UPDATE 3: 320.5 has been released with the fix for Netflix not working. UPDATE 2: 320.4 has been released with the fix for the Task Bar icons issue. The Netflix issue is expected to be fixed in another update tomorrow. UPDATE: We're expecting to release a small update in the next day or two to fix an issue where users with multiple browser profiles still see the old Edge icon on the Task Bar, and an issue where Netflix doesn't work. Hello insiders, we’ve got some big news today! With today’s Dev Channel update to 80.0.320.3, we’re officially releasing a new icon for all Microsoft Edge channels. You can read more about it here: https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2019/11/04/edge-chromium-release-candidate-get-ready. That page also contains a date, January 15th, which is when we expect to release our first Stable Channel build, at which point Edge will be generally available to download on Windows and Mac. Some of you may have noticed a cryptic update last week. That was part of a series of puzzles that hundreds of insiders participated in over the past weekend. The puzzles culminated in a surfing game hidden inside Edge, and the reward for beating it was the chance to see the new icon before anybody else. You can https://twitter.com/MasterDevwi/status/1190741090174820353 for instructions on how to unlock the game, or just search Twitter for #FindWhatsNext to try solving some of the puzzles! With all of these exciting announcements, we do have a few known issues that are still in this week’s build: Extensions that are installed from the Chrome Web Store aren’t getting automatically updated. We expect the fix for this issue to be in today’s Canary and next week’s Dev. The fix for the issue where Edge’s first launch leads to a blank white window didn’t make it into this week’s build. We now expect it next week. There are some issues where users with multiple audio output devices sometimes don’t get any sound from Edge. In one case, Edge becomes muted in the Windows Volume Mixer and unmuting it fixes it. In another, restarting the browser fixes it. At certain zoom levels, there is a noticeable line between the browser UI and the web contents. Some users were still seeing screenshots that are automatically taken by the feedback tool turn out garbled or all black. Another potential fix for this is expected next week. Jumplist entries are not consistent between the Start Menu and the Task Bar for some users. We believe this is due to the shortcut on the Start Menu not getting migrated properly after an Edge update and are working on a fix. Sometimes the browser will appear to not respond to any user input (clicking or scrolling in webpages doesn’t do anything, hovering over UI doesn’t make it change), but clicking on certain buttons still works (like the … menu). The cause of this is due to an error in the GPU process, and opening the browser task manager (right-click near the window minimize/maximize/close buttons or hit shift+esc on the keyboard) will open a window that will allow you to end the GPU process, which will fix the issue. And now, for all of the new things that are worth noting: Added features: Added the ability for websites installed as apps to be restored when a browser session is restored after update, crash, etc. Added support for an upstream Chromium policy that allows a user to remember a decision to open a link using another application (for example, to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams). Added support for periods in single-word intranet URLs. Added the ability to delete Collections items using the Delete keyboard key. Added a dialog for when browser sign-in is disabled by policy. Improved reliability: Fixed an issue where Edge crashes shortly after launch for some users if sync is enabled. Fixed an issue where right-clicking the back button crashes the browser. Fixed an issue where editing text in the address bar sometimes causes a browser crash. Fixed a browser crash when updating extensions. Fixed an issue where using the built-in abusive ad blocker sometimes causes the browser to crash upon launch. Fixed an issue where certain websites like YouTube rendered huge, making them unusable. Fixed an issue where print preview does not load. Fixed an issue where PDFs sometimes don’t load properly. Fixed an issue where right-clicking on a PDF sometimes causes the tab to crash. Fixed an issue where navigating to certain webpages with videos causes the tab to crash. Fixed an issue where Application Guard windows hang upon startup. Fixed an issue where all Edge windows open completely white with no UI, but disabling Application Guard mitigates the issue. Fixed an issue where certain DRM-protected videos don’t play. Fixed an issue where certain protected videos like from Netflix don’t work. Fixed an issue where tooltips don’t appear. Improved the reliability of history and favorites items appearing in the address bar suggestions dropdown. Improved the reliability of installation. Changed behavior: Fixed an issue where Single Sign-On stops working and users unexpectedly see a username/password prompt to log into websites. Fixed an issue where two Edge shortcuts are sometimes on the Taskbar after an update. Fixed an issue where Work profiles that were erroneously added to the browser were unremovable. Fixed an issue where Application Guard windows open when the browser is launched even though they shouldn’t. Fixed an issue where enabling Application Guard sometimes causes downloads to be blocked in non-Application Guard windows. Fixed an issue where the first run experience sometimes runs every time the browser is opened. Fixed an issue where the profile Settings page has no way for the user to fix an issue with their browser sign-in when one is needed. Fixed an issue where sync can’t be turned off while it’s in the “setting up” state. Fixed an issue where certain UI buttons show $1 instead of their keyboard shortcut in their tooltip. Fixed an issue where the favorites bar is shown when in full screen mode. Fixed an issue where Collections content sometimes gets truncated. Fixed an issue where Spellcheck squigglies appear in Collections items even though they aren’t actionable. Fixed an issue where an incorrect image is used when adding certain webpages to a Collection. Fixed an issue where clicking the button to open the text styles flyout in a Collection sometimes doesn’t work. Fixed an issue where text styling in a Collection isn’t applied properly when using the keyboard to do the selection. Fixed the text style dropdown when editing text in a Collection. Fixed an issue where Collections contents sometimes can’t be deleted. Fixed an issue where the cancel button isn’t functional in certain Collections dialogs. Fixed some issues with the Mac Touch Bar when working with multiple tabs at the same time. Fixed an issue where open tabs sometimes aren’t properly imported from Chrome. Fixed an issue where extensions aren’t sorted by name on the Extensions management page. Improved compatibility of certain websites with Tracking Prevention. Fixed an issue where Edge shortcuts were created in the wrong location in the Start menu. Thank you to everybody who’s been using Edge over the past year. With our GA just around the corner, we hope you know that this is just the beginning of our journey. The Edge Insider program and builds will continue even when there’s a Stable build available, and your feedback on them will be as crucial as ever!

