Change the Default Web Browser in Mac OS X
Updated: 3/11/2012 Sarah R. writes in with a great question about her Macs default web browser:
“I downloaded Firefox and accidentally clicked the button for it to be set as my default web browser. Now every time I open a link it goes into Firefox instead of Safari. How do I get back to Safari as my default? Help!”
This isn’t the first time we’ve been asked about changing the default web browser, so here goes the remarkably simple answer.
Change the Default Web Browser in Mac OS X
Changing the default web browser in Mac OS X is very easy, but regardless of what browser you want to use as default, you adjust the setting through Apple’s web browser, Safari. Here’s the steps:
- Open Safari
- From the ‘Safari’ menu, open ‘Preferences’ (or just hit command-,)
- Click the ‘General’ tab
- Choose the default web browser you would prefer to use
- Quit Safari, and you’re done.
Yes, you use Safari to change the default browser, even if you have no intention on using Safari as the default. This works for Chrome, Firefox, Chromium, Opera, Safari, and just about any other native browser in Mac OS X.
well this is a no brainer
maybe she’s never touched a mac before? Also we are here to help remember
Why do you want to go back to Safari anyways…???
I downloaded Firefox and I’ve made it my default browser but every time that I restart my mac this setting automatically change to safari.
Same here. Everytime I restart, the setting reverts back to Safari as being default.
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Thanks, I’ve just spent half an hour looking through all the settings and options in firefox! Seems like a bit of a daft place to put this setting.
I’ll suggest another way with a free preference pane called RCDefaultApp 2.1 http://www.rubicode.com/Software/RCDefaultApp/
I appreciate the person who asked the question as simple as it may seem to cyber tech folks. The only dumb question is the question not asked and then it’s stupid. One of the things that I do appreciate is the ‘Launch Pad’ on Lion – I have three browsers and have them for specific reasons. All them are very, very different and when Firefox throws that wrench when opening their browser, I just have remember that the cleaver Fox is attempting to break again. Just say NO.
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It seems that OmniWeb has the same facility.