Can't change default browser

[Sheridan]

We had to initially keep IE as our default browser but now its no longer required and we'd like to switch to Chrome. However despite everything I've tried it refuses to budge!

 

I have a Chrome GPO set to make it the default browser, a default associations files pushed out to all PCs setting Chrome as the default, and even a registry preference setting the UserChoice key for http/https - Yet still IE acts as the default!

 

Is there anything else I've missed?

[CHiLL]

I think I just use the default file associations XML defined in GPO:

Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer > Set a default associations configuration file: Enabled > Path to XML (located in my SYSVOL).

 

Here's my XML file:

It works for the most part. I'll often get PDF associations failing and reverting to Edge, but that's a bug that's been going on for a while.

[Sheridan]

That's pretty much what I have - except more entries for Chrome. Mine is also on a shared folder and I've also tried to install it using DISM with a startup script, which works for all defaults apart from Chrome!

[CHiLL]

That's pretty much what I have - except more entries for Chrome. Mine is also on a shared folder and I've also tried to install it using DISM with a startup script, which works for all defaults apart from Chrome!

You made me remember that I have an entry in my SCCM Task Sequence for it - I'd completely forgotten about that. That is a package that runs the following command:

Dism.exe /Online /Import-DefaultAppAssociations:Win10DefaultAppAssociations.xml

The XML file is a copy of the same file in SYSVOL (I've checked with a text comparison tool).

[Sheridan]

Yeah mine runs the DISM on machine startup, and the GPO is set to point to the same XML file. It only works if you manually remove all the local user profiles, which is why I was using the UserChoice reg key to try and force existing profiles to switch to Chrome.

 

Looks like a wave of profile deletions is the next stage!

[AJB123]

When I did this I at first missed that

 

was still set to IE

[AJB123]

When I did this I at first missed that

 

was still set to IE

 

as well as

[Sheridan]

My XML seems OK -it does actually work but only once the user's profile has been deleted and recreated (simple local profiles here, no roaming)

 

 

Can't get this to paste without wrapping though!

Edited October 2, 2019 by Sheridan

[AJB123]

Have you tried this

 

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/28647.how-to-automatically-delete-user-profiles-older-than-a-certain-number-of-days-using-group-policy.aspx

[Arthur]

My XML seems OK - it does actually work but only once the user's profile has been deleted and recreated (simple local profiles here, no roaming)

The ProgId for .url should be IE.AssocFile.URL rather than ChromeHTML.

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Arthur

[sted]

ive just given up on using an xml to do it its not reliable enough

 

i found this SetUserFTA: UserChoice Hash defeated – Set File Type Associations per User or Group on Windows 8/10 and 2012/2016/2019 – the kolbicz blog and added as a login script to set chrome and acrobat as the defaults and so far no issues

[Sheridan]

Ah spot on, thats working now! I'd missed the IE.AssocFile.URL and that seems to have fixed it - an existing user account logged in and the UserChoice regkey was set to ChromeHTML, which it wasn't doing before.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions - it was doing my head in!

[Sheridan]

Hmm I thought I had this cracked but it seems random - unless I delete all user profiles from the PC.

I still have the following in our default associations file

 

This is pushed out by Computer GPO using the 'Set a default file associations configuration file' and also runs in a startup script using the DISM command. However I still find when users open a www link (from within Word, or PDF) and it opens IE instead of Chrome

 

There isn't a way to set the default associations on a per user basis is there? I'm thinking that pushing this out as preferences is the only way to get it to work consistently.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Sheridan

[AJB123]

Do you have

 

 

in your xml ?

[Sheridan]

I've tried both ways:

 

and also

 

as that's what appears when I export using Powershell.

 

It only seems to work if the user has no profile on the PC, ie their first login.

[Sheridan]

This is becoming a nuisance for me now - regularly users report than clicking a URL, or using a program that opens a website reports an error. This is because its somehow defaulting to Edge as the default browser even though the Default associations file (specifiying Chrome as the default browser ) is being deployed by machine GPO and also on startup script using DISM.

 

We removed Edge from our image as its pants anyway, so I don't know where its randomly deciding that Edge is the default browser, we notice when the problem happens a reboot will often (but not always!) fix it, and the next stage is to clear their local profile

 

The link in most cases is simply an https:// address - which is directly specified in the xml file to be opened with chrome. I don't want to start putting Edge back in as we've just finished rolling out the 1809 image without it!

[Arthur]

Considering that Edge is part of Windows 10 and Microsoft do not support its removal, it wouldn't surprise me that something has been broken in your image. How did you remove it?

 

I leave Edge in mine, block it with AppLocker and URLs always open with Chrome.

 

Would it be worth installing Windows in a VM or on a PC using an unmodified Windows 10 ISO, join it to your domain (and in the same OU as your other computers) and then see if URLs open in Chrome?

[Sheridan]

Considering that Edge is part of Windows 10 and Microsoft do not support its removal, it wouldn't surprise me that something has been broken in your image. How did you remove it?

 

I leave Edge in mine, block it with AppLocker and URLs always open with Chrome.

 

Would it be worth installing Windows in a VM or on a PC using an unmodified Windows 10 ISO, join it to your domain (and in the same OU as your other computers) and then see if URLs open in Chrome?

 

Sorry, when I said removed, I meant blocked with Applocker - and shortcuts etc removed in the image!

[Arthur]

That's strange then.

 

The only other thing I can think of is to temporarily disable the startup script that does the file associations since I only use Group Policy and that works for me.

[Simcfc73]

Did you solve this once and for all, I'm in the process of moving to Edge and my file association is resetting on reboot each time and not taking the Group Policy?

 

I've allowed staff account to reset it to Edge but I need a permanent fix.

[RebelBurr34]

Did you solve this once and for all, I'm in the process of moving to Edge and my file association is resetting on reboot each time and not taking the Group Policy?

 

I've allowed staff account to reset it to Edge but I need a permanent fix.

I don't know how to understand the permanent fix?

[Simcfc73]

Sorry my computers kept reverting to default after each reboot. I had removed IE totally using DISM so it was completely messing things up not defaulting to Edge... especially with links in Outlook.

 

It looks like its one of the group policies that's not playing nicely. I might have to redo some of them as they have historic IE info in them with no way to manage it.