Basaingeal For me the new icon doesn't show in the taskbar or the taskbar, but it does on the start menu. The reason it does not appear in the taskbar is because it points to "Edge Profile.ico" inside the profile folder, which hasn't been updated. EDIT: You can fix this by creating a new profile and deleting it, when doing this the ico file will be replaced with the new one even for the old profile. josh_bodner Happy to see the jumplist issue being acknowledged in today's changelog!

Adter update to 80 DEV Edge crashes on launch. Windows appears with "Edge closed unexpectedly" dialogue box and then the Windows closes. Latest Win 10.18363.449

The shortcut/application icons are still the Edge Legacy design instead of the new design. Are the new icons not coming until release, or will a later dev release include them?

josh_bodner Please make Chromium Edge scrolling the exact same as Classic Edge scrolling on multi-touch trackpad and touchscreen devices. Areas for improvement:HTML "div" elements do not have the entire "Microsoft Edge scrolling personality" that has been enabled elsewhere in the browser. Meaning no over-scrolling bounce animation and also lacks smoothness.Zooming in and out does not bounce/animate when reaching limit as in Classic Edge.When running on Windows 10, the scrollbar arrows are still the ones from Windows 7.General scrolling is still too jittery in comparison to Classic Edge.(And yes, these actually are deal breakers for me when it comes to using Chromium Edge instead of Classic Edge)

I've fixed the startup crash on two PCs by quickly clicking the address bar and pressing Enter before the browser dies. Hasn't happened since.

Forum Discussion

josh_bodner

Former Employee

Nov 05, 2019

Dev channel update to 80.0.320.3 is live

UPDATE 3: 320.5 has been released with the fix for Netflix not working.

UPDATE 2: 320.4 has been released with the fix for the Task Bar icons issue. The Netflix issue is expected to be fixed in another update tomorrow.

UPDATE: We're expecting to release a small update in the next day or two to fix an issue where users with multiple browser profiles still see the old Edge icon on the Task Bar, and an issue where Netflix doesn't work.

Hello insiders, we’ve got some big news today! With today’s Dev Channel update to 80.0.320.3, we’re officially releasing a new icon for all Microsoft Edge channels. You can read more about it here: https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2019/11/04/edge-chromium-release-candidate-get-ready. That page also contains a date, January 15^th, which is when we expect to release our first Stable Channel build, at which point Edge will be generally available to download on Windows and Mac.

