How to Restore Edge Session After Reboot [Guide]

The easiest way to restore your previous Microsoft Edge session is to enable the Open tabs from the previous session option in the browser’s startup settings.

Once enabled, Edge will attempt to reopen your previously active tabs when you launch the browser again. You can also use keyboard shortcuts and the recently closed tabs menu to recover pages when automatic session restoration doesn’t work.

Let’s go through the available methods step by step.

Table of Contents

How to Restore Edge Session After Reboot

To restore your previous Microsoft Edge session after restarting your computer, open Microsoft Edge, click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, and select Settings. Navigate to Start, home, and new tabs and select Open tabs from the previous session under the When Edge starts section.

Close and reopen Edge to check whether your previous tabs are restored.

1: Open Microsoft Edge Settings

First, you need to access Microsoft Edge’s settings. This is where you’ll find the option that controls what happens when you launch the browser.

Open Microsoft Edge on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer. If you don’t have any tabs open, that’s okay. You can still configure the startup behavior.

Look at the upper-right corner of the browser window. You’ll see a three-dot menu, also called the Settings and more menu. Click it to open the available browser options.

From the menu, select Settings.

Edge will open a new settings page in another browser tab. You’ll find different categories on the left side, including Profiles, Privacy, Search, and Services, Appearance, and Start, Home, and New Tabs.

You don’t need to change anything else right now. The next step will take you directly to the startup configuration.

Tip: You can also open Edge settings directly by typing edge://settings into the address bar and pressing Enter.

2: Navigate to Start, Home, and New Tabs

Now that you’ve opened Edge settings, you need to locate the startup preferences.

Look at the left-hand sidebar and find Start, home, and new tabs. Click this option to open its settings.

On this page, you’ll find several options that control what Microsoft Edge displays when you start the browser, open a new tab, or visit the homepage.

Look for the section labeled When Edge starts.

This section is particularly important because it determines how Edge behaves whenever you launch it.

Depending on your current configuration, you may see options for opening a new tab page, continuing where you left off, or opening specific pages.

If Edge is currently configured to open a new tab, it won’t automatically restore your previous browsing session.

That’s why you need to change this setting in the next step.

3: Select Open Tabs From the Previous Session

This is the most important step in the entire process.

Under the When Edge starts section, you’ll usually find three options.

The first option, Open the new tab page, tells Edge to display a fresh new tab whenever you launch the browser.

The second option, Open tabs from the previous session, allows Edge to reopen the websites you were browsing before closing it.

The third option, Open these pages, lets you specify particular websites that should automatically load whenever Edge starts.

To restore your previous browsing session, select Open tabs from the previous session.

Once you choose this option, Edge saves your startup preference automatically. You don’t need to click a separate Save button.

For example, imagine you were working with five browser tabs before restarting your computer. These tabs included Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, a news website, and your WordPress dashboard.

After enabling this setting, Edge will attempt to reopen those websites when you launch the browser again.

Important: This setting restores the previous browsing session when Edge starts. It doesn’t guarantee recovery of every tab if browser data was cleared, the session was corrupted, or the tabs were closed before Edge could save their state.

4: Restart Microsoft Edge and Check Your Tabs

After enabling the previous-session option, it’s a good idea to test whether everything works correctly.

First, save any unfinished work in your open browser tabs. This is especially important if you’re editing documents, filling out online forms, or working inside a website.

Next, close Microsoft Edge normally by clicking the X button in the upper-right corner.

Wait a few seconds and open Edge again using its desktop shortcut or Start menu.

If the setting is working correctly, Edge should reopen your previous browsing session.

You should see the websites and tabs that were open before you closed the browser.

If you have multiple windows open, check whether Edge has restored the expected windows and tabs.

Once you’ve confirmed that everything works, you can continue browsing without manually reopening your favorite websites.

5: Restore Recently Closed Tabs Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Sometimes, Edge may not automatically restore your previous session. This can happen if the browser closes unexpectedly or fails to save the session correctly.

In that situation, you can try restoring recently closed tabs manually.

Microsoft Edge provides a useful keyboard shortcut for this purpose.

Press Ctrl + Shift + T on your keyboard.

This shortcut reopens the most recently closed tab. If you press it repeatedly, Edge can reopen additional recently closed tabs, one at a time.

For example, suppose you accidentally closed a tab containing an important website. Instead of searching for the website again, press Ctrl + Shift + T to bring it back.

