As Windows users, we all have our own preferences and ways of personalizing our desktop experience. If you’re a fan of Microsoft Edge and use it as your primary browser, you might want to change its icon to something more personal or to match your desktop theme.
Whether you’re using Windows 11 or Windows 10, changing the Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar or desktop is not a difficult process. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps to change the Microsoft Edge icon on your taskbar and desktop. And if you run into any issues, we’ve got some useful tips to help you out.
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Change Icon for Edge on the taskbar
By default, the Microsoft Edge icon is a blue “e“, but sometimes users may want to change it to a different icon that better suits their preferences. Besides, you can also make a picture an icon in Windows if you wish to create your own custom icon.
To change the Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar, follow these simple steps:
- Right-click the Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar.
- You will see things such as Top sites, recently closed, etc. in the context menu. Right-click “Microsoft Edge” again, and select “Properties“.
- In the Properties window, go to the “Shortcut” tab if it’s not already there, and click “Change Icon“.
- From there, you can click “Browse” to find the icon you would like to use for Microsoft Edge. If you want to use one of the default Windows icons, you can enter the following path in the “Look for icons in this file” field:
%systemroot%\system32\imageres.dll
- Click “Apply” to save the changes.
- Restart your computer to see that the Edge icon has changed to the new icon you’ve selected.
If the previous method doesn’t work
In the event that the previous approach fails or the Edge icon on the taskbar is incorrect, please follow these steps to repin the proper Microsoft Edge shortcut to the taskbar.
First, copy and paste the following into the File Explorer address bar:
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:Appsfolder
Then, locate the Microsoft Edge app with the default “e” logo and pin it to your taskbar. This is to make sure the shortcut icon for Edge on the taskbar is the correct one.
To change the icon, right-click the pinned Edge icon on the taskbar, right-click “Microsoft Edge” again, and choose “Properties“. Click the “Change icon” button and from there, you can change the icon to any desired one.
Related tip: How to Change Desktop Icon Spacing in Windows 11
Change the desktop icon of Microsoft Edge
To change the Microsoft Edge desktop icon, follow these steps:
- Right-click the Microsoft Edge desktop icon.
- Select “Properties“.
- In the Properties window, go to the “Shortcut” tab and click “Change Icon“.
- Click Browse to browse to the icon you’d like to use, or enter the path
%systemroot%\system32\imageres.dll
to use one of Windows’ default icons. - Click “Apply” to save the changes.
- Restart your computer to see the new icon.
Change the Icon Back to the Default
If you ever change your mind and want to switch back to the default Edge icon, simply follow the steps listed in the “Change the Icon for Edge on the Taskbar” section, but instead of browsing to a new icon, select the default Edge icon that is already listed in the “Change Icon” dialog box.
If you can’t find the default Edge icon, you can browse to the following folder in the Change Icon dialog box.
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe
Additional Tips
Here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when changing the Microsoft Edge icon:
- Restarting your computer is important because Windows may cache the old icon and not display the new one until the computer has been restarted.
- You may also want to try to clear the icon cache in Windows in case the icon update doesn’t take effect.
- If you’re using a custom icon, make sure it’s in the ICO format.
- To use a custom icon, browse to the location where the icon is stored on your computer.
- If you’re using a custom icon, the icon may look pixelated if it’s not in the proper size.
- If you want to use a PNG or JPG image as your icon, you can use a free online conversion tool to convert it to the ICO format.
- Make sure the file size of the icon is not too large, as this can cause issues.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re looking to personalize your device or simply want to disguise the Edge icon so others won’t know it’s there, this simple trick is a great solution. By disguising the Edge icon as something else, others may not know that you are using the Edge browser, which can be useful if you are using a shared computer or if you simply want to keep your browsing habits private.