Fix Default App Settings Reverting After Edge or Chrome Update

Quick fix: Edge and Chrome both write to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations on every update if they detect they’re not the default. Open Settings → Apps → Default apps, search by file type (e.g., .pdf, http), set the desired app, then deny Edge/Chrome “reset” prompts so they stop overriding you.

You set Firefox as your default browser. A few weeks later, after an Edge update, links open in Edge again. You re-set Firefox. Next Chrome update flips it back to Chrome. The same goes for PDF associations — you set Acrobat, then Edge updates and PDF opens in Edge. Both browsers aggressively reassert themselves on update, and Windows’ default-apps UI doesn’t lock anything.

Why browsers reset defaults on update

When Edge or Chrome installs an update, the installer checks Windows’ default-apps registry to see if it’s the default for HTTP, HTTPS, and HTML. If not, the installer prompts the user. Some users click through that prompt by reflex (“Make Chrome the default browser? Yes”), and the association flips. Other times the browser writes new registry values during install that effectively reset the user’s setting without a visible prompt — Windows then shows a notification (“Default browser changed”) and the user has to undo it manually.

The browsers are competing for default status. Windows’ setting is honored when nothing else writes after you do, but updates write often.

Method 1: Set defaults explicitly via Settings

1. Open Settings → Apps → Default apps.
2. In the search box at the top, type the file type or protocol (e.g., http, https, .pdf, .html).
3. For each match, click the current association and select your preferred app from the list.
4. Repeat for: http, https, .html, .htm, .pdf, .svg, .webp (if you want a specific image viewer).
5. Close Settings. Test by clicking a link in any app — it opens in the desired browser.

Setting per file type is more thorough than the top-of-page “Set default” button, which only changes a handful of associations.

Method 2: Block Edge from prompting to be the default

Edge can be told to stop asking. The setting is buried in Edge’s own settings.

1. Open Edge. Navigate to edge://settings/profiles/multipleProfileSettings or browse manually: Settings → Default browser.
2. Turn off any toggle related to checking default browser status.
3. In Edge address bar, go to edge://settings/help. Note the version. Then visit edge://settings/profiles and disable Personalize your web experience if you want to fully detach Edge from your account.
4. For Chrome: navigate to chrome://settings/defaultBrowser and uncheck any auto-default options if present.

Both browsers have removed some auto-default options in recent versions, replacing them with the OS-level prompt. The OS prompt can be dismissed via the next method.

Method 3: Use SetUserFTA to lock associations

For users who want associations to actually stick across updates, use the third-party SetUserFTA tool which writes the “hash” that Windows validates — without that hash, Windows shows the “An app default was reset” notification.

1. Download SetUserFTA from kolbi.cz/blog/2017/10/25/setuserfta-userchoice-hash-defeated-set-file-type-associations-per-user.
2. Create a text file associations.txt:
   
   http, FirefoxURL-308046B0AF4A39CB

https, FirefoxURL-308046B0AF4A39CB

.html, FirefoxHTML-308046B0AF4A39CB
   
   (Adjust ProgIDs for your installed apps; SetUserFTA documentation lists common ones.)
3. Run as the affected user: SetUserFTA.exe associations.txt.
4. The tool writes the correct hash — Edge/Chrome can’t override because their installers don’t know how to compute it.
5. Schedule it to run at logon via Task Scheduler if you want to lock-in associations against future installer attempts.

This is the closest to “lock my associations.” The trade-off is using a third-party tool to do what Windows should let you do natively.

How to verify the fix worked

• Click a web link in an email or other app. It opens in your chosen browser.
• Double-click a .pdf file. It opens in your chosen PDF viewer.
• Update Edge or Chrome manually (via their About page) and recheck after restart. Default doesn’t change.
• Open Settings → Default apps; the values match your selection.

If none of these work

If defaults still flip after SetUserFTA, you may have a corporate policy reseting them — check Settings → Apps → Default apps for a notice that defaults are managed by your organization. For managed devices, contact IT to push the desired defaults via Intune or Group Policy instead. For chronic problems on personal PCs, consider not installing the browser that keeps resetting (use Chrome via Chrome Portable, for instance, which doesn’t register itself with Windows associations).

Bottom line: Edge and Chrome compete for defaults on every update. Set associations explicitly per file type, disable browsers’ default-check prompts, and use SetUserFTA for lock-in. The combination keeps your choice through updates.