, 2022, MSEdgeRedirect would stop working intermittently. After updating and restarting, it operated with more stability. After changing the MSEdgeRedirect settings, restart your computer and don’t open the settings again. We found that the entire program would sometimes terminate after closing its settings window, causing Edge to be used again. Make sure you’ve opted for the “Active Mode” installation rather than the “Service Mode” one. If you can’t remember, uninstall MSEdgeRedirect, then download the .EXE directly from GitHub. Run it and select “Active Mode” this time around. It’s more stable and has other advantages over Service Mode.

If you prefer a transparent command-line script solution, check out OpenWebSearch, developed by AveYo. There are some minor downsides to this solution. One is the lack of customizability. You cannot change anything unless you go into the code. There is no settings UI to easily check some boxes. Another is that there is no easy way to toggle it on and off – you would have to enter a command in the Terminal and accept the User Account control each time. Finally, there is no automatic update function, so you’d have to manually download the “OpenWebSearch.cmd” file from GitHub again when a new version comes out. For these reasons, MSEdgeRedirect is better overall. Finally had enough of Microsoft Edge? Find something new in our list of lightweight Windows browsers. Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Brandon Li. In addition, Windows will insist you use Microsoft Edge to a fault, even if you purge all traces of Microsoft Edge. Windows will open an empty UWP window and show an error message instead of letting you use your preferred web browser. The reason? Originally, Windows would use a special link format, “microsoft-edge://” in internal features (like Windows Search), that could only be opened by Edge. Edge Deflector would redirect the “microsoft-edge://” link to an “https://” link that would be opened by the default browser. But in the 22494 update, Microsoft has hardcoded Windows, making it impossible for any third-party app to handle the “microsoft-edge://” link, even going so far as ignoring registry changes to that effect.