Firefox Keeps Redirecting to Bing on Windows? Remove It and Restore Google

Firefox redirects to Bing every time you search, even though you picked Google. Maybe it started after a new program, an add-on, or a Firefox update.

Here’s how to put Google back, find what keeps choosing Bing, and stop it from returning on Windows 11 and 10.

Overview

Why does my search engine keep changing to Bing in Firefox?

Bing is Microsoft’s search engine, and it’s one of the search options built into Firefox. Seeing it in your list of engines is normal.

Bing taking over every search is not. One of these is usually behind it:

• A Microsoft add-on. Microsoft publishes Firefox add-ons, including Microsoft Bing Search Engine and MSN Homepage and Bing Search Engine, that switch your search to Bing.
• A program you installed. Some installers slip in a search add-on or change settings, which is why Mozilla says to read every checkbox during setup.
• A Firefox update. Mozilla sometimes changes the built-in engines or a region’s default, and Firefox tells you when your default changes.
• Windows itself. Web results in the Windows 10 and 11 taskbar search box come from Microsoft Bing. That’s a Windows feature, not Firefox.

The quick fix: put Google back and switch Bing off

Work through these five steps in order. Test a search after each one so you know which step did the job.

1. Click the three-line menu, then Settings, then Search. Choose Google under Default search engine.
2. Scroll to Additional search engines and turn off Bing’s toggle. Bing is built into Firefox, so this hides it rather than deleting it.
3. Type about:addons, click Extensions, and remove any Bing, MSN or search add-on you didn’t mean to install.
4. Open Settings, Home and startup. If New windows or New tabs shows Bing or MSN, set it back to Firefox Home (Default).
5. Restart Firefox and search from the address bar. If Google answers, you’re done.

Turning Bing off only hides it. If something keeps choosing Bing, removing that add-on or program is what fixes it for good.

If Bing keeps coming back after the quick fix

Look at the top of Firefox Settings. A line saying “Your browser is being managed by your organization” means a policy controls some settings.

Mozilla says those rules can come from security software, parental controls or a program you installed. Click the line to see which ones are active.

No policy? Then scan Windows (Step 3) and refresh Firefox (Step 4). Those clear the add-ons and programs that keep restoring Bing.

Use these steps for search hijacks, unwanted add-ons and adware. They won’t unlock encrypted files, and a stolen account needs its own recovery.

How to Remove Bing From Firefox on Windows

Follow the steps from the top and test after each one. Once Google is back to stay, you can skip straight to the final check.

• Set your search engine
• Run the final check
• Locked settings or a returning Bing

Step 1: Choose the search engine you want

Firefox: choose your default search engine

1. Open Firefox Settings

   Click the three-line menu at the upper right of the window, then click Settings.

   

2. Select Search and choose the engine

   Click Search in the left sidebar. Under Default search engine, open the drop-down list and select Google or another engine you prefer.

   You can also type about:preferences#search in the address bar. The choice is saved without reinstalling Firefox.

3. Try a fresh address-bar search

   In a new tab, type a search into the address bar. If the result is now correct, use the final check before stopping.

   If Firefox names an extension in charge of search, go to Step 2. A setting you can’t change needs the policy checks, not repeated resets.

Step 2: Remove the add-on that set Bing

Firefox: check your installed add-ons

1. Open Add-ons Manager, then Extensions

   Type about:addons and press Enter. Click Extensions in the left sidebar, rather than choosing a recommended add-on from the opening page.

   

2. Disable the likely culprit and test

   Microsoft’s Bing and MSN add-ons are obvious suspects, along with anything named for search. Switch one off with its toggle.

   Open a fresh tab and repeat the search that went to Bing. If Bing stops, open that extension’s three-dot menu, choose Remove, and confirm.

   Set Google again in Search settings if needed. If no extensions are listed, skip removal. If an item can’t be removed or returns, go to the separate advanced checks.

3. Verify before running a larger repair

   If searches are still right after you reopen Firefox, go to the final check. There’s no need to refresh anything.

If a notification opens unwanted pages

Use this only when alerts or pages open without a search. A site allowed to send you notifications is a different problem from a browser hijacker.

1. Firefox: open Settings, Permissions and data (Privacy & Security in older versions). Under Permissions, click Notifications. Change the identified site to Block, then Save Changes.

Use the browser’s settings, not buttons inside a scary notification. If alerts stop and search is correct, skip unrelated scanning and resets.

Step 3: Scan Windows for programs that bring Bing back

Did Steps 1 and 2 fix it for good? Then skip ahead. Scan when an add-on reappears, a strange program shows up, or Bing returns after a restart.

