Disable Welcome to Microsoft Edge page and default browser prompt in Windows 10 1607

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Jörgen Nilsson

Jörgen is a principal consultant at Onevinn in Sweden. His work focuses on enterprise client management and system management. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in Enterprise Mobility. He also speaks at events such as Microsoft TechDays, Microsoft Management Summits, and TechEd.

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Many enterprises would like to control and remove such notifications because they can confuse users and trigger unnecessary help desk calls. At the time of this writing, no Edge setting or Group Policy exists that allows admins to remove the Edge welcome page. Thus, I decided to dig in to how we can stop the page from showing.

Edge Welcome Page

It turns out that it is controlled by the following two registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\FirstRun\LastFirstRunVersionDelivered

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main\IE10TourShown

I also noticed that if you have Internet Explorer set as the default browser, Microsoft Edge will prompt you to change it.

Edge Default browser prompt

There is no way to stop this behavior using Group Policy either, so I have included the registry key to disable the default browser prompt as well:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main\DisallowDefaultBrowserPrompt

I don't recommend using Group Policy Preferences to deploy these registry settings. The problem is that the entire Appcontainer registry key structure is not present when Group Policy Preferences are applied during the first logon. Only when the user logs on the second time will the settings be applied, and many users will have already started Microsoft Edge by that time.

This why we created a PowerShell solution for the task. You can deploy the script as a logon script with Group Policy or use Configuration Manager (described below).

Using a PowerShell logon script

You can use the script below as a logon script or copy it to your existing logon script.

# Name: EdgeWelcomeLogon.ps1
# Author: Jörgen Nilsson
 
do {
     Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 2000
     $Exhausted++
} While (!(Test-Path -path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe") -and $Exhausted -lt 31)
 if($Exhausted -gt 30) {
     exit 1
}
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge" -type Directory
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Firstrun" -type Directory
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -type Directory
# These two values removes the Edge Welcome screen
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\FirstRun" -Name "LastFirstRunVersionDelivered" -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -Name IE10TourShown -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
# This registry entry disables the prompt to make Edge the default browser
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -Name "DisallowDefaultBrowserPrompt" -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null

The script will wait 60 seconds for Windows to create the Appcontainer registry key. If the key did not exist previously, the script will exit. This ensures that the script doesn't run forever, which could happen on Windows 10 LTSB where Edge doesn't exist. Once the key exists, the script will add the registry values for disabling the Edge welcome screen.

Adding a logon script in Group Policy

Using PowerShell and Active Setup

Another option is Active Setup because it ensures that the script runs only once per user at logon time. My solution consist of two scripts. The first script (InstallEdgeWelcome.ps1) copies the second script (EdgeWelcome.ps1) to C:\Windows and adds the registry keys required for Active Setup.

One way to deploy the install script is by using Configuration Manager during OS deployment (explained below). Another option is to use a Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT Task Sequence), which I don't cover in this post.

# Name: InstallEdgeWelcome.ps1
# Author: Jörgen Nilsson
 
Copy-Item -Path (Join-Path -Path $PSScriptRoot -ChildPath "EdgeWelcome.ps1") -Destination (Join-Path -Path $env:SystemDrive -ChildPath "Windows") 
New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\EdgeWelcome" -type Directory
new-itemproperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\EdgeWelcome" -Name "Version" -Value 1 -PropertyType String -Force 
new-itemproperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\EdgeWelcome" -Name "StubPath" -Value "powershell.exe  -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File C:\windows\EdgeWelcome.ps1" -PropertyType ExpandString -Force

Active Setup registry key

The script EdgeWelcome.ps1 is perhaps a bit unorthodox. It first starts a new PowerShell process that launches the script again. This is necessary because the Appcontainer registry key might not yet exist during the logon process (as mention above), and the logon process would get hung up.

The script then creates the registry values that tell Microsoft Edge that the welcome screen has already been displayed. It also adds a registry key to remove the prompt that informs the user that Edge is not the default browser.

# Name: EdgeWelcome.ps1
# Authors: Jörgen Nilsson and Johan Schrewelius
 
function Start-Proc
{
     param([string]$Exe = $(Throw "An executable must be specified"),
           [string]$Arguments,
           [switch]$Hidden,
           [switch]$waitforexit)
 
     $startinfo = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
     $startinfo.FileName = $Exe
     $startinfo.Arguments = $Arguments
     if ($Hidden) {
         $startinfo.WindowStyle = 'Hidden'
         $startinfo.CreateNoWindow = $True
     }
     $process = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start($startinfo)
     if ($waitforexit) { $process.WaitForExit() }
     return $process.ExitCode
}
 
$RunScript=$args[0]
 
if(!$RunScript)
{
     $args = "-ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File $($PSScriptRoot)\edgewelcome.ps1 Run"
     Start-Proc -Exe "Powershell.exe" -Arguments $args -Hidden
     exit 0
}
 
do {
     Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 2000
} While (!(Test-Path -path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe"))
 
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge" -type Directory
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Firstrun" -type Directory
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -type Directory
# These two values removes the Edge Welcome screen
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\FirstRun" -Name "LastFirstRunVersionDelivered" -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -Name IE10TourShown -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
# This registry entry disabled the prompt to make Edge the default browser
new-itemproperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main" -Name "DisallowDefaultBrowserPrompt" -Value 1 -Type DWORD -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null

Deploying the script with SCCM during OS deployment

To deploy the scripts with Configuration Manager, follow these steps:

1. Copy both files to a folder that can be used as source for Packages in Configuration Manager.
2. Create a new Package in Configuration Manager that you can use as a source for the script in a Task Sequence.
   

   EdgeWelcome Package

3. Select Do not create a program because we will use the "Run PowerShell script" step in the Task Sequence (see step 5).
   

   Create Program dialog

4. Distribute the content to the Distribution Points
5. Edit your Windows 10 1607 Task Sequence and add a new Run PowerShell Script step with the settings shown in the screenshot below.

Task Sequence settings

When the user logs on to a newly deployed computer, it will have the registry entries and therefore not launch the Edge welcome screen or the prompt to set Edge as default browser.

The PowerShell scripts discussed in this post are also available at the TechNet Gallery.