How to Change the Default Browser in Outlook

We all have a favorite web browser that we prefer using over any of the others. Whether that’s because we like its features, or it’s just what we’re comfortable with, it’s hard browsing the web with anything else.

That’s why it can be a little jarring when you open a hyperlink in Outlook and find it launching a web browser you’re unfamiliar with. Thankfully, you simply need to change your system’s default web browser to change the default browser in Outlook.

In this article, we’ll show you how for Outlook in Windows 10 and for the Outlook mobile app on your Android / iOS device.

Installing your Preferred Web Browser

Before you can change the web browser Outlook uses, you’ll first have to download and install the web browser you want.

Here’s where you can download and install some popular web browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Microsoft Edge

Simply download and run the installation file, then follow the on-screen prompts.

How to Change the Default Web Browser in Outlook on Windows 10

Outlook uses your system’s default web browser to open hyperlinks. To change the default browser Outlook uses, you simply need to change the default browser of your system.

Here’s how to do that in Windows 10:

1. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of Windows and select the Gear icon in the leftmost menu. You can also search for Settings and select it there.
   
2. In Settings, click Apps.
   
3. Click Default apps in the menu on the left.
   
4. Finally, click the current default web browser under Web browser and select your preferred web browser.
   

Changing the Default Web Browser in the Outlook Mobile App

Like the desktop version of Outlook, the Outlook mobile app uses your system’s default web browser. You can change the default browser on your Android or iOS device to change the browser Outlook uses – here’s how:

Note: Be sure to first download and install the browser app you wish to set as your default web browser from your device’s app store.

Android

1. Open the Android Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Apps and then Choose default apps.
   
3. Tap Browser app and then select your preferred web browser.
   

iPhone / iOS

1. Open your iOS device’s settings application.
2. Scroll down and tap browser app you wish to make default.
3. Tap Default Browser App and then select your preferred web browser.

Outlook’s “View in Browser” Opening in Wrong Browser/Not Working

An interesting quirk in Outlook is that even after changing your system’s default web browser the “view in browser” option on emails will continue to open in Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge.

This is because Windows, by default, opens .mht files, the file type Outlook generates when viewing an email in a browser, in Internet Explorer/Microsoft Edge, and changing the system’s default web browser does not change this file type association.

You can change which application should open .mht/.mhtml files, but you’re limited to choosing Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer. Through a workaround, you can force Windows to open .mht files in Google Chrome or Firefox, but the results are disappointing at best.

In our experience, Google Chrome, Firefox, and even Microsoft Edge failed to properly display .mht files created by Outlook 365. They simply display raw HTML code and don’t actually render the contents of the .mht file.

The only browser that did properly display Outlook emails through the “view in browser” feature was Internet Explorer.

Our theory is that Microsoft has dropped the ball on this feature somewhere in the transition from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge. Unfortunately, it seems that Outlook is still creating .mht files that only work in Internet Explorer.

What’s worse is that Microsoft Edge is now the default web browser for .mht/.mhtml files, effectively breaking this feature in Outlook entirely. Our suggestion, for now, is to simply change the default application for this file type back to Internet Explorer.

Here’s how you can do that:

1. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of Windows and select the Gear icon in the leftmost menu. You can also search for Settings and select it there.
   
2. In Settings, click Apps.
   
3. Click Default apps in the menu on the left.
   
4. Scroll down in the right panel and click Choose default apps by file type below the Reset button.
   
5. The following window may take a few seconds to load. When finished, scroll down the (long) list of file types until you find .mht. Click the current application to the right of it and select Internet Explorer.