If you prefer using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, you might decide to uninstall Microsoft Edge to free up hard drive space and keep your Windows 11 system clean. However, Microsoft is incredibly aggressive about their web browser. A few weeks after you uninstall it, a routine background Windows Update will suddenly force Microsoft Edge to reinstall itself automatically, placing a brand new icon directly on your pristine desktop.
Uninstalling it a second time won’t help; Windows will just reinstall it again during the next update cycle. To stop this incredibly annoying behavior, you must use the Registry Editor to safely bypass the update trigger and permanently block Edge from ever installing itself again.
How to Safely Bypass the Windows 11 Edge Auto-Install
You must create a specific registry key to block the Edge installation payload.
- Click the Start button, type regedit, and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor. (Click “Yes” on the UAC prompt).
- In the left-hand sidebar, carefully navigate through the folders to reach this exact path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft - Look for a folder (key) under Microsoft named EdgeUpdate. If it does not exist, you must create it:
- Right-click on the Microsoft folder, select New, and click Key.
- Name the new folder exactly EdgeUpdate and press Enter.
- Click on the EdgeUpdate folder so it is highlighted in grey.
- Right-click in the empty white space on the right side of the window, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name the new DWORD exactly
DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromiumand press Enter. - Double-click your new
DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromiumentry and change the “Value data” from0to 1. Click OK.
Close the Registry Editor. The change takes effect immediately. The next time Windows Update runs its background checks, it will encounter this registry block and completely bypass the Edge installation payload. Your chosen web browser remains untouched, and Edge is banished from your PC permanently.