Microsoft put out the release notes for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 and the company tucked in a big change that it didn’t even mention. A Twitter user named Rafael Rivera spotted a new button that lets you change the default browser in Microsoft’s latest operating system with a single click, which is the way it always should have been.
— Rafael Rivera (@WithinRafael) December 1, 2021
In the current release build of Windows 11, you have to change the default for all different types of files to change the browser, which makes it an unnecessarily arduous process. If this new change makes its way to the release build, users will be able to switch to Chrome, Firefox, or whatever browser they choose much more easily.
Microsoft told The Verge that it was “implementing customer feedback to customize and control defaults at a more granular level.” However, based on user feedback since this was implemented, it doesn’t seem like anyone is actually happy with the change.
This left browser makers like Mozilla to come up with their own workarounds, which Microsoft called “improper.”
Unfortunately, links through Windows 11 search still open in Edge, and there’s no easy way to change that. But at least you can change the default browser for everything else, which is still a substantial step in the right direction.
It’s important to note that this feature is in a preview build of Windows 11, which means Microsoft could easily remove it before it makes its way to the release version of Windows 11. Hopefully, the company will see enough positive user feedback and decide to keep it in, because it really shouldn’t be so hard to stop using Edge and switch to whatever browser your heart desires, even if that browser is “so 2008.”
RELATED: Windows 11 Makes It Hard to Change Your Default Web Browser
