I am in the EU but unable to uninstall Edge?

Belinea said:

Hi all.

I have just installed Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.2861 and as I am in Ireland (part of the EU) I am supposed to be able to uninstall Edge
but as the images below show, the option to uninstall is greyed out?

The Install was done using the international version of Windows 11 and the ISO was downloaded direct from MS.

I would be grateful for any assistance.

Thanks.

View attachment 107186View attachment 107187

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You obviously have not done your research. MS are doing limited testing this in Dev versions.

My guess is that change will only apply to N versions which are EU specific versions of Windows.

So long as MS supply a version that complies with EU regulations, it is up to individuals whether they choose the non EU version or the EU version.

In reality vast majority chose non EU version as the N versions were a pain lacking many media functions, and you had to run a fix to reinstate them.

To make things more irritating, N licences do not work on normal versions and vice versa.

So if I am correct, and removing Edge is part of N versions (speculation of course), you could end up needing to buy a new licence just to remove Edge. This really would not be worth the cost.

And it’ll leave WebView intact

cereberus said:

You obviously have not done your research. MS are doing limited testing this in Dev versions.

My guess is that change will only apply to N versions which are EU specific versions of Windows.

So long as MS supply a version that complies with EU regulations, it is up to individuals whether they choose the non EU version or the EU version.

In reality vast majority chose non EU version as the N versions were a pain lacking many media functions, and you had to run a fix to reinstate them.

To make things more irritating, N licences do not work on normal versions and vice versa.

So if I am correct, and removing Edge is part of N versions (speculation of course), you could end up needing to buy a new licence just to remove Edge. This really would not be worth the cost.

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You haven't done your research.

Windows N Editions have the same C:\Windows\System32\IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json file as non-N Editions.

Open a copy of Win11_23H2_[locale]_x64v2.iso in 7-Zip, and browse the contents of say Pro N [WIM image index 7], and see for yourself. IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json is the same file currently used to deny EU residents the ability to use Copilot, for data privacy reasons. The same updates have been back-ported to W10 22H2 CU's.

N Editions were created in response to a specific complaint about Windows Media dominance, and the EU in 2004 couldn't have predicted they would be back for Edge. This is a serious regulatory topic, and MS has openly communicated their steps since Nov 2023:
Previewing changes in Windows to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Economic Area

garlin said:

DMA - Digital Markets Act. If you're making an argument, get it right.

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Works for me (not in the EU).


Added : Screenshot with Copilot on taskbar.



I don't have any problem either with "Copilot" so about its use not being allowed in the EU -- not sure about that. I did install the GB English version of Windows first before changing region so maybe that's where the restriction (or lack thereof) came in. There's no ISL version of Windows - you have to add language pack afterwards.

Iceland is not in the EU but is in the EEA where pretty well 100% of EU regs apply. The EEA allows Customs Union, Schengen (Visa free entry / exit) Single Market etc but some local exemptions such as not forced to adopt the € (widely accepted here though), control of various things like fishing rights, and some exceptions on "Free movement".

It's still a "Candidate" member for EU but that's low on most people's agenda currently -- far more important things to deal with currently as people elsewhere --the status quo is just fine.

There's quite a few huge Data centres here due to nationwide abundant cheap geothermal and hydroelectric power available -- so some of these places are given 20 year cheap energy contracts. Maybe Ms should establish a centre here -- plenty of good I.T talent -- and I'm sure would provide far better service than one gets (or doesn't get) from some of its other places on the other side of the planet - plus people speak excellent English too -- so you wouldn't get some of those problems when speaking to some of those semi robot human operators in those hideous call centres.



Cheers
jimbo

I have a fresh install of 25H2 and Edge is not uninstallable, WTF is going on?
I have Czech republic set to region, so this should work, yet it doesn't.

Does anyone have any idea why?

EU has special versions of Windows i.e. the N versions, and licences can only be obtained in EU.

To comply with EU laws, it would probably be those versions that would give the user ability to remove EDGE.

How could this be added to the main version as the licence is worldwide, and even geolocation would not be a guarantee of a users EU status.

I will test in a vm.

cereberus said:

EU has special versions of Windows i.e. the N versions, and licences can only be obtained in EU.

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The N versions have nothing to do with this. I vaguely remember they were introduced around Windows 7 time when the EU required Windows not being shipped with Media Plauyer or something. What's the purpose of those these days I do not know, nor have I heard about them in years.

