Microsoft’s upcoming version of Windows 11 will make it even harder to change the default browser and override browser defaults in new areas of the operating system.
The current Windows 11 beta has two functional changes that make switching browsers even more complicated than before. First, the operating system no longer pops up a window asking if you want to switch browsers the first time you click on a link after installing a new browser.
Next, the “default apps” screen removed the broad categories of apps currently available in Windows 10. Therefore, Microsoft really wants to make it hard for you to use a browser that isn’t Edge.
In the current version of Windows, all you have to do is click on pop-ups or go to the start menu, type Default apps, find the drop-down menu, and select the apps you want for all your browsing needs. However, this is not how it currently works in the upcoming Windows 11 version, which we were able to install and test.
Changing default browser on Windows 11 becomes complicated
To change the default browser, you will therefore have to dig into the settings to change the default application for each specific file type. Therefore, you’ll need to tell Windows which application should open an HTM, HTML, PDF, SVG, and XHTML file, and these are just a sample of the file types a browser can open. This means that it will be time-consuming and tedious to change the default application on the new OS version..
If you don’t want to change this in the settings, it will be possible to click an “Always use this app” box when you first open links. So far, it seems that only Mozilla Firefox was able to set itself as the default browser without sending the user to the Settings app. Indeed, other competing internet browsers, such as Chrome, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi, all require the user to go through the lengthy process of changing the default app.
This change was rather poorly received by Internet users, we therefore hope that Microsoft will backtrack and will soon offer an update bringing back a simpler menu to change the default browser. Microsoft even dared to change the color of the famous blue screen of death in Windows 11. If you don’t like the new user experience after installing Windows 11, Microsoft warns that you only have 10 days to switch back to Windows 10.
Source : SlashGear
