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If a site broke immediately after you enabled Enhance your security on the web, first make a per-site exception: stay on the page, open the site-information icon to the left of the address bar, choose Enhance security for this site, switch Use enhanced security for this site off, and reload. Edge records that site as an exception while keeping enhanced protection active elsewhere.
If the control is missing or locked, the browser may be managed by a work or school policy. If an exception does not help, troubleshoot Edge, the network and the site itself instead of assuming enhanced security is still the cause.
What Enhanced Security changes
Edge Enhanced Security Mode reduces the browser attack surface by disabling just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation and enabling additional operating-system mitigations. Those changes make exploitation harder, but they can expose compatibility defects in applications that depend on JIT behavior, older browser assumptions or particular WebAssembly (WASM) execution paths. Microsoft cautions that some parts of a website may not work because of compatibility issues when the feature is enabled.
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Fastest fix: create an exception from the broken page
This is the least disruptive remedy when one known site is affected. It changes the security mode for that site only; other sites continue to receive enhanced protection.
- Remain on the page where the function fails.
- Select the site-information icon (often shown as a lock) immediately to the left of the address bar.
- Choose Enhance security for this site or the equivalent enhanced-security status entry.
- Turn Use enhanced security for this site off.
- Reload the page, sign in again if prompted, and retry the specific function that failed.
When you turn enhanced security off from this flyout, Edge automatically adds the site to its exception list. You do not need to create a second entry in Settings. If the site uses several separate hostnames, test the exact hostname that failed before adding broader entries.
Verify that the exception worked
Test the failed operation rather than only checking that the home page appears. For example, open the editor, start the upload, run the report or complete the checkout step that previously failed. If that operation now works, the compatibility issue is isolated to enhanced security. If nothing changes, restore the protection for the site and continue with the troubleshooting sequence later in this guide.
Add or manage an exception in Settings
Use Settings when you want to preconfigure a site, review existing exceptions or remove one later.
- Open Settings and more (the three-dot menu), then select Settings.
- Open Privacy, search, and services.
- Scroll to Security and confirm that Enhance your security on the web is turned on.
- Select Site preferences for enhanced security. In some enterprise documentation this area is labeled Manage enhanced security for sites.
- Under Never use enhanced security for these sites, select Add site.
- Enter the site’s full URL and select Add.
Use the narrowest URL that resolves the problem. An exception for a specific application host is safer than exempting an entire organization’s domain when the application does not require that scope. Copy the address from the failing tab so you do not accidentally enter a similar but different hostname.
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Edit or remove an entry
Return to the same site-preferences page to edit or delete an exception. Remove it after a browser or site update restores compatibility, then retest with enhanced security enabled. Keeping obsolete exceptions increases the number of pages that operate without the additional mitigations and makes later troubleshooting harder.
Choose Balanced or Strict mode
The mode determines how broadly Edge applies the feature before you create exceptions.
| Mode | Default coverage | Compatibility impact | Maintenance | Appropriate use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | Enhanced protection is aimed mainly at unfamiliar or infrequently visited sites; frequently visited sites are often left outside enhanced mode. | Usually lower for routine browsing, although an individual site can still fail. | Occasional per-site exceptions when a site is incompatible. | Practical starting point for most personal devices. |
| Strict | Enhanced protection applies to all sites by default. | Higher chance that ordinary web tasks need configuration. | Requires maintaining exceptions for sites that cannot operate with the protections. | Users who deliberately accept compatibility work and ongoing exception management. |
Microsoft states that Strict mode is not recommended for most users because completing daily tasks may require configuration. Balanced does not mean that every site is trusted; it limits enhanced mode mainly to sites Edge considers unfamiliar or less frequently visited. If you want enhanced security for a particular site, you can still use the per-site control regardless of the default mode.
WebAssembly and 32-bit systems
WASM-heavy applications deserve a separate check. Microsoft’s policy documentation says sites using WebAssembly are not supported on 32-bit systems when EnhanceSecurityMode is enabled and recommends adding such a site to the exception list. On supported 64-bit and ARM64 platforms, WASM is supported in enhanced mode according to Microsoft’s security guidance.
| System architecture | WASM with enhanced security | Action when the application fails |
|---|---|---|
| 32-bit Windows or another 32-bit system | Not supported when EnhanceSecurityMode is enabled. |
Add the application site to the exception list, or use a supported 64-bit environment if your organization permits an upgrade. |
| x64 Windows | Supported. | Check the site’s own compatibility and proceed with normal troubleshooting if it still fails. |
| x64 macOS | Supported. | Check for site-specific defects, extensions and network interference. |
| x64 Linux | Supported. | Check the application and browser configuration. |
| ARM64 systems | Supported. | Check the application and browser configuration. |
To identify this pattern, note whether the failure occurs only inside a browser application that uses a local compiler, 3D viewer, engineering tool, media editor or other WASM component. If the same site works after its exception is added, leave the exception limited to that application host and document why it exists.
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Why the exception option may be missing or greyed out
On a work or school device, an administrator can control Enhanced Security Mode. The EnhanceSecurityMode policy supports StandardMode (enhanced mode off), BalancedMode and StrictMode. A related EnhanceSecurityModeAllowUserBypass policy determines whether a user may bypass enhanced security for an individual site.
