Microsoft Edge browser for Mac keeps breaking each week.

Question

Microsoft Edge browser for Mac keeps breaking each week.

Jay Zenitsky 0

I recently purchased a new MacBook M5 and noticed the Microsoft Edge browser keeps breaking (error: "You can’t open the application 'Microsoft Edge.app' because this application is not supported on this Mac."

This happens almost on a weekly basis. I believe it has something to do with the Microsoft Auto Updater (MAU), but even when I deleted that file and associated files, the Edge app continues to break (displays a cross out on the dock icon). This forces me to then go to Microsoft.com and download a new brower and hope it doesn't break the following week.

I tried researching this error, but cannot find it on the Intenet.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

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1 answer

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Answer 1

Hi Jay Zenitsky,

The crossed-out Edge icon and the message:

“You can’t open the application ‘Microsoft Edge.app’ because this application is not supported on this Mac”

usually indicate that macOS believes the app binary is corrupted, incomplete, quarantined, or replaced with an incompatible architecture build during an update process.

Since this keeps happening weekly, your suspicion about Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is reasonable, especially on a newer Apple Silicon platform like the M5.

A few things worth trying:

Completely remove Edge AND Microsoft AutoUpdate Delete:

/Applications/Microsoft Edge.app

Then also remove:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft
~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.edgemac
~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.edgemac.plist
/Library/Application Support/Microsoft
/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0

Reboot the Mac

Download ONLY the Apple Silicon version of Edge Make sure you are not accidentally getting an Intel/Rosetta package.

Disable Edge auto-updates temporarily After reinstalling:

Open Microsoft AutoUpdate

Advanced

Turn OFF automatic updates temporarily

Then monitor whether the corruption stops occurring.

Check macOS security/quarantine state Sometimes Gatekeeper or third-party security software interferes with app replacement during updates.

Run:

xattr -lr /Applications/Microsoft\ Edge.app

If quarantine attributes appear repeatedly after updates, that may indicate update corruption during MAU replacement.

Verify disk integrity Rarely, repeated app corruption can also come from:

aggressive cleanup tools

antivirus software

iCloud/Desktop sync issues

filesystem corruption

Run:

Disk Utility → First Aid

on the internal drive.

Because this is happening repeatedly after updates rather than immediately after install, the issue is likely:

MAU update replacement failure

architecture mismatch during update

or macOS quarantine/signature validation failure after patching

If the issue continues even after a clean reinstall with MAU disabled, it may be worth reporting directly to Microsoft Edge for Mac support because the M5 platform may still have unresolved updater compatibility issues.

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