Edge can’t be Opened Using the Built-in Administrator Account Fix

If you try to use Windows 10 on a VM, you’ll sometimes get this error: “This app can’t open. Microsoft Edge can’t be opened using the Built-in Administrator account“.

Sometimes you can go the simple way and just create another account to try if that fixes this issue. But, if you already have the current user account fully set up with Windows, then it’s quite cumbersome to repeat this process for another one.

Mind you, that this error isn’t only confined to virtual machines. Using a native install on your PC can also show you the “Edge can’t be opened using the Built-in Administrator account” error. The good thing is that it’s entirely fixable for most PCs.

Now, there are two ways that you can go about this – One using the Security Policy editor and the second is to use the registry editor.

If you are using the Pro edition of Windows, you’ll have both the Security policy editor and the registry, so the choice is yours. But, for the Windows 10 Home users, you’ll be stuck with the registry editor. There’s nothing to worry about, though. Both fixes work fine.

Fix Edge Can’t be Opened using the Built-in Administrator account

Set User Account Control to Always Notify

• Search for UAC in the start menu search. From the search results, open the User Accounts Control Panel. You can also directly go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > User Accounts. Both work.
• You’ll now see the Make changes to your user account page. Click on Change User Account Control settings link. This will open the UAC settings box.
• Adjust the slider so that it’s set to Always notify. That is the 2nd value from the top.
• Click OK.

Now, try to open the Edge browser. See if Edge can’t be Opened Using the Built-in Administrator Account error still shows up. If that doesn’t fix your issue, try the following two methods depending on the version of Windows you have.

For Windows 10 Pro Users

• Press Windows + R to open Run. Type secpol.msc and press Enter. This will launch the Local Security Policy editor on your PC
• Look to the sidebar and navigate to the following: Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
• When you have selected the Security Options, you’ll see a big list of policies already available on Windows. Look for one named User Account Control Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account policy.
• Double-click on it to open its Properties.
• In the Local Security Settings tab, select Enabled.
• Press Apply and OK.
• Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

For Windows 10 Home Users

• Press Windows + R to open Run. Type regedit and press Enter. This will open the Registry Editor on your PC.
• Navigate to the following key from the sidebar: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
• In the right-side, right-click on an empty space and click on New >  DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Give this value a name: FilterAdministratorToken with a value of 1.
• Now go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\UIPI.
• On the right side, you’ll see a string with the name (default). Double-click on it and rename it to 0x00000001(1).

After performing these steps, you should be able to use Microsoft Edge with the “Edge Can’t be Fixed using the Built-in Administrator account” error.