Some of you may have noticed a cryptic update last week. That was part of a series of puzzles that hundreds of insiders participated in over the past weekend. The puzzles culminated in a surfing game hidden inside Edge, and the reward for beating it was the chance to see the new icon before anybody else. You can https://twitter.com/MasterDevwi/status/1190741090174820353 for instructions on how to unlock the game, or just search Twitter for #FindWhatsNext to try solving some of the puzzles!

With all of these exciting announcements, we do have a few known issues that are still in this week’s build:

Extensions that are installed from the Chrome Web Store aren’t getting automatically updated. We expect the fix for this issue to be in today’s Canary and next week’s Dev.
The fix for the issue where Edge’s first launch leads to a blank white window didn’t make it into this week’s build. We now expect it next week.
There are some issues where users with multiple audio output devices sometimes don’t get any sound from Edge. In one case, Edge becomes muted in the Windows Volume Mixer and unmuting it fixes it. In another, restarting the browser fixes it.
At certain zoom levels, there is a noticeable line between the browser UI and the web contents.
Some users were still seeing screenshots that are automatically taken by the feedback tool turn out garbled or all black. Another potential fix for this is expected next week.
Jumplist entries are not consistent between the Start Menu and the Task Bar for some users. We believe this is due to the shortcut on the Start Menu not getting migrated properly after an Edge update and are working on a fix.
Sometimes the browser will appear to not respond to any user input (clicking or scrolling in webpages doesn’t do anything, hovering over UI doesn’t make it change), but clicking on certain buttons still works (like the … menu). The cause of this is due to an error in the GPU process, and opening the browser task manager (right-click near the window minimize/maximize/close buttons or hit shift+esc on the keyboard) will open a window that will allow you to end the GPU process, which will fix the issue.

And now, for all of the new things that are worth noting:

Added features:

Added the ability for websites installed as apps to be restored when a browser session is restored after update, crash, etc.
Added support for an upstream Chromium policy that allows a user to remember a decision to open a link using another application (for example, to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams).
Added support for periods in single-word intranet URLs.
Added the ability to delete Collections items using the Delete keyboard key.
Added a dialog for when browser sign-in is disabled by policy.

Improved reliability:

Fixed an issue where Edge crashes shortly after launch for some users if sync is enabled.
Fixed an issue where right-clicking the back button crashes the browser.
Fixed an issue where editing text in the address bar sometimes causes a browser crash.
Fixed a browser crash when updating extensions.
Fixed an issue where using the built-in abusive ad blocker sometimes causes the browser to crash upon launch.
Fixed an issue where certain websites like YouTube rendered huge, making them unusable.
Fixed an issue where print preview does not load.
Fixed an issue where PDFs sometimes don’t load properly.
Fixed an issue where right-clicking on a PDF sometimes causes the tab to crash.
Fixed an issue where navigating to certain webpages with videos causes the tab to crash.
Fixed an issue where Application Guard windows hang upon startup.
Fixed an issue where all Edge windows open completely white with no UI, but disabling Application Guard mitigates the issue.
Fixed an issue where certain DRM-protected videos don’t play.
Fixed an issue where certain protected videos like from Netflix don’t work.
Fixed an issue where tooltips don’t appear.
Improved the reliability of history and favorites items appearing in the address bar suggestions dropdown.
Improved the reliability of installation.

Changed behavior:

Fixed an issue where Single Sign-On stops working and users unexpectedly see a username/password prompt to log into websites.
Fixed an issue where two Edge shortcuts are sometimes on the Taskbar after an update.
Fixed an issue where Work profiles that were erroneously added to the browser were unremovable.
Fixed an issue where Application Guard windows open when the browser is launched even though they shouldn’t.
Fixed an issue where enabling Application Guard sometimes causes downloads to be blocked in non-Application Guard windows.
Fixed an issue where the first run experience sometimes runs every time the browser is opened.
Fixed an issue where the profile Settings page has no way for the user to fix an issue with their browser sign-in when one is needed.
Fixed an issue where sync can’t be turned off while it’s in the “setting up” state.
Fixed an issue where certain UI buttons show $1 instead of their keyboard shortcut in their tooltip.
Fixed an issue where the favorites bar is shown when in full screen mode.
Fixed an issue where Collections content sometimes gets truncated.
Fixed an issue where Spellcheck squigglies appear in Collections items even though they aren’t actionable.
Fixed an issue where an incorrect image is used when adding certain webpages to a Collection.
Fixed an issue where clicking the button to open the text styles flyout in a Collection sometimes doesn’t work.
Fixed an issue where text styling in a Collection isn’t applied properly when using the keyboard to do the selection.
Fixed the text style dropdown when editing text in a Collection.
Fixed an issue where Collections contents sometimes can’t be deleted.
Fixed an issue where the cancel button isn’t functional in certain Collections dialogs.
Fixed some issues with the Mac Touch Bar when working with multiple tabs at the same time.
Fixed an issue where open tabs sometimes aren’t properly imported from Chrome.
Fixed an issue where extensions aren’t sorted by name on the Extensions management page.
Improved compatibility of certain websites with Tracking Prevention.
Fixed an issue where Edge shortcuts were created in the wrong location in the Start menu.

