How to change default apps in Windows 11 (browser, PDF, photos)

Applies to: Windows 11 Home and Pro. Menu names follow current Windows 11 releases; older builds may label a few options differently. On work or school PCs, IT can lock or overwrite these choices, as explained near the end.

Open the Default apps page

Every method below starts on the same page. Open Settings (Windows key + I) and select Apps, then Default apps. Microsoft’s Change default apps in Windows page also gives a shortcut: press Windows key + R, type the line below and press Enter.

ms-settings:defaultapps

The page has a search box for file and link types at the top, then a list of installed apps under Set defaults for applications. Depending on your Windows 11 version, there may also be links to choose defaults by file type or by link type further down, and a reset option at the bottom.

Change the default app for one file type

Use this when one kind of file keeps opening in the wrong program, for example JPG photos opening in a paint program instead of a viewer.

1. In Settings > Apps > Default apps, click the search box at the top.
2. Type the extension, including the dot, such as .jpg. Microsoft’s own example is .txt.
3. Select the matching result. It shows which app opens that type today.
4. Choose the app you want from the list. If it isn’t listed, look for an option to pick another app on the PC or in the Microsoft Store.

Each extension is separate. Setting .jpg does nothing for .png or .heic, so repeat the steps for the related types you use.

Change the default for a link type

Link types, also called protocols, control what happens when you click a link rather than open a file. A mailto: link on a web page, for instance, starts whichever app owns the MAILTO type. The search box handles these too: type the protocol name, such as MAILTO, HTTP or HTTPS, select the result and choose an app.

If you aren’t sure which name to search for, open an app in the list (next section). Its page shows the link types it can handle next to the file types.

Change defaults by app

Going app by app is quicker when you want one program to take over several types at once, such as a media player for all your video formats.

1. In Settings > Apps > Default apps, select the app under Set defaults for applications, or search for its name in the app list.
2. The page lists every file type and link type that app can open, each with the app currently assigned.
3. Select a type that shows a different app, and choose this app instead.
4. Repeat for each type you want to move.

This view also shows what an app can’t open. If an extension isn’t in its list, the app hasn’t registered for it, and Windows won’t offer it here.

Set your default browser

Microsoft’s steps, using Edge as the example, work the same way for Chrome, Firefox or any other installed browser:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps.
2. Under Set defaults for applications, select the browser.
3. Next to the line that offers to make it your default browser, select Set default.

On current Windows 11 versions this button usually moves the main web types (HTTP, HTTPS, .htm and .html) in one step. Check the list under the button afterward, because some types may stay with the old browser. .pdf is a common one, and there are often a few less obvious types such as .svg or .webp.

Many browsers also have a Make default button in their own settings. On Windows 11 that button usually just opens the Default apps page, so you finish the change there.

You can’t remove Edge itself, and you don’t need to. Setting another browser as the default is the supported route, as covered in why you can’t uninstall Microsoft Edge. Some Windows features, such as certain links from search or widgets, may still open in Edge regardless of your choice. If your new default browser won’t start at all, see Chrome won’t open in Windows 11.

Use Open with and Always

For a quick change without opening Settings, start from the file itself in File Explorer:

1. Right-click the file and select Open with.
2. Select Choose another app. If the app you want already appears in the submenu, selecting it there opens the file once without changing the default.
3. Pick the app in the dialog. If it isn’t listed, scroll down for an option to look for another app on this PC, then browse to its program file.
4. Select Always to make it the default for that file type, or Just once to open this file only.

Always changes the default for the whole extension, not only that file. If you want a different right-click layout or extra entries in the menu, see how to customize the right-click menu in Windows 11.

Examples: PDF, photos, video and mail

The steps are the same each time; what differs is which types to change. These are the ones to look for:

What you want to change	Types to set	Notes
PDF reader	.pdf	On many PCs Edge opens PDFs out of the box. Installing a PDF reader doesn’t always take over; set .pdf yourself.
Photo viewer	.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .heic, .webp	Set each one, or go by app and move them together.
Video player	.mp4, .mkv, .avi, .mov	A player can only take formats it has registered for; by app shows which.
Music player	.mp3, .m4a, .flac, .wav	Same approach as video.
Email app	MAILTO (link type)	Controls which app opens when you click an email address on a web page or in a document.
Browser	HTTP, HTTPS, .htm, .html	Use Set default on the browser’s page.

For mail, the app must be installed and registered for MAILTO before it appears as a choice. That includes desktop clients such as classic Outlook and Thunderbird. A web mail service in a browser is a different case: some browsers can handle mailto: links for a site, but that is set inside the browser, and the browser must then be the MAILTO default in Windows.

Reset all default apps

Before you reset: this puts every file and link type back to the Microsoft defaults, including any browser, PDF reader or media player you chose. Note your preferred apps first so you can set them again.

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Next to the option to reset all default apps, select Reset.

This option sits at the bottom of the page on current Windows 11 versions; if you don’t see it, update Windows or reset the affected types one by one. A reset helps when associations are tangled after uninstalling several apps. If files fail to open with a Class not registered message instead, that is a different problem, covered in how to fix Class not registered.

Why a default app changes back

If your choice keeps reverting, one of these is usually behind it:

• An app update or install. Some apps ask to become the default when they install or update, and accepting that prompt changes the setting. Read install and update prompts carefully, and decline if you want to keep your current app.
• A Windows upgrade. Microsoft’s documentation on default app associations notes that on upgrade, Windows may re-assign default handlers for some built-in apps. After a feature update, check your browser, PDF and photo defaults.
• The notification “An app default was reset”. It means Windows has put a type back to a built-in app. Microsoft’s deployment documentation mentions this notice appearing when entries are missing from an IT-supplied associations file. Set the default again in Settings > Apps > Default apps; if it keeps coming back after every sign-in, suspect a policy or a damaged association rather than the app.
• Policies on work or school PCs. Organizations can deploy a default associations file to every PC. The same documentation describes how IT exports defaults with DISM and builds them into the Windows image, and managed PCs can also receive defaults through policy. If that applies, your change may be undone, for example at the next sign-in. Check Access work or school to see whether the PC is managed, and ask IT for the change rather than fighting it.
• The app was removed or moved. If the chosen app is uninstalled, Windows falls back to another app for those types.

As of November 2026, Microsoft’s Windows 11, version 25H2 release health page (updated November 10, 2026) lists no known issue affecting default apps or file associations.

Related guides

• Can’t uninstall Microsoft Edge? Why, and what to do instead
• Google Chrome won’t open in Windows 11: how to fix it
• How to customize the right-click menu in Windows 11
• Access work or school in Windows 11 and 10: add, check and disconnect accounts
• explorer.exe Class not registered in Windows 11 and 10: how to fix it

Official sources

• Microsoft Support: Change default apps in Windows
• Microsoft Learn: Export or import default application associations
• Microsoft Learn: Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications