How to Speed Up Microsoft Edge: A Simple Guide to Boost Browser Performance

If Microsoft Edge is running slow, loading pages with a delay, or freezing often, you’re not alone. Many users face similar issues, and the causes can be traced to factors like unused extensions, excess startup pages, a full cache, and disabled performance features. In this post, we’ll walk you through how to optimize Microsoft Edge for better speed, improved performance, and faster downloads.

Step-by-Step Guide to Speed Up Microsoft Edge

Step 1: Remove or Disable Unnecessary Extensions

Extensions can be helpful for enhancing your browsing experience, but too many or poorly optimized ones can drag down Edge’s performance.

How to manage extensions:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.

2. Click on the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top-right corner.

3. Go to Extensions > Manage Extensions.

4. You’ll see a list of installed extensions. Turn off the toggle for those you don’t use or click Remove to delete them completely.

Why this is important: Extensions that are not in use continue to run in the background and consume resources, slowing down the browser.

Step 2: Simplify Your Startup Page

A complex or bloated startup page can negatively affect Edge’s load time. Changing to a lightweight page, such as Google, will significantly improve the browser’s speed.

How to set a minimal startup page:

1. Open the three-dot menu (⋯) and go to Settings.

2. On the left, click Start, home, and new tabs.

3. Under the When Edge starts section, select Open these pages.

4. Click Add a new page and type in: https://www.google.com, then click Add.

Tip: Starting with a simpler page like Google reduces load time and enhances your browsing experience.

Step 3: Clear Your Browsing Data

Over time, accumulated browsing history, cache, and cookies can slow down the browser. Clearing these regularly helps keep Edge running smoothly.

How to clear browsing data:

1. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) and select History.

2. In the History popup, click the three-dot menu again and choose Clear browsing data.

3. In the new window, set the Time range to All time.

4. Select:

   • Browsing history

   • Download history

   • Cookies and other site data

   • Cached images and files

5. Click Clear now.

Note: If you have important data, such as saved site preferences or passwords, you may want to uncheck the cookies or history options before clearing.

Step 4: Enable Parallel Downloading for Faster Downloads

Parallel downloading splits large files into smaller parts and downloads them simultaneously, boosting download speeds.

How to enable it:

1. In the address bar, type edge://flags and press Enter.

2. In the search bar, type parallel downloading.

3. Find the Parallel downloading flag, and change the setting from Default to Enabled.

4. Click Restart at the bottom to apply the change.

Why it helps: This experimental feature can greatly speed up downloads, especially for large files.

Final Results

By following these steps, you should notice:

• Faster page load times.

• Improved download speeds.

• Reduced memory and CPU usage.

• A smoother, lag-free browsing experience.

These simple tweaks can make Microsoft Edge faster, more efficient, and more enjoyable to use, whether for casual browsing, work, or media consumption.