Change default download folder in Microsoft Edge (without moving Downloads)

Even if you are running the latest Windows 10 build, you will find that Microsoft Edge has no option to set the default folder where downloaded files will be stored. It uses the user's Downloads folder. Although you can move the Downloads folder itself to set the new path as the default location for Edge, it is not an ideal solution. In this article, we will see how to set the default downloads location for Microsoft Edge without moving the Downloads folder. So it will be set separately for the Microsoft Edge browser, which can be useful if you are using different browsers simultaneously.
If you are running Windows 10 build 14316 or above, you can avoid Registry editing. In Windows 10 Anniversary Update Microsoft has added a native option to set the default download folder only for Microsoft Edge. Refer to this article:

Change the default Downloads location in Edge with Anniversary Update

To change the default download folder only for Microsoft Edge, you need to apply a very simple Registry tweak.

1. Close Microsoft Edge.
2. Open Registry Editor.
3. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main

   Tip: See how to jump to the desired Registry key with one click.

4. Create here a new string value and name it Default Download Directory. Set its value data to the full path of the desired folder which you want to be used by the Edge browser as the default download location. In the screenshot below, I am using C:\downloads\edge as the new path:
   

Now open Edge, click the "Hub" icon (the first icon after the address bar) and switch to the Downloads pane. When you click the link "Open folder", the folder you set in the Registry will be opened. From now on, this location will be used by default to store downloaded files in Microsoft Edge. That's it.

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