If you want to remove Microsoft Edge from your Windows 10 PC, you should read this. In general, it is not recommended to disable Edge completely – it can cause unexpected problems with your operating system. Thankfully, there are still methods to hide it and prevent it from affecting your PC experience.
There’s a reason why Microsoft doesn’t let you uninstall Microsoft Edge. There are several integrations with the Microsoft Edge operating system that Windows 10 relies on. Following the online instructions to completely uninstall Microsoft Edge may expose you to some unintended side effects because of this.
Instead of uninstalling Microsoft Edge, you can simply hide it from view and make sure it doesn’t affect your PC’s performance. That way, it doesn’t affect your daily activities.
Stop All Microsoft Edge Redirects
The first step is to prevent Windows 10 apps like Cortana or any links in the Operating System from sending you through Microsoft Edge instead of your previously set default web browser. To do this, we will use a tool called EdgeDeflector. It’s a small app that will block any link on your operating system that is normally forced through Microsoft Edge. Those links will then be rerouted to your default web browser.
To use EdgeDeflector, Go to Github page and download the latest Edge_Deflectorinstall.exe in Github Releases. Once installed, open the file Edge_Deflectorinstall and go through the installation process.
Once installed, a pop-up will appear asking how do you want to open this? Click EdgeDeflector. Now, all required Microsoft Edge links will open in your default browser. Want to check if it works? Press Windows key + CHEAP to open the Run menu.
Next, type microsoft-edge: //example.com/ and then click ALRIGHT. This is the same URI used to send required links to Microsoft Edge, but EdgeDeflector will now kick in and reroute that link through your default browser.
If you’re having any trouble, make sure you’ve actually set your default web browser. Type Default Web go to the Start menu and click Choose a default web browser. Make sure you have selected your preference in the web browser.
Hide Microsoft Edge and Stop Bing Search
The next step is to remove Microsoft Edge from your PC. Then I’ll walk you through rerouting Bing searches. First, open the Start menu and type Microsoft Edge. Right click on the icon in the start menu and then click unpin from Start and unpin from taskbar.
By default, Microsoft Edge will not start when you turn on your PC, so at this point you will no longer see mention of it on the Start Menu or Taskbar and it will not run in the background.
Best of all, nothing you do on your PC will open into Microsoft Edge. For example, type search in the start menu and click see the results on the web will now open in your default browser. However, you may notice searches still open in Bing.
If you want to redirect search results to another search engine, you should use an extension on the browser of your choice. For example, on Google Chrome you can use Chrometana to redirect your bing search to another search engine.
Click the link above to install Chrometana as an extension. Click add to Chrome to install it. Once installed, choose your default search engine. Google, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo are available, but you can also click advanced settings to enter a custom web search.
Then, when you do a web search through the Start menu or through Cortana, it will redirect through your chosen search engine. There’s a small amount of time added to your search due to redirects occurring, but if you absolutely can’t stand Bing it’s a worthwhile sacrifice.
If you are using Firefox, I recommend Bing2Google. You can install Bing2Google by going to Bing2Google Extensions Page on Firefox and click Add to Firefox. Click add when the extension asks for your permission. The only permission it specifically needs is to access URL data when you visit bing.com. It won’t have access to anything else.
All Bing searches, regardless of their origin, will now be redirected to Google. This includes searches through Cortana or the Start menu.
Summary
Thank you for reading my guide on how to remove Microsoft Edge. This guide helps explain how to prevent Windows 10 from redirecting you to Edge.
I also explain how to prevent Bing from being a required search engine when searching through Windows 10. If this guide doesn’t help with your issue, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to assist.