This shortcut is particularly useful when you accidentally close an entire browser window. In supported situations, pressing it again can restore the closed window and its tabs.

You can also right-click an empty area of the tab bar and select Reopen closed tab, if that option is available.

Keep in mind that this method is mainly useful for recently closed tabs. It isn’t a guaranteed replacement for automatic session restoration after a reboot.

6: Check the Recently Closed Tabs History

If the keyboard shortcut doesn’t restore everything you need, try checking Edge’s browsing history.

Open Microsoft Edge and press Ctrl + H to access the History panel.

Here, you’ll find a list of websites you’ve visited recently.

Look through the available entries and find the websites you had open before restarting your computer.

Click any website to reopen it in a new tab.

If you had several tabs open, you may need to repeat this process for each website.

Depending on your Edge version and browsing history settings, you may also find recently closed groups of tabs or windows in the history interface.

This method is useful when you remember the websites you were browsing but cannot recover the entire session automatically.

7: Make Sure Edge Isn’t Clearing Your Browsing Data Automatically

Another reason Edge may fail to restore your previous session is that your browsing data is being cleared automatically.

For example, if Edge is configured to delete browsing history or other browser data whenever you close it, session recovery may become difficult.

To check this setting, open Edge and navigate to Settings.

Select Privacy, search, and services from the left-hand sidebar.

Scroll down until you find the option labeled Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.

Open this section to see the available data-clearing options.

Check whether any settings are enabled that could interfere with session restoration.

Avoid automatically clearing relevant browsing data if you want Edge to retain information needed for a consistent browsing experience.

You should also avoid using third-party cleaning applications to remove Edge data automatically until you’ve confirmed that session restoration works properly.

8: Update Microsoft Edge to the Latest Version

If you’ve configured everything correctly but Edge still doesn’t restore your previous session, an outdated browser could be contributing to the problem.

Microsoft regularly releases Edge updates to improve browser stability, fix bugs, and address security issues.

To check for updates, open Edge and click the three-dot menu.

Navigate to Help and feedback, then select About Microsoft Edge.

Edge will automatically check for available updates.

If an update is available, allow the browser to download and install it.

You may need to restart Edge to complete the installation.

After updating, verify that Open tabs from the previous session is still selected under Start, home, and new tabs.

Now restart your browser and check whether the session restoration problem has been resolved.

FAQs

1. Why Does Microsoft Edge Open a New Tab After Reboot?

This usually happens because Edge is configured to open the new tab page when it starts. To fix this, navigate to Settings > Start, home, and new tabs and select Open tabs from the previous session.

2. Can I Restore My Edge Tabs After Restarting Windows?

Yes. If Edge successfully saves your previous browsing session, it can reopen your tabs after you restart Windows. Make sure the previous-session startup option is enabled before restarting your computer.

3. How Do I Restore Accidentally Closed Tabs in Edge?

Press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen your most recently closed tab. You can repeat the shortcut to restore additional recently closed tabs.

4. Does Microsoft Edge Automatically Save Open Tabs?

Edge maintains session information to support browsing recovery and startup restoration. However, you should enable Open tabs from the previous session to make restoring your previous browsing session the default startup behavior.

5. Can I Restore Edge Tabs After a Windows Update?

Yes, you can often restore your previous Edge tabs after installing a Windows update. Open Edge and check whether your previous session is restored. If not, try Ctrl + Shift + T or check your browsing history.

6. Will Edge Restore My Tabs If I Shut Down My Computer Without Closing the Browser?

Edge may restore your previous tabs after an unexpected shutdown, but this isn’t guaranteed. The browser might not have saved the latest session information before Windows shut down. For better results, save your work and close Edge normally before restarting your PC.

7. Can I Restore My Previous Edge Session on Another Computer?

If you’re signed in to the same Microsoft account and have synchronization enabled, Edge can sync certain browsing information between devices. However, syncing history and favorites is different from restoring an active browser session. Don’t assume that all your open windows and tabs will automatically appear on another computer.

Summary

Losing your open browser tabs after restarting your computer can interrupt your work, but Microsoft Edge provides a straightforward way to avoid this problem.

The easiest solution is to enable Open tabs from the previous session under Settings > Start, home, and new tabs. Once configured, Edge will attempt to reopen your previous browsing session whenever you launch the browser.

If automatic restoration doesn’t work, you can use Ctrl + Shift + T to recover recently closed tabs, check your browsing history, review automatic data-clearing settings, and update Edge.