Thank you to everybody who’s been using Edge over the past year. With our GA just around the corner, we hope you know that this is just the beginning of our journey. The Edge Insider program and builds will continue even when there’s a Stable build available, and your feedback on them will be as crucial as ever!

299 Replies

Mark Everest
Copper Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
josh_bodner
I am running version 80.0.320.5 and when setting my favourites bar icons to "Show icon only", after a while, that reverts and the text is displayed again. I have sync enabled if this helps!
This was not an issue before 80.0.320.3.

Otherwise, loving the browser!
- -Bill45
  Copper Contributor
  Nov 09, 2019
  Mark Everest
  This is happening to me too
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Nov 08, 2019
  
  Mark Everest wrote:
  josh_bodner
  I am running version 80.0.320.5 and when setting my favourites bar icons to "Show icon only", after a while, that reverts and the text is displayed again. I have sync enabled if this helps!
  This was not an issue before 80.0.320.3.
  
  Otherwise, loving the browser!
  Mark Everest
  
  Same for me, I'm using
  Version 80.0.327.0 (Official build) canary (64-bit)
GewoF
Copper Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
josh_bodner
Added support for an upstream Chromium policy that allows a user to remember a decision to open a link using another application (for example, to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams).

Doesn't that mean I should get some kind of checkbox here so I don't have to confirm the dialog every time?
Opening the Remote Console application from the vSphere website
currently on dev 320.5 btw
arknu
Brass Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
josh_bodner Any ETA on a fix for the GPU Process issue? This is making Edge pretty unusable at the moment... Both Beta and Dev.
Thunderhelper
Copper Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
Just curious if anyone else can reproduce this? Here are the steps that consistently cause it to crash for me.

Version 80.0.320.5 Official build dev 64-bit

Navigate to https http://www.apple.com
Click on Mac in the header
Click on MacBook Air
Click on Buy button on the right
Scroll around for about 15-25 seconds
Edge locks up, usually,
Click on overview
BAM, Edge crashes
- ikjadoon
  Bronze Contributor
  Nov 09, 2019
  For all below: 80.0.320.5 (Official build) dev (64-bit), 17134.1069
  
  Thunderhelper I can almost produce this crash. Following your steps exactly, Chromium Edge did lock up after scrolling for 15-25 seconds. Uncannily good repro steps.
  
  I couldn't get it to crash after clicking "Overview" at the top, weirdly.
  
  // Netflix & DRM videos
  
  All clear here: play.hbogo.com had some performance issues in the previous build, but it's A-OK now here.
  
  // off-topic 1
  
  Is there a specific place we need to be reporting sites doing UA checks against Google Chrome & thus blocked in Chromium Edge? I've sent a smiley, but could've swore I read we were submitting them somewhere specific.
  
  1. Open https://www.attwatchtv.com/
  2. Click Sign In
  
  // off-topic 2
  
  The curious case of the icon missing its dev sticker continues, but I'm not complaining, haha:
ashwinr63
Copper Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
josh_bodner The New update is breaking the browser. Once the update is over , i'm not able to use them. It instantly closes when opened after the update.

