Your homepage and search engine changed by themselves
Why did my browser search change and how do I get Google back?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
A bundled installer added an extension and a policy that locks your search provider. Removing the extension alone is not enough while the policy stays in place. The quickest thing to try first: remove the unknown extension — Open chrome://extensions or the Add-ons page in Edge or Firefox and remove anything you do not recognise, especially search, coupon, PDF or video download tools. Most people are done in about 20 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 6 steps for Windows and Mac, rated medium.
Sounds like this
- •An unknown search engine on every new tab
- •An extension you never installed
- •Settings say managed by your organisation
Why it happens
A bundled installer added an extension and a policy that locks your search provider. Removing the extension alone is not enough while the policy stays in place.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Remove the unknown extension
Open chrome://extensions or the Add-ons page in Edge or Firefox and remove anything you do not recognise, especially search, coupon, PDF or video download tools.
- 2
Set the search engine back
Open chrome://settings/search, choose Google, then open Manage search engines and delete the unwanted entry so it cannot return.
- 3
Reset the browser
chrome://settings/reset, then Restore settings to their original defaults. This clears hijacked startup pages and pinned settings.
- 4
Uninstall the app behind it
Settings, Apps, Installed apps. Sort by install date and remove anything installed on the day the change appeared.
- 5
Scan with two tools
Run a full scan in Windows Security, then a free scan with Malwarebytes. One usually finds what the other misses.
- 6
Check the shortcut
Right click the browser shortcut, Properties, and make sure the Target line ends in chrome.exe with no website address after it. Delete anything added.
If none of that worked
If Managed by your organisation still shows on a personal computer, ask a technician to clear the leftover browser policy rather than editing the registry yourself.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
- Plain language
CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
- Fact checking
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
A gentle reminder: back up anything you cannot afford to lose before major repairs. If a step ever feels risky, stop and ask a technician. There is no shame in that.