Edge Keeps Changing Your Search Engine to Yahoo? How to Fix It on Windows

Your Edge search engine changed to Yahoo, and it keeps coming back however often you switch it. That’s frustrating, but it’s usually something you can fix yourself.

This guide shows how to put your own search engine back, find the extension or program that keeps choosing Yahoo, and check that it stays gone.

Overview

Why was my Edge search engine changed to Yahoo?

Yahoo Search is a legitimate search engine, not a virus. The trouble starts when something picks it for you and won’t let you change it back.

On a Windows PC, these are the places to look:

• An Edge extension that takes over your search or new tab page, sometimes advertised as a “secure” or “safe” search tool.
• A free program whose installer also offered a search add-on. Microsoft treats this kind of bundling as potentially unwanted.
• Edge sync, which can copy an unwanted extension or setting from another PC signed in to the same account.
• A policy, startup task or edited shortcut that puts Yahoo back after you fix it.

Check the address after a search. If it starts with search.yahoo.com/yhs/, the search most likely came through Yahoo Hosted Search, Yahoo’s program for partner search pages.

That partner may be the extension or program that changed Edge, so note the address before you remove anything.

The quick fix that works for most people

1. Type edge://settings/search and press Enter. Under Search engine used in the address bar, choose Google, Bing or the engine you prefer.
2. Type edge://extensions and switch off anything you don’t remember adding, especially search or new tab tools. Remove the one that brings Yahoo back.
3. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows and uninstall programs you didn’t mean to install around the time Yahoo appeared.
4. In Edge, open Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Security and turn on Block potentially unwanted apps to help block bundled downloads next time.
5. Close and reopen Edge, then search from the address bar to confirm Yahoo is gone.

What to do if Yahoo comes back

Watch when it returns. If Yahoo reappears right away, suspect an extension or policy. If it waits for a restart or sign-in, suspect a program, task or synced extension.

Edge’s search policies are built for work PCs. Microsoft says they only take effect on PCs joined to a domain or enrolled in device management.

So if a home PC shows a Yahoo search policy at edge://policy, find out what put it there before anything else.

The steps below go from the quickest fix to the deepest. Stop as soon as Yahoo stays gone.

This guide covers search changes, browser hijackers, unwanted extensions and adware. It won’t recover locked files or secure a stolen account.

How to Remove Yahoo From Edge on Windows

Follow the steps in order. As soon as Yahoo stops coming back, jump to the final check.

• Change Edge’s search engine
• Final check: confirm Yahoo is gone
• Advanced fixes if Yahoo returns

Step 1: Choose the search engine you want

Edge: replace Yahoo in the address bar

1. Open Address bar and search

   Enter edge://settings/search in the address bar. You can also reach it through Privacy, search, and services > Search and connected experiences.

   

2. Select the engine you want

   Click the Search engine used in the address bar menu and choose anything other than Yahoo. Bing is Edge’s own default, so it’s a safe pick too.

   Want an engine that isn’t listed? Go to its official site, search once, then return to this menu.

3. Test the address bar and the new tab page separately

   Open a new tab and search from the address bar. A search box inside the page belongs to that page or an extension, so test it on its own.

   If Yahoo shows up only in that box, an extension has probably replaced your new tab page. Step 2 deals with that.

   If both searches work, skip to the final check. If not, move on to extensions.

Step 2: Remove the extension that brings Yahoo back

Edge: remove the extension behind Yahoo

1. Open the Extensions page

   Go to edge://extensions. In the example screenshot, a sample extension shows where the Remove link and the on/off switch are.

   

2. Turn off suspects one at a time

   Look for search helpers, “secure search” tools, new tab replacements and anything you don’t recall installing. Switch one off and search again.

   When Yahoo disappears, click Remove on that extension and confirm. Then choose your search engine again.

   Empty list? Skip this step. If an extension can’t be turned off or keeps returning, see the advanced fixes rather than deleting folders.

3. Stop when Yahoo is gone

   Close and reopen Edge. If your engine holds, head to the final check. If you sync extensions, remove the culprit on your other PCs too.