Scan Windows for a program that keeps setting Bing

Run this scan if an add-on or app keeps coming back after you remove it. If changing Firefox’s settings already worked, you can skip it.

The screenshots come from our Windows guide, and your copy of Malwarebytes may offer slightly different scan choices.

Optional purchases may earn MalwareTips a commission. Paid protection is not required for the manual repairs.

1. Download the Windows installer

   Get Malwarebytes from the button below. Never install a “cleaner” that a pop-up or warning page pushes at you.

   Malwarebytes for WindowsOn-demand scan and threat review

   Download Malwarebytes for Windows

   Windows download options

   Optional paid protection

2. Run the setup file and check who made it

   Go to your Downloads folder and double-click the MBSetup file.

   

   When Windows asks for permission, check that the publisher shown is Malwarebytes before clicking Yes. Stop if a security warning appears that you can’t explain.

3. Finish setup and skip extras you don’t want

   Pick Personal if this is your own PC, then click Next. On a work computer, let your IT team handle it.

   

   Read any trial, subscription or browser extension offers, and turn down the ones you don’t want.

   Wait while the installer copies its files. Leave the window open until the progress bar finishes.

   

   When the welcome screen appears, click Get started. Read any offers on the next screens before agreeing to them.

   

   Once setup says it’s done, click Open Malwarebytes to launch the app.

   

4. Start a free manual scan

   In Malwarebytes, click the three-dot button on the Scanner tile, then pick Advanced Scan and Custom Scan.

   Quick and Custom scans cost nothing. The Threat Scan in some older screenshots may need a trial or a paid plan.

   

   Tick the drives or folders you want checked and look over the setting for potentially unwanted programs. Then click Start Custom Scan.

   Checking one folder doesn’t cover the whole PC. For a full built-in check, also run the Microsoft Defender scan described below.

   The progress screen below comes from an older Threat Scan. Your free scan may look different, so just wait for the results.

   

5. Check what it found and quarantine it

   Read each detection’s name and location. Tick the ones to quarantine, and save the report if you want an expert to look at it.

   

   Your own list will look different from this example.

   Click Quarantine to lock the selected items away. Keep the report, because it may name the program that changed Firefox.

   Let quarantine finish. This screen only shows progress, not the final result.

   

6. Restart if asked, then test Firefox again

   Save anything you have open before allowing a restart. Let the cleanup finish even if Firefox already looks normal.

   

   After you sign back in, check Firefox’s search setting, add-ons and about:policies. A finished scan can’t promise every browser setting is fixed.

   If the same detection or Bing comes back, keep the report and note when it happened. Ask for help rather than running deletion scripts.

Prefer Windows’ built-in tool? Open Windows Security, then Virus & threat protection, Scan options, choose Full scan, then click Scan now. Review whatever it finds.

Optional second scan for stubborn Windows adware

AdwCleaner is a separate Windows tool aimed at adware. Use it if you suspect unwanted software, not just because a Bing page appeared.

1. Download and open AdwCleaner

   Malwarebytes AdwCleanerOptional Windows adware check

   Download AdwCleaner

   AdwCleaner runs without a normal installation. When it opens, check where it came from and who published it, and read the license prompt.

   Open the AdwCleaner file from your Downloads folder, not a lookalike from a search ad.

   

   If Windows asks for permission, make sure it names the file you just downloaded, then click Run or Yes.

   

2. Leave the extra repair options off, then scan

   Keep Reset Chrome Policies turned off. It wipes every Chrome policy, even useful ones, and this guide deals with Firefox policies by hand.

   Leave the network, firewall and browser reset options alone too. Go back to the Dashboard and click Scan Now.

   

   The scan looks for adware and unwanted programs. You don’t have to approve any of the optional system repairs to run it.

   Wait for the scan to complete, then look through the results before cleaning anything.

   

3. Check the results before cleaning

   Look through what it found. Newer versions may show Next and then Quarantine, while this older example has a single Quarantine button.

   

   If a list of preinstalled software also appears, go through it. Leave anything you actually use unticked.

4. Save your work, then approve the cleanup

   AdwCleaner may close programs while it quarantines items. Save your documents and browser tabs, then click Continue.

   

   Restart when asked and read the cleanup log. Skip Basic Repair unless someone helping you has a specific reason to run it.

5. Repeat the search that went to Bing

   Search again from the address bar and the new tab page, then restart Firefox once. Check whether the add-on or policy came back with Bing.

   Save anything AdwCleaner couldn’t fix for the removal forum. A clean result won’t change your search engine or remove a work policy for you.

