When Microsoft Edge reaches general availability in January, Microsoft has stated that the browser will automatically be installed on Windows 10 devices via Windows Update.
On January 15th, 2020, Microsoft plans on officially releasing the new Microsoft Edge browser and has decided to push it out via Windows Update rather than having it be a manual download.
When the new browser is installed, it will replace the existing Microsoft Edge browser on the device, which for many is a good thing as it will provide far greater compatibility with web sites and increased performance.
For organizations, though, that use web sites built for Microsoft Edge's EdgeHTML rendering engine, this forced installation may be something they do not want.
To accommodate these enterprise users, Microsoft has released a support document and a tool called the Microsoft Edge Blocker Toolkit that can be used to create a Registry value that blocks the automatic delivery of the new Microsoft Edge.
"To help our customers become more secure and up-to-date, Microsoft will distribute Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) through Automatic Updates for Windows 10 RS4 and newer. The Blocker Toolkit is intended for organizations that would like to block automatic delivery of Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) to machines in environments where Automatic Updates is enabled. The Blocker Toolkit will not expire."
Microsoft states that this Registry value is only available on Windows 10 RS4 (version 1803) or newer and only blocks install of Microsoft Edge using Windows Update.
• For computers running Windows 10 RS4 and newer, the Blocker Toolkit prevents the machine from receiving Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) via Automatic Updates.
• The Blocker Toolkit will not prevent users from manually installing Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) from internet download, or from external media.
• Organizations do not need to deploy the Blocker Toolkit in environments managed with an update management solution such as Windows Server Update Services or System Center Configuration Manager. Organizations can use those products to fully manage the deployment of updates released through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), within their environment.
The Blocker Toolkit includes HTML instructions, a CMD script, and Group Policy templates that can be used to control the automatic delivery of the new Microsoft Edge browser, which we will discuss in the next section.
Blocking Edge from being installed by Windows UpdateMicrosoft has added a new Registry value to Windows 10 that blocks the automatic install of the new Microsoft Edge.
This new value needs to be created under the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate key and is called DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium.
If this value is set to 1, Edge will be blocked via Windows Update and if it's set to 0 or missing, Edge will be automatically installed.
Below we have provided three methods that users can use to create this Registry value on a Windows device.
Method 1: Directly modify the RegistryFor users who are comfortable modifying the Windows Registry, the easiest method is to just create the
DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium Registry value key manually or through the registry file shown below.
To use a Registry file to make the change, simply follow these steps:
1. Open Notepad and copy and paste the contents of the above Registry file into the Notepad.
2. Save the file as BlockAutoEdge.reg on your Windows Desktop.
3. Double-click on the file and let Windows merge the data.
This will cause the
DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium Registry value to automatically be created and set to
1 as shown below.
DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium Registry value createdIf you do not feel comfortable creating the above Registry file, you can
download it from here.
Method 2: Use the Microsoft Edge Blocker ToolkitMicrosoft has released the
Microsoft Edge Blocker Toolkit, which automates the creation of the Registry value on a local or remote computer.
To use the tool, simply download the program and execute it to extract the enclosed files to a folder. The extracted files will consist of a Group Policy template, HTML instructions, and a CMD script called EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd.
To use EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd, open an elevated command prompt, cd into the directory you extracted the files, and then execute the EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd script to see the help screen shown below.
MICROSOFT TOOL KIT TO DISABLE DELIVERY OF
MICROSOFT EDGE (CHROMIUM-BASED)
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This tool can be used to remotely block or unblock the delivery of
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) via Automatic Updates.
------------------------------------------------------------
Usage:
EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd [machine name] [/B] [/U] [/H]
B = Block Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) deployment
U = Allow Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) deployment
H = Help
To block or unblock installation on the local machine use
period ("." with no quotes) as the machine name
Examples:
EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd mymachine /B (blocks delivery on machine "mymachine")
EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd /U (unblocks delivery on the local machine)
------------------------------------------------------------
To block the automatic installation of Microsoft Edge, you would execute the "
EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd /B" command.
To unblock the installation of Microsoft Edge, you would execute the "EdgeChromium_Blocker.cmd /U" command.
Method 3: Use Edge Group Police templatesThe final method that can be used to block the automatic installation of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge is to download the
Microsoft Edge Blocker Toolkit and install it.
After extracting the files, copy the
EdgeChromium_Blocker.adml file to the
C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder and the EdgeChromium_Blocker.admx file to the
C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-us folder.
You can now open the Group Policy Editor and a new policy called "Do not allow delivery of Microsoft (Chromium-based) through Automatic Updates" will be available under the following folder:
/Computer Configuration
/Administrative Templates
/Windows Components
/Windows Update
/Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Blockers
This new policy can be seen in the policy editor below.
New Microsoft Edge policyWhen enabled, the Group Policy Editor will automatically add the DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium value to the Registry.
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