I remember the possibility to remove Edge suddenly showed up on my main PC that runs Windows 10 maybe two months ago (WTF), long time after I gave up trying to figure out why it's not there way over a year after a deadline for this feature to go live, no idea what triggered it. It has the same regional settings as the notebook I am setting up. It's basically a mess, but then again this is Microsoft... Meh.

I use this works well but I leave WebView2 installed give it a try

Edge Remover 18.35​

Octopuss said:

The N versions have nothing to do with this.

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I do not see how you can say this.

N versions are still required to comply with EU regulations.

Just because you have not used or heard from them in years does not change MS/EU requirements.

Many in EU do not use N versions only standard versions. Under the agreement with EU, MS did not have to comply with EU regs, only supply a version that does comply i.e. give EU users choice.

I just installed W11 Pro N and it activated as I had a licence.

You could try installing an N version in a virtual machine (it would not matter if activated as that only affects personalisation).

If you could not remove edge (silly thing to do by the way), you would know MS are not complying with EU regulations.

The problem with the EU is they often pass directives but never see it through to actually ensure such directivers are enforced by member states.

Of course, there is nothing legally stopping you trying to sue MS.

My PC is not running N version of Windows 10 and the option to uninstall Edge somehow activated semi-recently, whichclearly shows the installed edition has nothing to do with uninstall Edge specifically. THEORETICALLY, the regional settings are the only key requirement (possibly along with IP address from EU region if being online is a hidden requirement, I guess?). What really goes on under the hood only Microsoft can tell.

But if you look at the official Microsoft information, it only says Windows in EU region, it does not say anything about an installation source having to be of xyz type.

edit: The N edition (I am not even sure it exists in Windows 11 anymore ,not a word on it on Wiki) is strictly about media components.

Octopuss said:

My PC is not running N version of Windows 10 and the option to uninstall Edge somehow activated semi-recently, whichclearly shows the installed edition has nothing to do with uninstall Edge specifically. THEORETICALLY, the regional settings are the only key requirement (possibly along with IP address from EU region if being online is a hidden requirement, I guess?). What really goes on under the hood only Microsoft can tell.


But if you look at the official Microsoft information, it only says Windows in EU region, it does not say anything about an installation source having to be of xyz type.

edit: The N edition (I am not even sure it exists in Windows 11 anymore ,not a word on it on Wiki) is strictly about media components.

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Yes it still exists in W11 - installed it 30 minutes ago.

As I said N versions must comply with EU regs but whether MS comply with the Edge ruling is a matter for lawyers.

In any case, you should keep Edge as a backup in case your 3rd party browser falls over which happens sometimes after a windows update. People have been stuck unable to access internet and forced to clean installed.

Of course, you could have 2 third party browsers but in the end, what is the point unless you believe all the spying bs.

PS Wiki is so out of date on many things, it is often shockingly inaccurate. Worse AI searches often make errors as they do not judge if a site is out of date.

Wherever you are in the world, you can easily uninstall MS Edge by taking ownership & modifying IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json in %windir%\system32.





Please note that US in country listing for my system is redundant as the defaultState is enabled.
A system restart is a must for this to take effect.
Keep in mind that I do not recommend doing so as removing Edge will also prevent you from running any apps that use edge code such as Messenger (soon to go away), Facebook , widgets etc.
I set it that way because I could, but this method might soon no longer be available as there is no IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json in the Canary branch.

On home and pro I can uninstall edge from installed applications.

itsme1 said:

On home and pro I can uninstall edge from installed applications.

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How - you must have made some change as the uninstall option is normally greyed out.

cereberus said:

How - you must have made some change as the uninstall option is normally greyed out.

Click to expand...

No changes, I never tweak my Windows.

itsme1 said:

No changes, I never tweak my Windows.

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What country are you from?

I installed my Windows 11 with the Microsoft creation tool and chose a USB drive. Normally, there's a KB file that should install and give the option to uninstall Edge. I saw it on the Microsoft website, googling...

I sent you a direct message...

(...)The DMA compliant versions of both Windows 10 and 11 are available to users in the European Economic Area (EEA) at no charge. We have started to roll out these updates for automatic installation to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users and anticipate finishing the roll out for EEA users by early April 2024. Windows users in the EEA who want to use the DMA-compliant versions of Windows 10 or Windows 11 today can get it by turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” feature for Windows Update in their settings menu . More details are available on the Windows Blog.(...)



edit: The KB since the date of these links that I gave is surely now integrated into future builds.

Currency: Czech Koruna
This may be why you're part of the EU but not the euro. You're not in the "European Economic Area." Microsoft refers to this area in the links provided.

Nope, it's actually something like "EU extended": European Economic Area - Wikipedia