Microsoft Doubles-Down on Edge Browser for Windows 11

Microsoft has dug its heels in about its Edge browser, removing the option for Windows 11 users to select other sources for Start menu search results in an upcoming update.

If you're on Windows 11 and prefer to use a web browser that isn't Edge, you might not be all that excited about the browser's upcoming 22000.346 build. The update, which is currently rolling out in Microsoft's Beta and Release Preview channels, removes workaround options for using other browsers for Start menu search results. So regardless of your chosen default browser in Windows 11, Start menu searches will always use Edge—whether you want them to or not.

According to The Verge, what was thought to be a bug in a recent Windows 11 preview build that blocked third-party workarounds was an intended change.

As per the release notes: "We fixed an issue where OS functionality could be improperly redirected when Microsoft-edge: links are invoked."

In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson explained that the reasoning behind this decision is to provide specific "end-to-end customer experiences." In other words, Microsoft wants to create certain guaranteed universal experiences across platforms for all users.

Though it hasn't explained why it won't give users the option to change those experiences if they want to.

The 22000.346 build for Windows 11 is out now for Beta and Release Preview users. A date for the public release of the update has not been specified yet.