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Microsoft to start rolling out automatically its new Edge browser to some education and business users

Microsoft will start expanding the pool of people getting its Chromium-based Edge browser via Windows Update starting in the weeks after July 30.
Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor
chredgewindowsupdate.jpg
Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft is set to expand the rollout of its new Chromium-based Edge browser using Windows Update. After kicking off its Windows Update rollout of the new Edge for certain Windows 10 users earlier this month, Microsoft will start rolling out the new Edge browser to some education and business users via Windows Update starting sometime in the weeks after July 30, 2020.

Microsoft officials explained which education and business PCs will be automatically getting the new Edge browser in a June 30 blog post:

"Beginning no earlier than July 30, 2020, Microsoft will update Microsoft Edge Legacy to the new Microsoft Edge browser by Windows Update on Windows 10 devices in education and business. This update will not impact devices in education and business updated by Windows Update for Business (WUfB) or by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Updates will target education devices first to accommodate back-to-school timing. We will share a business timeline at a later date."

Users in K-12 educational organizations need to take some additional steps to configure for education, but otherwise "no action is required" on users' parts to get the new Edge.

Windows 10 users have been able to download manually the new Edge browser since January. But it's only been within the last few weeks that Microsoft began pushing it automatically via Windows Update.

Microsoft has made a Blocker Toolkit available for any organizations that either don't want or aren't ready for the new Edge. Because Chromium-based Edge is now a separate downloadable app, users can opt to uninstall it if it ends up on their PCs and they don't want it by going to Apps in Windows settings and clicking the Uninstall button for Edge. (I have heard from a user recently who said this uninstall option is grayed out for him, making it impossible to get rid of the new Edge. Anyone else having this issue?) 

Update: Aha! It turns out once you use Windows Update (vs. manual download) to update Chredge, you lose the ability to uninstall it. Thanks to Thurrott.com's Paul Thurrott for letting me know.

As Microsoft officials note in today's blog post, Internet Explorer 11 will remain on devices when the new Edge is installed. The new Edge also "will respect your previously established default browser choice," Microsoft officials said.

Microsoft officials have said that the new Edge browser will be automatically installed alongside Windows 10 20H2 once it is available to the mainstream later this year.

In other Chredge news, Microsoft's previously announced Password Monitor for Chromium Edge is now available for testing by Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels.

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