If pop-up notifications open unwanted pages

This is only for pages or alerts that open by themselves. Letting a website send notifications is a different problem from a hijacker.

1. In Edge, open Settings and type Notifications in the search box. Open the site permissions result, find the unwanted site under Allowed, and set it to Block or Remove.

Use Edge’s settings, never the buttons inside the pop-up. If alerts stop and searches go where you want, you’re done with this part.

Step 3: Scan Windows for the program that sets Yahoo

Skip this if Yahoo is already gone. Scan if it returns after restarts, if an extension reinstalls itself, or if you find a program you didn’t choose.

Run a Malwarebytes scan

Free programs sometimes bring a search add-on along as an extra. A scanner can find that program even when Edge looks normal.

These setup screenshots are from our main Windows guide, and newer versions may label the scans differently.

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

1. Download the Windows installer

   Download Malwarebytes from the button below, not from a pop-up or a page that claims your PC is infected.

   Malwarebytes for WindowsOn-demand scan and threat review

   Download Malwarebytes for Windows

   Windows download options

   Optional paid protection

2. Open the setup file and check the publisher

   Double-click the MBSetup file in your Downloads folder.

   

   When Windows asks for permission, confirm the publisher is Malwarebytes, then click Yes. Stop if you see a warning you don’t understand.

3. Complete setup without accepting unwanted extras

   Select Personal for a home PC and continue. If it’s a work machine, let your IT team handle it.

   

   Decline any trial, subscription or browser extension offers you don’t want.

   Leave the window open while the files copy.

   

   Once Malwarebytes opens, click Get started on the welcome screen, reading any offers first.

   

   If a Success screen appears first, click Open Malwarebytes on it.

   

4. Update and start an available manual scan

   Click the three dots on the Scanner tile, then choose Advanced Scan followed by Custom Scan.

   Quick and Custom scans cost nothing. Older screenshots show a Threat Scan, which may need a trial or a paid plan.

   

   Choose the drives or folders to scan, check how potentially unwanted programs and modifications will be handled, and click Start Custom Scan.

   Scanning one folder misses the rest of the PC. Add the Microsoft Defender full scan below for wider coverage.

   The progress image comes from an older Threat Scan. Yours may look different, so wait for the results screen.

   

5. Review detections and quarantine identified threats

   Look at each detection’s name and location. Select the ones to quarantine, and save the report in case you need help.

   

   Your results won’t match this example.

   Click Quarantine. The report can show which program kept setting Yahoo in Edge.

   Wait for quarantine to complete.

   

6. Restart if requested, then repeat the browser test

   Save open files and accept the restart if Malwarebytes asks for one.

   

   Back in Windows, recheck Edge’s search engine, extensions and edge://policy. A scan removes programs but may not undo every setting they changed.

   Yahoo or the same detection came back? Keep the report, note what triggered it, and ask for help rather than trying random fix scripts.

Microsoft Defender works too: open Windows Security, go to Virus & threat protection, then Scan options, choose Full scan, and follow its advice.

Optional: double-check with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a separate adware scanner from Malwarebytes. Use it when a program still seems to be resetting Edge, not because you saw Yahoo once.

1. Download and open AdwCleaner

   Malwarebytes AdwCleanerOptional Windows adware check

   Download AdwCleaner

   AdwCleaner doesn’t install like a normal app. Confirm the file came from the button above, then accept the license prompt.

   Look in Downloads for the AdwCleaner file you just saved. Don’t run a similarly named file from an ad.

   

   At the Windows permission prompt, check the file name and publisher before clicking Run or Yes.

   

2. Leave broad repair switches off and start the scan

   Keep Reset Chrome Policies turned off. It removes every Chrome policy, even legitimate ones.

   Don’t reset network or firewall settings either. On the Dashboard, click Scan Now.

   

   Let the scan finish.

   Look over the results before you clean anything.

   

3. Review the results before cleanup

   Newer versions show Next and then Quarantine. The older screenshot below has a single Quarantine button.

   

   If AdwCleaner lists preinstalled software, leave anything you use unticked.

