Microsoft has updated Windows 11 widgets to open in the default browser for users in the European Economic Area (EEA). This change is in part due to the software giant’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In our tests, Windows Latest found that setting Chrome or another browser as the default now also makes it the default choice for .htm and .html, which affects Widget board behaviour.
I know I’m in the minority here, but I use Widgets every day to read the headlines and check my phone’s battery status, and view its notifications. Add to that, my default browser is Edge, so MSN opens directly in Edge.
But for most people, Edge might be their tool to download Chrome, although the former’s market share is slowly on the rise. For them, widgets, or rather the news and weather, might be an annoyance because they open in Edge and not in their browser of choice.
Microsoft is also going all-in on widgets with a redesigned feed powered by Copilot, so it’s clear that the company wants more visitors to MSN news and weather.
Why weather and news widgets in Windows 11 now open in the default browser?
Earlier in June, Microsoft announced that web content in the widgets and lock screen would open in the default browser in the EEA. The change was scheduled to roll out in June, but only on Windows 11.
That’s because feed experiences in the Widgets Board and Lock Screen are powered by the “Start Experiences App”, which is unavailable for Windows 10.
The retiring OS instead allows apps to pin dockable windows to the taskbar using desk band APIs, which are basically toolbars that integrate directly into the taskbar. Persistent UI elements like live data, controls, or app-specific functions can be added here.
Microsoft Edge will continue using this capability for its News and Interests feature, so all web content on it will open directly.
The Digital Markets Act, specifically DMA Article 6(3), requires gatekeepers in the EEA to allow end users to set and retain default apps for core functions like web browsing, without any forced redirection.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, core functions also include opening its news and weather links in the Widgets Board. So, if a user has set another web browser as the default, Microsoft can no longer bypass their preference.
To comply with the DMA, Microsoft extended the “Set default” behaviour for Edge to include more link and file types, such as .htm and .html. Earlier, it included only .http and .https.
How to make Widgets in Windows 11 open in the default browser
Before this, tools like EdgeDeflector and MSEdgeRedirect were popular with some users to work around Windows 11’s default behaviour for Widgets. EdgeDeflector intercepted system-level Edge links, but was later blocked by Microsoft. MSEdgeRedirect is still going strong with rerouted commands to your chosen browser.
Some Tech-savvy users resorted to tinkering with the registry setting, albeit with mixed results.
For users in the EEA, all you need to do is go to the Microsoft Store > Downloads > Check for updates. You may get an update for “Start Experiences App”.
Then try clicking on the weather or any news from the widgets, and hopefully, it will open in your default browser.
In our testing, Windows Latest found that news and weather open directly in Chrome, which we set as the default for our VM based in Germany. We also observed that Spotlight links on the desktop and the lockscreen open in the default browser.
It is also noteworthy that all these links opened in Chrome, without us even adding our Microsoft account in Windows 11. We just created a local user for this VM. MSN may now see more traffic as there are a ton of users who prefer not to log in to their Microsoft accounts while using Windows.
We have no word from Microsoft whether anything similar would arrive to users outside the EU region. However, more users may now be inclined to use the Widgets now that they can read them on their browser of choice, especially as we’re seeing an influx of more AI-powered browsers and users joining the hype.
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