This blog post will show how to use Microsoft Intune and set Google Chrome as the default browser on Windows machines that Intune manages.
Before starting, make sure Google Chrome is pushed to the machines using Intune or manually.
Important: To simplify the process for administrators who need to set up Google Chrome as the default, I simplified the steps below and skipped the complex part of creating a default app associations file. I will cover it in a separate post.
App associations file
Below is the output of an encoded association file that set Google Chrome to be the default file. Copy this code as you will need it soon.
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
Create Configuration Profile
Now that we have the encoded file ready, let’s create a Configuration Profile in Microsoft Intune.
Select the following in creating a profile platform and profile type selection screen.
- Platform – Windows 10 and later
- Profile type – Settings catalog
Name the profile with a meaningful name and move to the configuration part.
In the Settings picker screen, search for the default association and select it from the Select all these settings panel as shown below.
Paste the encoded code once the option is selected and shown on the main page.
Continue to the Assignments page, select users, groups or All users and save the configuration.
Google Chrome will be the default browser once the policy is applied to managed machines.