Change the Default Web Browser on Windows 11

To get started, open the Settings app. You can do this quickly by pressing Windows+i on your keyboard. Or you can open Start, search “Settings,” and click the Settings app icon.

In Settings, click “Apps” in the sidebar, then select “Default Apps” in the list.

In the search box below “Set defaults for applications,” type the name of the browser you’d like to make the default browser in Windows 11 (for example, “Firefox” or “Chrome.”) Then, click its name in the results below.

On the browser’s “Default Apps” settings page, you’ll see a list of file extensions (such as .HTM, .HTML, and .SHTML) that can potentially be associated with the browser. To change your default browser in Windows 11, you’ll need to click each one of these file types and select the browser of your choice. To get started, click the app box just below “.HTM.”

You’ll see a pop-up window that asks you how you want to open files of that type from now on. Select the browser you want to use from the list, then click “OK.”

When you click the first file type, you’ll see a pop-up warning from Microsoft asking you to reconsider switching away from Microsoft’s Edge browser. Click “Switch Anyway.”

After you change the association with .HTM, repeat the steps above with .HTML, .SHTML, .XHT, .XHTML, HTTP, and HTTPS. Click each entry, then set the association to the browser of your choice. When you’re done, you’ll have a default apps list full of associations to the browser you want to use.

After that, close Settings. The next time you double click an HTML file or encounter a web link, Windows will launch the browser you selected. Happy browsing!