4. Save your work and approve relevant cleanup

   AdwCleaner may need to close your apps. Save your work first, then click Continue.

   

   Restart if prompted and read the cleanup log. Don’t run Basic Repair unless a helper recommends it.

5. Return to the exact search that failed

   Search again from Edge’s address bar and a new tab, and again after a restart. Check whether the extension or policy came back too.

   No detections doesn’t mean you’re finished. A policy or extension may still need attention, so keep notes for the forum.

Step 4: Reset Edge if Yahoo is still the default

Searches already going where you want? Skip to the final check. Reset Edge only when the steps above haven’t held.

Reset Edge after removing whatever keeps setting Yahoo

A reset won’t uninstall programs or clear work policies. Deal with those first, or Yahoo will return right after the reset.

Back up important favorites first. If an extension keeps syncing back, turn off extension sync at Settings > Profiles > Sync before resetting.

The screenshots show Edge’s reset screens on a desktop PC. Yours may look a little different.

1. Open the reset settings page

   In the Edge profile that shows Yahoo, go to edge://settings/reset and choose Restore settings to their default values.

   Or open Edge Settings from the menu. Use the settings search box if you can’t see the sidebar.

   

   Select Reset settings in the sidebar.

   

   On that page, find Restore settings to their default values.

   

   Run it from the profile with the problem and leave your other profiles alone.

2. Read the warning and confirm the repair

   Edge resets your search engine, startup page and new tab page, turns off extensions and clears temporary data like cookies. Favorites, history and saved passwords stay.

   

   Click Reset. Expect to sign back in to some websites afterward.

3. Choose your engine and test extensions one by one

   Your search engine is now Bing, Edge’s default. Change it in edge://settings/search if you’d rather use another.

   Turn extensions back on one at a time. If Yahoo returns after one, remove that extension.

Step 5: Confirm Yahoo stays gone

Repeat the search that used to land on Yahoo, from the address bar and from any new tab or start page you use.

1. Close every Edge window, reopen Edge and search again.

2. Restart Windows if Yahoo used to return after sign-in, then test once more.

3. If you paused sync, switch it back on gradually and test after each item.

If Yahoo stays away through all of that, you’re done. The advanced section below is for stubborn cases only.

Advanced Fixes if Yahoo Keeps Coming Back

Show fixes for policies, startup tasks, shortcuts and profiles

Most people can skip this part. On a work or school PC, contact IT before changing policies, files or startup items.

Check edge://policy for a Yahoo search policy

Look for DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL pointing to Yahoo, or ExtensionInstallForcelist and ExtensionSettings naming an extension you don’t want.

Edge won’t let you turn off or uninstall a force-installed extension, so match its ID to the one you saw in edge://extensions.

On a work or school PC, ask IT about the entry before you touch it. A managed browser message alone isn’t proof of anything bad.

On your own PC, an experienced helper can check HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge.

Export the key first so you can undo the change. Remove only the Yahoo-related value and leave everything else.

If the value comes back, a program is rewriting it. Hunt down that program rather than deleting the value again.

Check apps, shortcuts and startup items

In Installed apps, look for anything that arrived around the time Yahoo appeared. Check its publisher, then uninstall it the normal way.

If Yahoo opens only from one Edge icon, open the shortcut’s Properties and check Target. A Yahoo address after msedge.exe is the problem.

Copy the original Target text before editing. Delete only the extra address and keep the msedge.exe path.

If Yahoo returns after every sign-in, look at Startup apps and Task Scheduler. The task steps are below.

Don’t delete tasks or services because of a strange name or folder. Disable only what you can link to Yahoo.

Test with a clean Edge profile

Create a second Edge profile from the profile button. Call it Test and keep sync and imports turned off.

Search there and check edge://policy. If the test profile is fine, the problem is inside your main profile.

If both profiles end up on Yahoo, the cause affects the whole PC: a program, policy or shortcut.

Even so, a clean test profile doesn’t prove the PC is clean.

Keep your main profile until you’ve copied what matters. Move favorites across, not old extensions.

Don’t rename Edge’s Web Data file everywhere

Older guides suggest renaming the Web Data file. It stores more than your search engines, so never do it across every profile.

