Edge: Just how nasty can Microsoft get !!

zooburner · 2026-07-06T04:53:38-0400

TraderGary said:
Apparently, I've not done anything to trigger it on either of my two computers.

On mine it set all the sync options back on , so a change on one likely triggered the change on all!

zooburner · 2026-07-06T04:55:06-0400

Shambles Bank said:
If you're genuinely that fed up with Edge, you could always do what I did, change the region in your OS to a EU Country (I chose Ireland) and you can then delete Edge and Copilot in the default Apps list and never have to worry about them again. No third party tools involved, just a bit of time and effort from yourself changing it using the Out Of the Box Experience method. Too much trouble and effort for most, but I found it ridiculously cathartic!

And no, deleting Edge using the method above does not break Windows as some have spouted in various threads around the web because MS aren't allowed to break the OS for people who choose not to have the product on their PC. At least the EU had the nuts to stand up to MS.

Personally, I have no idea why some find Edge so great because in my personal opinion, it's little more than bloatware and no where near as good as Brave Browser, but opinions are like the hole in one's butt, everyone has one!

MS should offer the ability to easily uninstall Edge globally instead of only offering EU Countries the option to uninstall it as easily as any other software.

Did you have to leave the region set to an EU country? or will it still honour the removal if you change it back when it updates?

XxXxX · 2026-07-06T04:55:36-0400

zooburner said:
Thanks G, I have always found your input on these forums useful (I read a lot more than i post ) I like the look of vivaldi so far takes a while to customise but seems to honour its settings.

i use Vivaldi on Windows, Linux and Android and as of yet not had one update change anything across all of them
also on the Vivaldi forum it was voted on and passed by a very large majority, no AI. thus far Vivaldi have honoured that.

best of luck Steve ..

zooburner · 2026-07-06T04:57:04-0400

XxXxX said:
i use Vivaldi on Windows, Linux and Android and as of yet not had one update change anything across all of them
also on the Vivaldi forum it was voted on and passed by a very large majority, no AI. thus far Vivaldi have honoured that.

best of luck Steve ..

Thanks Steve, I have today downloaded Vivaldi.. settings (lots of them) are a bit to get my head round, but it seems very customisable.

zooburner · 2026-07-06T05:06:10-0400

antspants said:
Summary
Edge is basically telling you: “Something changed a core setting without your action, so we restored the defaults.”
If it’s a one‑off, ignore it. If it repeats, you likely have a profile issue, a sync conflict, or an extension/software interfering.

Yes, Microsoft selectively changed my core settings, and very selectively fixed them just the way they like you to set them!!

XxXxX · 2026-07-06T05:32:45-0400

zooburner said:
Thanks Steve, I have today downloaded Vivaldi.. settings (lots of them) are a bit to get my head round, but it seems very customisable.

take your time there are hundreds of settings.

here are a couple of links which may help and stop you getting overwhelmed

How-to-guides & simple tricks of Vivaldi Browser

Find out how to use Vivaldi and its features – tips & tricks, quick fixes, ideas for working smart. We explain it all in simple language.

vivaldi.com

Best Vivaldi Browser Tips and Tricks

These Vivaldi Browser Tips and Tricks can help you improve browsing experience, take notes, screenshots, block trackers, use keyboard/mouse shortcuts & more!

www.thewindowsclub.com

and the help page

Welcome to the new Help Center | Vivaldi Browser

Vivaldi’s revamped help pages are a comprehensive guide that will help you learn more about Vivaldi and its services. Here’s more on the new Help Center.

vivaldi.com

but most importantly please take your time and if in doubt please ask.
best of luck Steve ..

Mooly · 2026-07-06T05:40:06-0400

I got the same Edge message the other day but it seemed to coincide with a browser update. Curiously the evening before I was using In Private mode to look at some weather data from a different country and Edge popped a notice up asking to confirm my regional location. I ignored it and thought nothing of it. Next morning this. I took a screen shot at the time but didn't bother to look any further into it.

zooburner · 2026-07-06T06:14:13-0400

Mooly said:
I got the same Edge message the other day but it seemed to coincide with a browser update. Curiously the evening before I was using In Private mode to look at some weather data from a different country and Edge popped a notice up asking to confirm my regional location. I ignored it and thought nothing of it. Next morning this. I took a screen shot at the time but didn't bother to look any further into it.

View attachment 176068

Aye that sounds about right, I'm so disappointed in Microsoft, With Edge they have made a great browser, i don't mind having to customise it to begin with, but what really tires me and disappoints me is the constant nags and changing settings!! (usually under an update or other guise)

zooburner · 2026-07-06T06:15:09-0400

XxXxX said:
take your time there are hundreds of settings.

here are a couple of links which may help and stop you getting overwhelmed

How-to-guides & simple tricks of Vivaldi Browser

Find out how to use Vivaldi and its features – tips & tricks, quick fixes, ideas for working smart. We explain it all in simple language.

vivaldi.com

Best Vivaldi Browser Tips and Tricks

These Vivaldi Browser Tips and Tricks can help you improve browsing experience, take notes, screenshots, block trackers, use keyboard/mouse shortcuts & more!

www.thewindowsclub.com

and the help page

Welcome to the new Help Center | Vivaldi Browser

Vivaldi’s revamped help pages are a comprehensive guide that will help you learn more about Vivaldi and its services. Here’s more on the new Help Center.

vivaldi.com

but most importantly please take your time and if in doubt please ask.
best of luck Steve ..

