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If you prefer to browse the web in dark mode, perhaps to aid you in low-light environments, here’s how you enable it on Microsoft Edge.
How to Enable Dark Mode in Edge
To enable dark mode in Edge, first open the browser, click the menu button (three horizontal dots) in the top-right, and select “Settings.”
Next, from the left-hand menu, select “Appearance.”
To immediately use dark mode, within the Overall Appearance section in the main pane, select “Dark.” This changes the color of elements like the tabs, address bar, and menus.
Alternatively, Edge can respond to your operating system’s setting. For this, select “System Default”, then enable dark mode in Windows 11 (or enable dark mode in Windows 10.)
How to Enable a Dark Theme in Edge
If you set system accent colors on Windows, regardless of whether you select “Dark” or “System Default”, Edge will use those for the title bar and window frame. So, you have two options if you want Edge to use dark mode completely.
One way to resolve this is to also enable a dark theme in Edge (which is different from dark mode.) To do this, remain on Edge’s Appearance page. Beneath Theme, click “Pick a Color”, set the color picker to a dark color, and click “Apply.” Alternatively, use a pre-made dark theme from the list, like “Dark & Stormy.”
The other method is to stop Windows changing the color of your title bar and window frame across all apps. To do this, press Windows key+i and go to Personalization > Colors, then uncheck “Show Accent Color on Title Bars and Window Borders”.
How to Force a Dark Theme on All Websites
Some websites (like How-To Geek) will obey your browser’s dark theme and change their theme accordingly, but many don’t. However, as Edge is based on Chromium, it contains the same experimental “force dark mode” option found in Google Chrome.
To enable it, first type “edge://flags/#enable-force-dark” into Edge’s address bar and press Enter.
Next to Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents, use the dropdown and select “Enabled.”
When you’re done, click “Restart” at the bottom. Edge will close all your browser windows and reopen them. You won’t lose your open tabs, but be sure you’ve saved any work (such as data entered in forms) on the web pages before continuing.
Browse around and see how it works. If you’re not keen and want to disable it, return to the same flags page and set the option back to “Default.”
If you want to tweak Edge further, be sure to explore all of its settings. Edge has some unnecessary features worth removing, which in doing so can help you reduce visual clutter.