If a helper asks for this, find the right folder under Profile Path at edge://version. Close Edge and back that folder up first.

Note what you changed and keep the backup private.

Is Edge Really Redirecting to Yahoo? How to Tell

Click the address bar, enter a dull test word such as weather, and watch where it lands. Then repeat it in a new tab’s search box.

Results that open straight on search.yahoo.com differ from a strange site that flashes first. A flash in between points to an extension or program.

If Yahoo appears before you type anything, check your startup pages and Edge shortcuts rather than the search engine list.

When you ask for help, remove your search words from any address before you share it.

Note your active Edge profile, and back up favorites before bigger repairs. Leave other people’s profiles alone.

Keep a short log as you go

Change one thing at a time and note what happened. For example, a working settings menu plus a Yahoo-only new tab box points to the extension running that page.

A menu that flips back the moment you change it points to a policy or something restoring it. Notes like these help forum helpers far more than another reset.

What edge://policy should look like

Open edge://policy and select Reload policies. Write down any search or extension entry, its value and where it comes from.

No policies set means no policy is forcing Yahoo. Any entry on a work PC is a question for IT.

If a startup task keeps setting Yahoo

Press Windows+R, enter taskschd.msc, and press Enter. In Task Scheduler Library, open the task you suspect and read its Actions and Triggers tabs.

Act only if the task runs the program your scan flagged or the one that changed Edge. A strange name or AppData folder isn’t enough.

Right-click the task, Export a backup, then Disable it. Test Edge before deciding whether to delete it.

What to Do If Edge Still Switches to Yahoo

1. Note where Yahoo shows up, which profile you’re in, any site that flashes first, and the policy values or extension IDs you found.

2. Keep task exports and scan reports. Remove search words, usernames and folder names before you share them.

3. Ask the MalwareTips Windows removal-help forum before changing policies, tasks or services you’re unsure about.

If Chrome or Firefox also pass through the same strange site, look for a shared program or a proxy or DNS change. Keep any VPN settings you need.

Ignore any page that tells you to call support or allow remote access. A website can’t diagnose your Edge settings by showing an alert.

Typed a password into an unfamiliar page along the way? Reset it through the real service. Repairing Edge won’t undo that.

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

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Yahoo search engine a virus?

No. Yahoo Search itself is legitimate. The problem is the extension, program or setting that forced it on you, and that’s what this guide removes.

Why is my search engine redirecting to Yahoo in Edge?

Something that can change Edge’s search engine is choosing Yahoo for you. That could be an extension, a bundled program, a synced setting or a policy.

Why can’t I remove Yahoo as my search engine in Edge?

If the menu is grayed out or Edge says your browser is managed, a policy is in control. Check edge://policy and the advanced section above.

If you can change the menu but Yahoo returns later, an extension, startup task or sync is putting it back.

What is Yahoo Secure Search?

It’s a label used by search tools that send your searches to Yahoo. McAfee offers Secure Search with Yahoo in Chrome but says it isn’t available in Edge.

In Edge, it usually comes from an extension or a bundled program. Remove it as shown in Steps 2 and 3, then pick your search engine again.

How do I block Yahoo in Edge permanently?

You don’t need to block Yahoo itself. Remove whatever keeps choosing it, then turn on Block potentially unwanted apps under Privacy, search, and services > Security.

Don’t install another search extension to fight the first one. It would simply take over the same setting.

Why does Yahoo come back after I restart?

Something on the PC is likely resetting Edge at startup. Check Installed apps, Startup apps and Task Scheduler, and run the scan in Step 3.

If it only returns after you sign in to Edge, an extension may be syncing back from another computer.

The Bottom Line

If your Edge search engine changed to Yahoo and won’t stay fixed, choose your engine in edge://settings/search, then remove the extension or program behind it.

If Yahoo returns after a restart, run the scan, check edge://policy and look for a startup task. Turn on Block potentially unwanted apps to help block bundled downloads.

Still stuck? Bring your notes to the MalwareTips Windows removal forum before editing the registry. Yahoo Search itself was never the problem.