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AlexB's avatar
AlexB
Iron Contributor
Nov 03, 2023

Edge forcing switch profiles when using any .local domain or IP address

I've noticed this today after upgrading to Windows 11 23H2, personal profile that can access local network devices like CCTV systems, monitoring, etc... Always get switched to work profile. Any other regular website does not suffer from such a thing.

 

Is this a "new feature" ?

 

 

Also I cannot add .local websites or IP addresses to the choose preffered profile for sites.

  • DaCarming's avatar
    DaCarming
    Copper Contributor

    AlexB This got me as well.  The change is actually mentioned in the Edge 119 release notes:
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnote-stable-channel#version-1190215144-november-2-2023

     

    As it says in the details of the new SwitchIntranetSitesToWorkProfile policy, the default, if not configured, is to enable the behavior:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-policies#switchintranetsitestoworkprofile

     

    I would assume that the majority of users that have a work profile are internal/corporate.  I think, in such context, this seems to be a sensible default.

     

    Hope this helps,

    Daniel

    • AlexB's avatar
      AlexB
      Iron Contributor
      Good find, thanks for that! I'm going to do my tests now and internal documentation
      • Paul Manning's avatar
        Paul Manning
        Copper Contributor

        Wasted hours trying to work this out. Very poor behaviour - also right click on tab "Move to" profile didn't work, but the new button did -

         

        I work from home, so my PC is setup as mine, with a the additional profile for Work - so "local intranet sites" aren't work sites, but my router, switches, home lab etc. 

         

        MS #fail

    • SeidChr's avatar
      SeidChr
      Copper Contributor

      DaCarming 
      thx, it lead me to the solution. Disabled it with the registry key on the policy documentation!

      put into a .reg file and import:

      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
      "SwitchIntranetSitesToWorkProfile"=dword:00000000

       

      • GraniteStateColin's avatar
        GraniteStateColin
        Steel Contributor

        SeidChr, I'm not surprised that the key doesn't already exist in the Registry, but I don't even see that branch (no Edge inside Microsoft), nor in the HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft branch. Are you sure that's the right branch?

         

        UPDATE: adding that branch and key did seem to fix the problem, so I believe that is correct! I'm surprised that it takes a whole new branch just to block this. Is it possible that there is another place to put that key in an existing branch that also works?

  • AlexB's avatar
    AlexB
    Iron Contributor
    any website I try to access via IP address on a personal profile gets pushed to the work profile. Cmon guys, this is silly!
    • AlexB's avatar
      AlexB
      Iron Contributor
      I've also tested this on a sandbox environment to eliminate it being related to a device policy from Intune, exactly the same problem happens with an un-managed device
      • AlexB's avatar
        AlexB
        Iron Contributor
        confirmed, when no work profile is logged in, the personal profile opens .local and ip addresses. when I log into my work profile, then every time I try to open a ip or .local, it forces the switch to a work profile. There is no way to stop this behaviour. Tested on stable and canary channels.
  • AlexB, this still happens by default with version 119.0.2151.93, but if you add the IP# to the Preferred Profile list (Settings -> Profiles -> Profile Preferences -> Choose preferred profile for sites) and set it to "Don't switch," then Edge will no longer try to open in the Work Profile. 

     

    While I think this is a foolish default, the bigger problem for me is that I don't see a way to enter a wildcard so that no IP#s in the LAN or a specified range open in the Work profile. E.g., I can't enter 192.168.1.* or 192.168.1.1/24. This means I have to manually enter many IP#s, or wait until they move to the wrong Profile, then click the icon and select "Don't switch" there for every IP that Edge opens in the wrong Profile:

     

    I don't understand the benefit of defaulting to changing to Work profiles for all of these sites. Why did MS make this change?

    • AlexB's avatar
      AlexB
      Iron Contributor
      It is a lot of faff to undo something that we don't like, we decided to create policies to disable this completely. I understand why it was created, but to us, there is no use.
  • Neo92's avatar
    Neo92
    Copper Contributor

    AlexB Same here. I've already wondered why this only happens with my Pi-hole bookmark. It's annoying as hell and I hope this gets fixed as soon as possible.

    • AlexB's avatar
      AlexB
      Iron Contributor
      I had to migrate my personal profile to Chrome, it was just unbearable to use Edge pushinbg me to my work profile. Considering I have a huge home lab for testing all sort of things that perhaps one day will become something work related, I just could not keep using edge. I have clusters of VMware/Hyper-V hosts, lots of Linux servers and virtual firewalls. Very frustrating, at least to move all my stuff to Chrome was a breeze. I wish this was fixed so I could get back using Edge.
      • AlexB's avatar
        AlexB
        Iron Contributor

        there is an icon on the URL bar

         

        Selecting this allowed me to choose in which profile I want to open that specific website, including .local and IP addresses.

         

        I wish Microsoft made this a bit more evident as it is a new feature. I just noticed this as on my 4th machine I was prompted to select the profile I wanted. In 3 other machines, I was not prompted.

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