Remove Microsoft Edge from Windows 10 WORKING 2020

It took me a couple of hours to figure out how to remove "Edge" after failing with an out of date tutorial that didn't work because Microsoft have changed too much since the method was written.

This is a completely new procedure and it worked for me on the day this article was written, How long before Microsoft change things? anybody's guess.

I should point out that I had removed Edge before writing this tutorial (using Mozilla on the machine that I removed Edge from) and I had to use some Fake screenshots that use a similar package in almost the same location,. So be careful that you select the correct package in C:\Windows\SystemApps as there are two other Developer packages with similar names. This procedure will affect Cortana and Bing, so if you like these programs and don't want to lose them, Don't do it. Personally I think that is an extra added bonus.

Step 1. To make sure Edge is not running, Press Ctrl Alt Del and start Task Manager Select "Processes tab" Scroll down the list and look for Edge, If it is in the list then Click on it and press the End task button at the bottom of the window. Then close Task manager.

Step 2 Open PowerShell as Administrator

Type: get-appxpackage *edge* This will display the PackageFullName and InstallLocation plus a bit of other information.

Step 3. Type or simply copy and paste the following command into PowerShell

 Takeown /R /F C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe  

You can see this command down at the bottom of the ScreenShot

Step 4. Open File Explorer and navigate to the Install location. Hint: copy and paste the path into the address bar of the File Explorer and press ENTER

  C:\Windows\SystemApps\  

"Right click" on the folder Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe Select Properties in the drop down list and open the Security tab on the dialog box

click the "Advanced" button

Then click on the "Add" button

Now click on select a principal (blue coloured text).

In the next dialog box that opens click the advanced button.

In the next dialog that opens click the "Find Now" button.

In the scroll down list DOUBLE CLICK on either Authenticated Users or alternatively Scroll down a bit further and DOUBLE CLICK on Everyone (best option imo)

The dialogue will disappear and the previous dialog will populate with the selected user Next click the OK button.

Make sure Full control is ticked and Allow is selected as the Type. Then press OK button,

.

Then click the Enable inheritance button then click the apply button..

Click on OK

Step5. Now navigate back to C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe Choose whether you want to delete the folder or rename it.

You can choose to remove "Edge" completely or just rename it by adding a few characters to the folder name. This will make it easy to reverse if the need arises.

eg   XXMicrosoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbweXX

The procedure to remove is much the same just Right Click and Delete the folder instead of renaming.

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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