Thanks Steve, that's very helpful :)

Shambles Bank · 2026-07-06T09:15:08-0400

zooburner said:
Did you have to leave the region set to an EU country? or will it still honour the removal if you change it back when it updates?

I haven't changed mine back. I'm in the UK and I'm happy to leave the region set as 'Ireland'. I have no intention of resetting my OS back to UK because I cannot see the point. I'd rather have the benefits of doing as I please under EU regulations than being dictated to by MS.

You can if you are outside of the EU but like me have set your OS region to an EU member country, still have your the language pack of your own country in place.

I have updated to the latest Preview update and there's been no problems, I just don't have to put up with Edge anymore.

Helmut · 2026-07-06T09:56:23-0400

I have used Edge for 3 years and have never experienced it going back to default settings, indeed syncing was unticked during the OOBE and it has stayed that way ever since.

I get those dialogue boxes about Settings being changed, new feature Tabs, usually just after an update. You just ignore them, close the Tab(s) and carry on.

zooburner said:
Microsoft selectively changed my core settings, and very selectively fixed them just the way they like you to set them

zooburner said:
constant nags and changing settings!! (usually under an update or other guise)

I suspect you actually did a Reset, it tells you it is selective. Then decided on the usual MS paranoia.

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-06T10:07:58-0400

antspants said:
They fixed it and apologized, what's the problem? You want them to wash your dishes as well?

After all they have been screwing up lately, they'd better...

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-06T10:14:21-0400

I've been using Edge , since it was introduced (even the old Edge), but stopped using it about a year ago. It is not up to the task as a whole. Bookmarks being one, they are all over the place. Has been, is and will be in the future too. I've got about 10000 bookmark duplicates now. And had to manually fix them on all my devices, and still they don't sync properly.

No thanks.

TraderGary · 2026-07-06T12:15:35-0400

SlicEnDicE said:
I've been using Edge , since it was introduced (even the old Edge), but stopped using it about a year ago. It is not up to the task as a whole. Bookmarks being one, they are all over the place. Has been, is and will be in the future too. I've got about 10000 bookmark duplicates now. And had to manually fix them on all my devices, and still they don't sync properly.

No thanks.

I use Edge on my two computers, my iPad Pro, my iPad Mini, and my Pixel Phone. They all stay in sync perfectly. I attribute that to the fact that they all log in to the same Microsoft Account. I've always had only the one Microsoft Account.

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-06T14:21:38-0400

TraderGary said:
I use Edge on my two computers, my iPad Pro, my iPad Mini, and my Pixel Phone. They all stay in sync perfectly. I attribute that to the fact that they all log in to the same Microsoft Account. I've always had only the one Microsoft Account.

It worked fine for a while...quite a long while. Then something happened, I bet it was the start of focusing on AI Slop that broke it all. Bookmarks stopped syncing properly between devices and sending open pages to a specific device also stopped working. I gave it a long time to get fixed and even reset all my browsers completely, but it still did not work. Normally new stuff synced within minutes even seconds...

I said goodbye to Edge and never looked back since.

SgtStanko · 2026-07-06T14:48:42-0400

Don't use it, never have, not even interested in anything with a Chromium engine. Been using Firefox for about twenty years now and will not even consider anything else.

TraderGary · 2026-07-06T15:21:38-0400

SlicEnDicE said:
It worked fine for a while...quite a long while. Then something happened, I bet it was the start of focusing on AI Slop that broke it all. Bookmarks stopped syncing properly between devices and sending open pages to a specific device also stopped working. I gave it a long time to get fixed and even reset all my browsers completely, but it still did not work. Normally new stuff synced within minutes even seconds...

I said goodbye to Edge and never looked back since.

I would doubt that using AI would have contributed to your problem. For me Copilot has been priceless in my study of Windows Internals and C# programming. I use Copilot dozens of times every day in my work, and it's been invaluable in my learning.

Cromax · 2026-07-06T15:27:00-0400

if you want chromium based browser that you have control of and privacy based, use helium zero any kind of bloatslop

zooburner · 2026-07-06T15:38:52-0400

Helmut said:
I have used Edge for 3 years and have never experienced it going back to default settings, indeed syncing was unticked during the OOBE and it has stayed that way ever since.

I get those dialogue boxes about Settings being changed, new feature Tabs, usually just after an update. You just ignore them, close the Tab(s) and carry on.

I suspect you actually did a Reset, it tells you it is selective. Then decided on the usual MS paranoia.

Come now that's lazy, if you are going to gaslight people who think Microsoft changes settings to their own advantage... at least buy us a drink first

zooburner · 2026-07-06T15:40:29-0400

SgtStanko said:
Don't use it, never have, not even interested in anything with a Chromium engine. Been using Firefox for about twenty years now and will not even consider anything else.

I use firefox on all my android devices, even an S+ tab that I use like a laptop, great browser. It's easy to turn all the crap off

Edge: Just how nasty can Microsoft get !!

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