Microsoft Edge keeps making itself the default PDF viewer instead of acrobat

Doesn't for me. The problem is that the "default apps" refuses to let a default to be set. It remains saying "Choose a default". Selecting "Acrobat": it remains "Choose a default". Select "Edge": settings window crashes/closes. No change.

I noticed that Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Set defaults by app doesn't even have Acrobat as option. In reinstalled Acrobat Reader, set it to default. Wonder how long it will take before Edge takes over again.

Hi dear Juliet

The third option worked for me. thank you so much. I was struggling with this issue for weeks.

Force Resetting UCPD Value on Windows

If the direct approach of resetting the default PDF viewer on Windows doesn’t work, it could be the UserChoice Protection Driver (UCPD) service updated on your device. This service blocks users from changing the default PDF program, and not even with the registry.

And here are the steps to disable UCPD:

Step 1. Open Notepad, and copy and paste the following code into it:

@echo off

NET SESSION >nul 2>&1

if %errorLevel% neq 0 (

    echo You need to run this script as an administrator.

    goto EXITLABEL

)

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UCPD" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f >nul 2>&1

if %errorLevel% equ 0 (

    echo Registry value updated successfully.

) else (

    echo Failed to update registry value.

    goto EXITLABEL

)

schtasks /Change /Disable /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\AppxDeploymentClient\UCPD velocity" >nul 2>&1

if %errorLevel% equ 0 (

    echo Disable scheduled task successfully.

    echo Please restart to apply the settings.

) else (

    echo Failed to disable scheduled task.

)

:EXITLABEL

echo Press any key to exit...

pause >nul

exit

2. Go to File > Save as. Change the Save as type to All files and save the Notepad to a file named ‘disable-ucpd.bat’.

Save as BAT

Save as BAT

3. Right-click the .bat file and select ‘Run as administrator’.

4. After the console says ‘Please restart to apply the settings’, reboot your computer.

5. Once the computer reboots, you can reset the default PDF viewer again as usual.