Early preview of Microsoft Edge group policies

Tinshield thanks for the feedback! "configure the home page URL" literally sets the URL value for the home button, but does not automatically switch the home button away from new tab. You can confirm this in both the new Microsoft Edge as well as Chrome by setting "configure the home page URL" and then going into settings to inspect the value. You'll also see that the home button is still set to new tab.

To achieve your expected result, you also need to configure "Set the new tab page as the home page" as disabled. This will cause the new Microsoft Edge (and Chrome) to use the provided URL instead of the new tab page. I *think* right now the new Microsoft Edge by default hides the home button (can't remember as I write this), and if so, you might also consider enabling "Show Home button on toolbar" to ensure it's visible for your users.

The reason it loads the URL when you set the URL on both the home button and the new tab is because the home button is loading the new tab, which has a custom URL set.