Please provide a work around
1merced
Copper Contributor
Nov 08, 2019
First time Poster: Yes! Windows 10: Today 1:25 P.M. Windows Crashed (no porn/ no bazaar websites, simply on Internet Explorer, Xfinity (provider) Got 'Microsoft Edge Blocked' with phone number to call Immediately!! Had to Shutdown Restart x3 Same thing. Called 888-521-1819: Voice no name; Identified as Microsoft Tech Support: Directed all kinds of help: He was in Laptop HP 320gb in 5 mins. All Windows Updates 11/5. Made sure I was vulnerable to the Service: Suddenly Demanded $500 payment to Rid of Virus? I argued Price? Then realized this was not Microsoft Edge Tech Support Possible Fraud? Please advise Thank you Gary Azevedo
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Nov 08, 2019
  1merced
  1merced wrote:
  First time Poster: Yes! Windows 10: Today 1:25 P.M. Windows Crashed (no porn/ no bazaar websites, simply on Internet Explorer, Xfinity (provider) Got 'Microsoft Edge Blocked' with phone number to call Immediately!! Had to Shutdown Restart x3 Same thing. Called 888-521-1819: Voice no name; Identified as Microsoft Tech Support: Directed all kinds of help: He was in Laptop HP 320gb in 5 mins. All Windows Updates 11/5. Made sure I was vulnerable to the Service: Suddenly Demanded $500 payment to Rid of Virus? I argued Price? Then realized this was not Microsoft Edge Tech Support Possible Fraud? Please advise Thank you Gary Azevedo
  one thing is for sure, Edge support won't ask what type of content you watch, that's personal.
  just curious, did they have accent when they were talking in English?
  - 1merced
    Copper Contributor
    Nov 08, 2019
    HotCakeXThanks for the reply and 'tip' And 'Yes', he did have a heavy Middle Eastern accent, but
    when I tried to barter him down on the $500 price, he knew I was on to him and he abruptly hung up.
    Thanks Hotcakex
- Drew1903
  Silver Contributor
  Nov 08, 2019
  1merced
  
  This type of thing is a well-know scam. The thing to do is hang up these calls after the 1st couple of words. Have nothing to do with these criminals & god forbid DO NOT give any money!
  
  Cheers,
  Drew
- josh_bodner
  Former Employee
  Nov 08, 2019
  1merced yes, this was a scam. We will never call you out of the blue, and if you ever get to a website that has an address you can report, we've got an option under ... > Help and feedback to report unsafe sites.
Ctowns
Microsoft
Nov 07, 2019
Anyone else experiencing crashes since the last update?
- Dennis5mile
  Silver Contributor
  Nov 07, 2019
  Actually yes, have just had 3 crashes on Version 80.0.327.0 (Official build) canary (64-bit), but it seems to only happen on links that I click......
  
  Dennis5mile
  - Drew1903
    Silver Contributor
    Nov 07, 2019
    Dennis5mile
    
    Tried it:
    
    Dennis, FWIW, have just finished hitting a slew of links using both the latest versions of Dev & Canary and no crashes, at all. All the recent mentions of crashes, Dev or Canary and missing or broken jumplists and I've had none of it. I trust they soon fix the bug(s) pestering others.
    
    Cheers,
    Drew
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Nov 07, 2019
  on Dev channel yes but on canary no
vy1618b
Copper Contributor
Nov 07, 2019
josh_bodner
edge://settings/contentThe display does not change whether the button is turned on or off in the
Handlers settings. Is it a bug or is it functional?
The display remains “Allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols”

Reported at 79.0.390.11Please check again

Report from vy1618b
Is it really a bug in chromium?
I reported to chromium and received an answer.
Isn't it a bug in Edge?
Please check the following site.
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1020547

Google search
Clicking on the magnifying glass on the left side of the search window does not respond
Dev version and new beta version both NG
It doesn't react even if it changes to other words on this page.
Is the magnifying glass in the wrong position?
Clicking on the magnifying glass does not respond.
Click on the space to the right of the magnifying glass to react.
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Nov 07, 2019
  
  vy1618b wrote:
  edge://settings/contentThe display does not change whether the button is turned on or off in the
  Handlers settings. Is it a bug or is it functional?
  The display remains “Allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols”
  
  Reported at 79.0.390.11Please check again
  
  Report from vy1618b
  Is it really a bug in chromium?
  I reported to chromium and received an answer.
  Isn't it a bug in Edge?
  Please check the following site.
  https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1020547
  
  Google search
  Clicking on the magnifying glass on the left side of the search window does not respond
  Dev version and new beta version both NG
  It doesn't react even if it changes to other words on this page.
  Is the magnifying glass in the wrong position?
  Clicking on the magnifying glass does not respond.
  Click on the space to the right of the magnifying glass to react.
  Hi vy1618b
  
