How to Sync Passwords, Bookmarks, and Extensions in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge Chromium offers a truly seamless cross-platform browsing experience. Not only is it available on multiple iterations of Windows, but you can also use it on macOS. This was not the case with the legacy version of Microsoft Edge, which was also pretty bad.

Combine the increased presence of Microsoft Edge Chromium on the desktop with the Android and iOS versions, and you will have a consistent browsing experience, no matter which device you use. This is why you must synchronize your navigation data.

This way you can continue to surf the Internet with transparent access to your passwords, bookmarks and settings on any of your devices. Below, let’s see how to configure Microsoft Edge Chromium to start syncing your browsing data.

Set up a Microsoft account

If you already have a Microsoft account, you’re ready to go. Otherwise, you need to create one – it is necessary to synchronize your Microsoft Edge Chromium data between devices.

A Microsoft account is free to set up – you can either create an email address from scratch, or use an existing address for your Microsoft account.

Create a Microsoft account

Accessing a Microsoft account also brings a range of other benefits – for example, you get five gigabytes of free storage on OneDrive, free, unlimited access to the Office Online suite, and more.

When you’re done, it’s time to sync your browsing data in Microsoft Edge Chromium.

Desktop (Windows and macOS)

The Chromium version of Microsoft Edge works similarly on Windows and macOS. Not only is it considerably faster than the legacy version of Edge, but it also supports an extensive library of extensions, including those for other Chromium-based browsers. It also lets you save passwords and even provides a complete bookmark manager to work with.

You can synchronize your bookmarks, passwords, settings, and form completion data after you turn on synchronization in Microsoft Edge Chromium. At the time of writing, the option to synchronize extensions, open tabs and history is not available. But the developers have explicitly mentioned that it will be possible soon.

To synchronize your browsing data with your other devices (passwords, bookmarks, etc.), you must first log into the browser using your Microsoft account credentials, then specify the data types that you want to synchronize. You can find the whole process below.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Edge menu – click the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Click on Settings.

2nd step: Make sure the Profiles side tab on the right of the Settings screen is selected.

Step 3: Click on the option labeled Connect.

Note: If you’ve signed in to Microsoft Edge Chromium earlier but haven’t turned on sync, just click the Sync option instead. Then click on Activate synchronization, then go to step 6.

Step 4: Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials.

Step 5: Click on the option labeled Personalize.

Step 6: Select the types of data you want to synchronize, then click Confirm.

Note: The ability to synchronize extensions, open tabs and history was not available at the time of writing.

This should prompt Microsoft Edge Chromium to synchronize your data with Microsoft servers. Connect to the browser on another device and you will be able to access your data once you activate synchronization.

Note: If you want to manage your synchronization settings later, go to the Edge Settings panel, select the Profiles side tab, and click Synchronize.

Mobile (Android and iOS)

Microsoft Edge is also available on Android and iOS. If you want to sync your browsing data – password, bookmarks, and autofill data – with Microsoft Edge Chromium on the desktop or with the rest of your mobile devices, the following steps should help you do that.

Step 1: Tap the three-dot icon at the bottom of the Microsoft Edge screen, and then tap Settings.

2nd step: Scroll to the Accounts section, and then tap Sign in with a Microsoft account. Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials. Your Microsoft account will then appear under the Account section. Tap it.

Note: If you already signed in to Microsoft Edge when you first opened the browser, you don’t need to sign in again.

Step 3: Tap the option labeled Sync. Select the types of data you want to synchronize, then return to the previous screen.

Note: The ability to synchronize open tabs, history and payment information was not present at the time of writing.

Step 4: Specify that you want to sync with Microsoft Edge Chromium, not the legacy version of Microsoft Edge.

And that’s all. From now on, your data should sync seamlessly across your devices. If you want to enable or disable data types in Sync, go to Microsoft Edge settings, tap your Microsoft account, then tap Sync.

Living on the edge

By syncing your passwords, bookmarks and other data in Microsoft Edge Chromium, you can use the browser on just about any device you want. No need to change your browser just because you had to switch from Windows to macOS. Or worse, no need to manually export or import data between browsers.