Step 4: Refresh Firefox to clear stubborn settings

Is Google answering your searches now? Then go to Step 5. Use Refresh only when the targeted fixes above didn’t last.

Refresh Firefox when the earlier fixes don’t hold

Refresh Firefox starts you on a clean profile but keeps your bookmarks, passwords, history and cookies. Back up important bookmarks anyway.

It removes extensions, changed settings and added search engines. Add-ons stored outside your profile stay put, which is why the scan in Step 3 comes first.

These screenshots were taken on Windows. Buttons can move slightly from one Firefox version to the next.

1. Open Troubleshooting Information

   Go to about:support by typing it into the address bar and pressing Enter. Or click the menu button, Help and Report, then More troubleshooting information.

   The page title should read Troubleshooting Information. Look at the panel on the right side of the page.

   

   Click the Refresh Firefox button inside that panel.

   

   If the button is missing, don’t delete your profile folder yourself. Ask for help and mention your Firefox version.

2. Review what Refresh removes and confirm

   Read the confirmation window. It lists what Firefox keeps, such as bookmarks and passwords, and what goes, such as extensions and customizations.

   

   Save your work, then click Refresh Firefox. Firefox restarts and lists the data it brought over. Click Finish, then Let’s go!

   Set Google as your default again and test a search before reinstalling any add-ons. A policy from outside Firefox still needs the advanced checks.

3. Hold on to your old profile backup

   Firefox puts your old profile on the desktop in a folder named Old Firefox Data. It holds private information, so keep it to yourself.

   Copy back only the files you really need, never the whole folder. When everything works, delete the folder, as Mozilla recommends.

Step 5: Make sure Bing stays gone

Repeat the exact search that failed. Use the address bar, then separately check any new-tab search box and opening page you normally use.

1. Close and reopen Firefox. Confirm that Google is still your search engine.

2. If Bing used to return after Windows sign-in, save your work, restart, and repeat that test.

3. Reconnect synchronized settings gradually if you paused them. Stop when searches stay on Google through whatever used to bring Bing back.

When this succeeds, you can stop here. The advanced section below is for a Bing search that returns, a setting you can’t change, or an extension that won’t uninstall.

Advanced Fixes if Bing Won’t Stay Away

Show checks for locked settings and a Bing redirect that returns at startup

Skip these checks if the earlier fixes held. On a work or school device, talk to IT before touching policies, system files or startup items.

Find the policy that forces Bing

Visit about:policies. The Active tab lists every rule Firefox is following, so write down any that mention search, add-ons or locked preferences.

On a work or school PC, rules like these are normal. Send IT the specific rule instead of trying to remove it yourself.

On a home PC, trace an unexpected rule to its source. Firefox reads policies from the Windows registry and from a policies.json file in its distribution folder.

Back up before you edit either one. Change only the entry that forces Bing or the unwanted add-on, never every Firefox policy at once.

Registry policies sit under HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, in Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox. Editing there takes care and may need administrator rights.

For policies.json, keep a full copy of the original and leave other entries in place. Deleting the whole file can break settings you still rely on.

Reopen Firefox and check about:policies again. If the Bing rule reappears, a program is rewriting it, so look at your installed apps next.

If Bing returns after a restart

Open Firefox from the Start menu, then from your usual shortcut. If only the shortcut lands on Bing, its target has been changed or points to another profile.

Right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, and copy the Target text first. Remove only an unwanted web address, keeping the path to firefox.exe intact.

Check Settings, Apps, Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10) for anything unfamiliar that arrived with Bing. Compare its publisher and install date before uninstalling it.

If Bing returns only after you sign in to Windows, look at Startup apps and Task Scheduler. Read what each task actually runs, not just its name.

Export a task you’ve confirmed is unwanted, then disable it and test. Don’t delete every task or switch off Windows services to fix a search engine.

If Bing returns each time Firefox starts, a user.js file in your profile may be resetting it. Copy the file first, then change only that one setting.

Don’t count on a reinstall. It can leave both your profile and the program that changed it in place.

Use Troubleshoot Mode as a comparison, not an uninstaller

Open Firefox’s Help menu, called Help and Report in some releases, and select Troubleshoot Mode. Save your work and review the restart prompt.

Test the same search in that temporary mode. It disables add-ons and certain customization, but doesn’t uninstall Windows programs or remove a policy.

If Bing stops, test your add-ons one by one in normal mode. If it stays, look at your search setting, your policies and your Windows programs.