  I'm experiencing the same problem on Edge insider canary version 80.0.327.0
  so just to clarify and explain more about it
  
  in this picture
  
  when we click on the magnifying glass Icon, the search is not initiated, as if it doesn't work and the actual button is offset to the right side, so instead of clicking on the magnifying glass, we have to click on the green area to start our search.
  - josh_bodner
    Former Employee
    Nov 08, 2019
    HotCakeX this weird offset issue affects my Edge Canary and Chrome Dev (which, like our Dev, is about a week behind Canary), but not Chrome Canary, which suggests it's a transient layout bug that came from upstream Chromium, and we should be getting the fix soon.
Cellofourte
Copper Contributor
Nov 07, 2019
josh_bodnerHeyo, I've seen a few people below commenting on a crashing issue that may be similar to the one I'm getting with .320 as well, albeit a bit different if I'm reading things correctly. My situation is the browser closing immediately rather than outright crashing (a bit more annoying because I can't get an error dialogue in this situation). I'm also unable to get a dmp of the process in either task manager or from procdump (for some reason it's unable to locate the exe to launch, or I'm just dumb).

Any ideas?
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Nov 07, 2019
  Cellofourte
  Cellofourte wrote:
  josh_bodnerHeyo, I've seen a few people below commenting on a crashing issue that may be similar to the one I'm getting with .320 as well, albeit a bit different if I'm reading things correctly. My situation is the browser closing immediately rather than outright crashing (a bit more annoying because I can't get an error dialogue in this situation). I'm also unable to get a dmp of the process in either task manager or from procdump (for some reason it's unable to locate the exe to launch, or I'm just dumb).
  
  Any ideas?
  
  Hi,
  you can check in here
  edge:crashes
  to see if the crashes you experienced were successfully uploaded and sent to Microsoft or not
  
  also to generate a dump you need to click on the arrow to expand the Microsoft Edge
  
  and then right-click on any sub processes and choose
  
  you will get this message afterwards with the location to the created dump file
  
  to upload that file as a feedback and send it to Microsoft
  use Smiley feedback button at top right side of the browser
  - Dennis5mile
    Silver Contributor
    Nov 07, 2019
    Have 10 crash reports so far this morning and have only been on maybe a little more than an hour... lol
    
    Dennis5mile
Julian_Knight
Copper Contributor
Nov 07, 2019
josh_bodner

Microsoft Teams web still hangs the browser consistently. Once opened, most interactions with the browser stop working. Reported several versions ago.

A restart/restore of the browser after unexpected end only re-opens 3 windows. Other windows seem to be in a cache somewhere since the Cluster Tab Manager extension finds them but trying to open them brings up a white window. Killing the browser again from Task Manager and reopening will restore the windows 2nd time around.

Thankfully, the new tab display now correctly display's the MSN news articles. Sadly, there is still no option to use your default search engine instead of Bing (which is of little help in the UK).
- josh_bodner
  Former Employee
  Nov 08, 2019
  Julian_Knight for the windows not being restored properly or being restored to a blank white square, we believe this issue only affects windows that are minimized, and it came from upstream Chromium. Until the fix gets in, making sure your windows don't get minimized should help prevent this.
  - Julian_Knight
    Copper Contributor
    Nov 08, 2019
    josh_bodner
    
    Thanks for the response Josh. Even with the issues, I'm still using it as my day-to-day browser which doesn't garner higher praise than that
- Drew1903
  Silver Contributor
  Nov 07, 2019
  Julian_Knight
  
  Hi Julian,
  
  Let me toss this at you to ponder. The NTP won't change, BUT, the Start-up page can assigned a search engine site of your choice. I have mine set to Bing.com; it's ok within Canada. Anyway, maybe you can make such an approach work for you or at least help out a bit.
  
  Cheers,
  Drew
  - Julian_Knight
    Copper Contributor
    Nov 07, 2019
    Drew1903
    
    Thanks Drew but the forced use of Bing with all of the issues and baggage it brings is a major turn-off for anyone interested in privacy and for the majority of enterprises which are Microsoft's traditional main market.
    
    Any deployment for systems I control will require the news view to be turned off because of this. A shame because it could be useful otherwise.
    
    This is clearly Microsoft trying to artificially drive traffic to Bing. Whereas they should be concentrating on making Bing more useful, especially outside the US where search results are appalling in comparison even to services like DuckDuckGo and StartPage.com.