Microsoft Blocks EdgeDeflector in Windows 11; Try MSEdge Redirect Instead
Nov. 12, 2021EdgeDeflector has long been a convenient utility tostop Windows from forcing users to open links in the Edge browser. With the Windows 11 Insider build 22494, however, it looks like Microsoft has rendered the tool useless and made it harder to escape the grips of the native Chromium-based Edge browser on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Microsoft Blocks EdgeDeflector in Windows 11
EdgeDeflector typically parsesmicrosoft-edge://links and redirects them tohttps://. In ablog post, the developer of the tool Daniel Aleksandersen says that you can no longer set anything other than Edge as the protocol handler formicrosoft-edge://protocol.
Unfortunately, the changes Microsoft made with build 22494 also affect browsers like Firefox, Brave, among others. Mozillahad managedto reverse engineer a way to let users easily set Firefox as the default browser in Windows 11 without having to visit the Settings page. In a statement toThe Register, a Mozilla spokesperson confirmed that the new modifications in Windows 11 Insider build will break Mozilla’s workaround.
“We have worked on code that launches Firefox when the microsoft-edge protocol is used for those users that have already chosen Firefox as their default browser. Following the recent change to Windows 11, this planned implementation will no longer be possible,”a Mozilla spokespersontoldThe Register.
With all that said, it seems like there’s still some hope left. Following the recent developments, developer rcmaehl took toLinus Tech Tipsforumto share their tool named MSEdge Redirect. Just like EdgeDeflector, this tool redirects news, search, and weather results to your default browser.
Instead of hooking into themicrosoft edge://protocol handler, MSEdge Redirect filters and passes the command line arguments of Microsoft Edge processes into your default browser. This tool is immune to modifications Microsoft has done in the Insider build. You can check out theproject on GitHub.
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
