Chromium-Edge: Issues and no Auto Update for Enterprises

[German]On January 15, 2020, (patchday) Microsoft starts the rollout of the Chromium-based Edge. Now Microsoft has clarified once again in which environments automatic update will take place and that enterprise envionments won't get an automatic update. In addition, some known issues of the new Edge browser with Windows Mixer Users are become public.


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Some Overview

One year ago Microsoft announced that they started a fundamentally rework of their own Edge browser. The new Edge Browser integrates the browser engine based on Google's Chromium project. Microsoft will distribute the final version of the Chromium-based browser to all systems with Windows 10 version 1803 and higher via Windows Update starting January 15, 2020.

Microsoft is planning, to update Edge in cyclical intervals, approximately every 6 weeks. What to consider and how to prevent this auto-update is described in the blog post Microsoft's Chromium Edge will be distributed via update soon.

Clarification: No auto-update in enterprise environments

Microsoft's announcement to roll out the new Chromium-based Edge to Windows 10 machines via Windows Update has led to many requests from companies. Microsoft therefore felt compelled to clarify the situation.

The automatic update of the Edge browser is only available on machines running Windows 10 Home. The same applies to unmanaged machines running Windows 10 Pro, and updates are automatically obtained through Windows Update. Microsoft writes here:


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Devices running Windows 10 Home or Pro Edition that are joined to an Active Directory or Azure Active Directory domain, are MDM managed, or are WSUS or WUfB managed, will also be excluded from this automatic update.

Note: Somewhat surprisingly, Windows 10 Home can be included in an Active Directory or Azure Active Directory domain. My knowledge so far is that Windows 10 Home cannot be part of a domain-or did I miss something?

Already on Windows 10 Pro machines using Windows Update for Business (WU4B), Microsoft will not distribute the update for the Edge Browser. The same applies to clients whose updates are distributed via WSUS/SCCM, Intune, or other management tools.

For information on controlling updates via management tools, see this Microsoft support post. On unmanaged Windows 10 machines, automatic updating can be blocked by policy or registry entry (Blocker Toolkit). Details can be found in the blog post Microsoft's Chromium Edge will be distributed via update soon.

Attention with Windows Mixed Reality

Martin Geuß reports on Dr. Windows, hat users of Windows Mixed Reality cannot use the new Chromium-based Edge. Because according to Microsoft there are still some known issues in this environment in Windows 10 version 1903 or higher.

  • Launching any Win32 app, including the new Microsoft Edge, causes the headset display to briefly freeze.
  • The Microsoft Edge tile disappears from the Windows Mixed Reality Start menu (you can find it in the "Classic apps" folder).
  • Windows from the previous Microsoft Edge are still placed around the mixed reality home, but cannot be used. Attempting to activate those windows launches Edge inside of the Desktop app.
  • Selecting a hyperlink in the mixed reality home launches a web browser on the desktop instead of the mixed reality home.
  • The WebVR Showcase app is present in the mixed reality home, despite WebVR no longer being supported.
  • General improvements to keyboard launch and visuals.

Here it is recommended to block this update to the new Edge.

Similar articles:
Microsoft's Chromium Edge will be distributed via update soon
Run old and new Edge in Side-by modus


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