When a video enters fullscreen, Edge also switches to F11-style fullscreen — how can I prevent this?

Question

When a video enters fullscreen, Edge also switches to F11-style fullscreen — how can I prevent this?

拉拉 0

When I watch videos in Microsoft Edge and enter fullscreen mode, the browser also enters a system-level fullscreen (similar to pressing F11), which hides the tab bar, address bar, and other browser UI elements. This happens on some websites like YouTube or custom video players.

What I want is for the video to go fullscreen, but keep the browser interface visible (e.g., tab bar and back button), without switching the whole browser window into F11 fullscreen mode.

Additionally, when this occurs, Edge shows a fullscreen notification with the message:

You can see this notification in the attached screenshot.

Is this the default behavior in Edge? Are there any settings or edge://flags options that can prevent this from happening?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Scott_LA 355 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-08T19:38:29.5333333+00:00

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community!

I understand you're experiencing an issue where Microsoft Edge enters a full browser fullscreen mode (similar to pressing F11) when you play videos in fullscreen hiding the tab bar and address bar. You're wondering if this is the default behavior and whether there's a way to keep the video fullscreen without losing access to the browser interface.

You're absolutely right this behavior is intentional in Edge. When a video enters fullscreen, Edge often switches to a full browser fullscreen mode to provide an immersive viewing experience. This is why you see the notification prompting you to press Esc to exit fullscreen.

As of now, there isn’t a built-in setting or edge://flags option that allows you to keep the browser interface visible while a video is in fullscreen. The fullscreen mode is designed to hide distractions, and unfortunately, it applies to the entire browser window.

If retaining the browser interface is important for your workflow, a workaround is to resize the video manually within the tab instead of using the fullscreen button. This way, you can still view the video in a larger format while keeping the tab bar and address bar visible.However, please note that this approach may not work consistently across all video platforms. It works well for many embedded videos, but some streaming services or custom video players may restrict resizing or behave differently due to DRM protections or platform-specific controls.

I know this might not be ideal, and I’d recommend submitting feedback directly through Edge (via the “Help and feedback” menu) so the team can consider this use case in future updates. Check the following support article for the same: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/send-feedback-to-microsoft-with-the-feedback-hub-app-f59187f8-8739-22d6-ba93-f66612949332

I hope this helps clarify things! If you need further assistance or have any follow-up questions, feel free to reply here, happy to help!

Warm regards,
Scott Moderator, Microsoft Q&A

Share via

When a video enters fullscreen, Edge also switches to F11-style fullscreen — how can I prevent this?

Your answer