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What administrators should decide
- Use
StandardModeonly when the organization has decided not to use enhanced security; this removes the protection rather than solving one site’s compatibility problem. - Use
BalancedModewhen the organization wants enhanced protection with less disruption for common browsing. - Use
StrictModewhen the security requirement justifies applying the protections to every site and the support team can maintain exceptions. - Control
EnhanceSecurityModeAllowUserBypassaccording to whether users are trusted to make per-site compatibility decisions.
If the site still fails after an exception
An exception shows only that enhanced security was one possible cause. It does not repair a broken server, extension, cached script, network path or antivirus inspection layer. Work through these checks in order and retest the same failing function after each meaningful change.
- Update Edge. Open Settings and more > Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge. Install any offered update and restart the browser. Record the version if the problem began immediately after an update.
- Clear cached images and files. Open Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data. Select cached images and files, choose an appropriate time range, and clear the data. Clearing cookies can sign you out, so do not select cookies unless you are prepared to authenticate again.
- Disable extensions temporarily. Open Settings and more > Extensions. Turn extensions off, reload the site and test. If the page works, re-enable extensions one at a time to identify the conflict, then remove or reconfigure the offending extension.
- Restart Edge completely. Close all Edge windows, wait a few seconds, reopen the browser and test in a new tab. A full restart clears processes that a tab reload leaves running.
- Check network and security software. Test another site and, if permitted, another network. Review firewall, antivirus, web-filtering or TLS-inspection software for blocked scripts, downloads or connections. Do not permanently disable protection as a workaround; use your organization’s approved allow-list process.
- Test the URL in another browser. If it fails there too, the cause is probably the site, account, network or service rather than Edge Enhanced Security. If it works elsewhere, compare Edge extensions, policies, version and site permissions.
- Use Edge’s repair option when appropriate. In Windows, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft Edge, open its menu, choose Modify and select Repair if that option is available. Repair normally requires an internet connection and should preserve browser data, but follow any organizational change-control process first.
- Check version-related compatibility changes. If the failure coincides with a recent Edge update and occurs even after an exception, consult Microsoft’s compatibility-impacting-changes information for the installed version. Enhanced Security Mode is not the only feature that can change web behavior.
Contact the site owner when the page fails in every browser or when only one account, tenant or workflow is affected. Provide the URL, timestamp, browser version, operating system architecture, console error if available and the exact step that fails. Those details distinguish a service-side regression from a local browser setting.
Compare the available remedies before changing security settings
| Remedy | Scope | Security exposure | Administrative control | Best fit | Reversibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turn off enhanced security from the page flyout | One site | Enhanced protection remains on elsewhere. | User-controlled unless bypass is blocked by policy. | A known compatibility problem on a single site. | Highly reversible; remove the generated exception later. |
| Add a URL under Never use enhanced security for these sites | One explicitly entered URL | Same limited exposure as a per-site bypass, provided the URL is narrow. | User-controlled or policy-controlled. | Persistent exceptions that need to be documented and reviewed. | Remove or edit the entry in Settings. |
| Switch from Strict to Balanced | Browser-wide default behavior | Some sites no longer receive enhanced mode by default. | User-controlled or policy-controlled. | General browsing where Strict causes repeated daily interruptions. | Change the mode again in the security settings. |
| Turn Enhance your security on the web off | All sites | Removes the added protections globally. | May be blocked by policy. | A deliberate organizational decision, not a first-line fix for one broken site. | Can be re-enabled, but every site loses the enhanced layer while it is off. |
| Use StandardMode by policy | All managed users or profiles covered by the policy | Enhanced mode is disabled by enforcement. | Administrator only. | Organizations that have formally chosen not to deploy the feature. | Requires a policy change. |
A safe exception-management routine
- Start with the page-level exception rather than disabling enhanced security globally.
- Record the hostname, business purpose, date and failing feature in your support notes.
- Use the narrowest URL that fixes the workflow and avoid exempting unrelated subdomains.
- Keep the browser and the site application current while the exception remains.
- After a browser or site update, remove the exception and retest with enhanced security enabled.
- If the exception is recreated or cannot be removed on a managed device, have the administrator review the governing policy.
This process preserves enhanced security for unaffected browsing and gives you a clear rollback path when compatibility improves.
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Frequently asked questions
Does turning off enhanced security for one site disable it everywhere?
No. The page-level control creates an exception for that site. Enhanced security continues to apply according to your selected mode on other sites.
Should I choose Balanced if Strict breaks several sites?
For most personal devices, Balanced is the practical starting point because it limits enhanced mode mainly to unfamiliar or infrequently visited sites. Strict is intended for people or organizations willing to maintain exceptions for routine tasks.
Why does a WASM application work on one computer but not another?
Architecture can explain the difference. Microsoft documents WASM support with enhanced security on x64 Windows, x64 macOS, x64 Linux and ARM64 systems, but not on 32-bit systems when EnhanceSecurityMode is enabled. Compare the operating-system architecture and the effective Edge policy before changing other settings.
Can I add an exception if my employer manages Edge?
Only if the administrator allows user bypass. The EnhanceSecurityModeAllowUserBypass policy can remove or lock the per-site control, while EnhanceSecurityMode determines the enforced mode. Ask your administrator to approve a narrowly scoped exception instead of repeatedly changing local settings.
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What if the site fails in every browser?
An Edge exception cannot fix a site or network problem that affects every browser. Check the service status, account, firewall or filtering layer and contact the site owner with the URL, time of failure and exact workflow.
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