Opening Chrome opens default apps settings

After a recent Windows update, many users reported that opening Chrome triggers the default app settings to open every time. In this post, we will discuss why opening Chrome opens default apps settings and how we can fix it. The issue became quite rampant with some Windows users after a recent patch.

The error seems to happen to users after KB5026037 and KB5025221 in Windows 10 and KB5025239 on Windows 11. The issue cannot be resolved by reinstalling Chrome or resetting default apps to their original settings.

Why does opening Chrome opens default apps settings

The main cause of default apps opening when you launch Chrome on Windows is the enabled DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled registry on your PC. Another reason could be when you have enabled the Set Google Chrome as Default Browser settings in the GPO. When these two settings are enabled, Chrome will always check if it’s the default browser when booting and it might register itself automatically. This will trigger the default app settings to open when you launch Google Chrome on your Windows Computer.

Fix Opening Chrome opens default apps settings

Windows and Google Chrome are popular and if a bug affects them, users might be adversely affected on their daily operations. Default settings opening when launching Chrome is relatively a new problem and Windows hasn’t acknowledged it. So, as we wait for Microsoft to resolve the issue, we can fix it ourselves by following thes suggestions:

1. Set Chrome as the default browser in GPO
2. Tweak your Registry Editor
3. Uninstall KB updates using Command Prompt
4. Check for Chrome and Windows Updates.

Let us look at these solutions one by one.

1] Set Chrome as the default browser in GPO

You can set Chrome as the default browser by using the Local Group Policy Editor which may resolve the problem of default settings opening when you launch the browser.

To set Chrome as the default browser using GPO, follow the steps below:

• Press the Windows button + R, type gpedit.msc, and then press Enter or click OK. This will open the Local Group Policy Editor.
• Go to Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Template > Windows Components > File Explorer.
• Locate the Set a default associations configuration file option, right-click on it, and choose Edit.
• You will see a new window; check the box next to Enabled.
• Locate the Default Associations Configuration Files option and enter the following path:

  \\%USERDOMAIN%\sysvol\%USERDNSDOMAIN%\Policies\PolicyDefinitions\chromedefault.xml

• Finally, select Apply followed by OK to effect the changes.

Open your Google Chrome and see if opens the default app settings. If the issue is not resolved try the next solution.

2] Tweak your Registry Editor

Making some changes in the Registry Editor may fix opening Chrome opens default app settings. Always backup your files to create a restore point just in case. Use the following steps to edit your browser settings in the Registry Editor;

• Press the Windows button + R, type regedit, and select OK to open the Windows Registry Editor. If you get the User Account Control prompt, select Yes to continue.
• On the new editor window, follow this path:

  Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome

• Right-click on an empty space on the right side and click New and then choose DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Name the New Value1# as DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled. Then, double-click on the newly renamed value and put the Value data as 0 (Zero).
• Restart your PC and open Chrome.

This should work for you.

Unfortunately, in some cases, this method is ineffective after you reboot your Windows PC. To bypass this you can use a batch file every time you want to open Google Chrome.

3] Uninstall KB updates using Command Prompt

The April 2023 patches force Chrome to open the default settings of the app and we need to fix this. You can uninstall the cumulative KB updates like KB5025239 and KB5025221 using the update settings, but we will show you a simpler method using the Command Prompt. So to uninstall KB5025239 and KB5025221 cumulative updates, follow the steps below.

• Type cmd in the Windows search box and select Run as administrator. Click Yes when you are prompted with the Account User Control message.
• To uninstall the KB5025221 update, type the following command and press Enter on your keyboard:

  wusa /uninstall /kb:5025221
  

• To uninstall the KB5025239 update, copy and paste the following command line and press Enter:

  wusa /uninstall /kb:5025239

• If you get a message prompt to verify your action, press Yes to continue.

Your PC will restart a couple of times and it will complete the process. Open your Chrome and see if the issue is resolved.

4] Check for Chrome and Windows Updates

Since opening Chrome opens default apps settings after the Window update, we believe this is a bug that will eventually be fixed by keeping your Windows updated. If you have not set automatic updates for Windows, you can check for updates in the Windows Update settings and install any pending updates. You may also check for Chrome updates and install them. Hopefully someone may have released a fix.

We hope something here works for you

Read: Can’t set Chrome as the Default Browser in Windows

How do I change default browser in Windows 11/10

To change the default browser on Windows 11 and Windows 10, click on the Start button and type default apps. Select Default apps in the search results. Navigate and locate the Web browsers option. Here, click on your default browser and you will see a list of web browsers that are currently installed on your computer. You can select Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, or any other you want to set as default.

Why my Chrome is opening automatically in Windows?

The reason why Chrome is opening automatically is that it’s allowed to run at startup. This is made possible by the Windows Startup manager. If you have also set Chrome to launch immediately after you boot your computer, it will open automatically. To prevent this, you can change the app startup settings. You might want to also disable the ‘Continue where you left off’ setting.