Compare another profile without deleting the original

Use Firefox’s profile controls, including about:profiles where available, to create a test profile you’ll recognize. Leave sync and add-on imports off at first.

Run the same search and check about:policies. Windows-level settings can affect both profiles even when their add-ons and preferences differ.

If the test profile works, compare the two before moving any data. If it also fails, look for a program or setting outside Firefox.

Never choose Delete Files for the original profile simply to run a comparison. Keep its data recoverable throughout troubleshooting.

Use about:support to find the active profile folder if a helper asks for it. Quit Firefox completely before copying or changing profile files.

Bring back trusted add-ons and synced data gradually after the repair. Note which one brings Bing back instead of repeating every reset.

Check If Firefox Redirects to Bing or Windows Does

Open a regular Firefox window, press Ctrl+L, and search for a harmless phrase. Don’t pick an earlier suggestion from the list.

Now search directly on google.com. Mozilla says that when searches on the search site itself also get redirected, malicious software is the likely cause.

Watch for an unfamiliar website flashing up before bing.com. Note its name, but leave out the rest of the address, which can hold private details.

Searching from the Windows taskbar is a separate thing. Those web results come from Bing on Windows 10 and 11, so they don’t mean Firefox is affected.

Did you knowingly install an add-on that searches with Bing? Remove it if you no longer want it. That alone doesn’t make it malware.

If a task restores the redirect at sign-in

Press Windows+R, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter. Open Task Scheduler Library, then inspect the suspected task’s Actions and Triggers.

Match its program or arguments to what changed Firefox or to a scan finding. An unfamiliar name or AppData path alone is not enough.

For a task you’ve confirmed is unwanted, right-click and Export a backup, then Disable it. Retest before deleting it, and leave unrelated tasks alone.

What to Do If Firefox Still Sends You to Bing

1. Write down which search fails, which profile you use, what about:policies shows, and what brings Bing back.

2. Keep your scan reports and any backups. Blur or delete personal details before you share screenshots or logs.

3. Post in the MalwareTips Windows support forum before you change system policies or delete unknown startup items.

If every browser on the PC switches to Bing, look at Windows programs before Firefox. Check proxy or DNS settings only if you have a reason to.

Don’t turn off your firewall or reset all network settings to fix a search engine. Keep VPN and work settings as they are.

If you typed a password into a strange page, change it on the real site. Fixing Firefox doesn’t sign out someone who already has it.

Using more than one browser? Our complete Bing redirect guide covers Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows and Mac.

Related: Yahoo redirects in Firefox on Windows and Bing in Firefox on Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my search engine keep changing to Bing?

Something keeps choosing Bing for you. In Firefox, that’s usually an add-on, a program that installed one, or a policy set by other software.

A Firefox update can also change your default, but Firefox shows a notice when that happens. You can switch back in Settings, Search.

Is the Bing search engine a virus?

No. Bing is Microsoft’s search engine and ships with Firefox as a built-in option. Using it isn’t a sign of infection on its own.

If Bing appeared without your choice, the add-on or program that set it is what to remove. Steps 2 and 3 cover both.

How do I get rid of Bing on Mozilla Firefox?

Open Settings, then Search, and pick another default. Turn Bing’s toggle off under Additional search engines, then remove Bing or MSN add-ons in about:addons.

If Bing comes back after a restart, follow Steps 3 and 4.

Why does Google redirect to Bing in Firefox?

If you start on Google and end up on Bing, something between you and Google is rewriting the search. That’s typically an add-on or a program.

Remove suspect add-ons in about:addons first. If searches made on google.com itself still land on Bing, run the scans in Step 3.

Why does Bing open when I search from the Windows taskbar?

The Windows 10 and 11 search box pulls its web results from Microsoft Bing. Firefox’s settings don’t control it.

To hide the box on Windows 11, right-click the taskbar, choose Taskbar settings, and set Search to Hide. On Windows 10, right-click the taskbar, choose Search, then Hidden.

What is the MSN Homepage and Bing Search Engine add-on?

It’s a Microsoft add-on for Firefox that sets MSN as your homepage and Bing as your search engine. It’s legitimate, but you may not remember installing it.

If you don’t want it, remove it in about:addons. Then check Settings, Home and startup, and Settings, Search, to confirm both are set your way.

The Bottom Line

If Firefox redirects to Bing, pick your engine in Settings, Search, turn Bing off, and remove whatever add-on set it.

If Bing returns, the cause lives outside the search menu: a Windows program, a policy or a changed setting. Scan Windows, then Refresh Firefox.

Still stuck? Bring your scan report and about:policies results to the MalwareTips forum for help with your own PC.