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Introduction:
Microsoft’s latest stable release of Edge browser, version 135, is making headlines—but not for the right reasons. Rather than bringing a smooth user experience, it’s sparking frustration among system administrators and users in enterprise environments. The issue? A broken first-launch screen that crashes with a persistent “ERR_INVALID_URL” error, essentially locking users out of the browser.
This isn’t a minor glitch; it’s a major disruption for managed systems where policies like HideFirstRunExperience are configured. The intended purpose of this policy is to streamline startup by skipping the welcome wizard. But with Edge 135, this registry tweak backfires—creating a loop that breaks the first run completely. Here’s everything you need to know about the bug, its causes, and the workaround while Microsoft scrambles to push a fix.
Breakdown of the Edge 135 Issue (Around ):
- Microsoft has rolled out Edge version 135 to its stable channel.
- The update is causing problems particularly in managed PCs (such as enterprise or workplace environments).
- Affected users encounter the “ERR_INVALID_URL” error on the edge://welcome-new-device page.
- This page is part of the First Run Experience—which introduces the browser and guides users through setup.
- The error occurs due to a registry policy,
HideFirstRunExperience, used by system admins. - This policy is designed to skip the welcome wizard and open the browser directly.
- In Edge 135, this registry value now conflicts with the default browser behavior.
- As a result, the welcome page is broken and cannot be dismissed, leaving users stuck.
- The error was first spotted and reported by users on Reddit and Microsoft forums.
- Microsoft has acknowledged this bug on its Known Issues page.
- Windows Latest confirmed the bug after testing it with the registry tweak in a non-managed environment.
- In their test, the error appeared but was closable, unlike in enterprise PCs where the browser becomes unusable.
– Microsoft has proposed two workarounds for now:
– Disable the `HideFirstRunExperience` policy.
- Roll back to Edge 134, the previous version.
- These fixes restore browser functionality but aren’t ideal for large-scale deployments.
– Users have found additional temporary workarounds, including:
- Right-clicking Edge on the taskbar and choosing “New window” to bypass the error tab.
– Launching Edge via command line with:
`start microsoft-edge:about:blank`.
- The issue appears confined to environments where user profiles are centrally managed by admins.
- The error does not seem to impact home users or unmanaged systems.
- It has now become a notable case of how enterprise policies can break modern browser behavior after updates.
- Microsoft has yet to announce an official patch timeline.
What Undercode Say:
Edge 135’s rollout highlights a critical point of friction between browser development and enterprise-level system management. The very tools designed to streamline user experiences—like the HideFirstRunExperience registry setting—can become pain points when compatibility isn’t thoroughly tested across versions. This situation is more than a minor bug; it affects productivity in corporate environments, where users may rely heavily on Edge for daily operations and where IT departments manage hundreds or thousands of machines remotely.
When Microsoft updates a core product like Edge, there’s an implicit contract: backwards compatibility and policy respect must be maintained. In this case, Edge 135 broke that trust. The core issue lies not in the presence of a welcome page, but in its inability to fail gracefully when system policies interfere. Instead of skipping or gracefully bypassing the First Run Experience when HideFirstRunExperience is active, the browser crashes into an uncloseable error state. That’s poor UX, especially for managed users.
Administrators are stuck between a rock and a hard place—either disable a policy they’ve used for years or roll back to an older browser version, which isn’t always viable due to security implications. This workaround strategy is not scalable in large organizations.
Even the temporary user-discovered fixes—like right-clicking to open a new window or launching via the about:blank URL—reflect a lack of enterprise resilience in the product design. These are stopgap measures, not solutions.
From a development standpoint, this bug should have been caught in pre-release testing. Any browser that respects enterprise deployment should test against common GPO (Group Policy Object) and registry settings used by admins. The absence of such testing shows a disconnect between Microsoft’s developer environment and real-world usage.
The bigger implication here is the fragility of centralized control systems in enterprise setups. One small UI element—like a welcome page—becomes a single point of failure when tightly coupled with system-wide policies. Moving forward, Microsoft needs to reinforce modular design in its onboarding process so that errors in auxiliary components don’t brick the browser.
This also opens up conversations around more robust fallbacks and safe modes. If an error like “ERR_INVALID_URL” is triggered, the browser should default to opening a blank, working session, not lock users into an unresolvable loop.
In terms of SEO and system diagnostics, IT blogs and forums are now flooded with Edge 135 workarounds, registry hack explanations, and downgrade guides. This kind of response from the tech community underlines just how disruptive this bug has been. Until a hotfix or new version is released, companies are urged to use workaround scripts and avoid upgrading production machines to Edge 135.
Fact Checker Results:
- Confirmed Bug: Microsoft officially recognized the issue with Edge 135.
- Root Cause Verified: The conflict stems from
HideFirstRunExperiencepolicy. - Workarounds Functional: Disabling the policy or using alternate launch commands restore access.
References:
Reported By: www.windowslatest.com
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