How to change the default music player in Windows
Aug 01, 2025 am 04:35 AMOpen Settings via Windows I, go to Apps > Default apps, click Choose default apps by file type, locate audio formats like .mp3 or .flac, click the current app next to them, and select your preferred player such as VLC or Foobar2000. 2. Alternatively, right-click a music file, choose Open with > Choose another app, pick your desired player, check "Always use this app," and click OK to set it as default for that format. 3. Optionally, change the music protocol handler by going to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default apps by protocol, find "music," and assign a different app if available, though few support this feature. If your app doesn’t appear, ensure it’s installed and launched at least once, and note that Spotify has limited support for local file associations, so use VLC or similar players for full control. Once configured, music files will open in your chosen application by default.
Changing the default music player in Windows is straightforward — it’s not about uninstalling apps, but telling Windows which app should open when you click a music file. Here’s how to do it properly.

1. Set Default App by File Type
The most reliable way to change your default music player is by assigning it to specific audio file types (like MP3, WAV, FLAC, etc.).
Steps:

- Press Windows I to open Settings.
- Go to Apps > Default apps.
- Scroll down and click on Choose default apps by file type.
- Wait for the list to load. Look for common audio formats:
.mp3
.wav
.flac
.m4a
.wma
- Click on the current app listed next to any of these (e.g., "Groove Music" or "Web browser").
- From the pop-up menu, select your preferred music player (e.g., VLC, Spotify, Foobar2000, or Windows Media Player).
? Tip: You may need to do this for each file type you use. If your preferred app doesn’t appear in the list, make sure it’s installed first.
2. Set Default App by Music File Click
You can also set the default player directly from a music file using File Explorer.

Steps:
- Right-click any music file (e.g., an MP3).
- Select Open with > Choose another app.
- Pick your preferred player from the list.
- Check the box that says "Always use this app to open .mp3 files" (or whatever format you're using).
- Click OK.
Now, all files of that type should open in your chosen app.
?? Note: Some apps like Spotify limit this option. Spotify, for example, doesn’t register itself as a default handler for local files by default — you may need to enable "Local Files" and still rely on other players for direct file association.
3. Change Default App for Music Protocol (Optional)
Some music apps (like Groove or Spotify) also handle the music:
protocol. If you want to change that:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Scroll down and click on Choose default apps by protocol.
- Look for music in the list.
- Change the default from "Groove Music" to another app if available (though few apps register for this).
This step is less important for most users since it's rarely used outside built-in Windows features.
Common Issues & Tips
- Your app doesn’t show up? Reinstall it or launch it once — Windows sometimes only lists apps that have registered file type support.
- Spotify won’t open local files? Spotify doesn’t fully act as a default file handler. Use VLC, Foobar2000, or Media Player instead for full local file control.
- Want a lightweight, full-featured player? Try VLC or AIMP — both support extensive formats and work well as defaults.
Basically, just pick your favorite player, make sure it’s installed, and assign it to the file types you use. Once set, double-clicking music files will open them in your chosen app.
The above is the detailed content of How to change the default music player in Windows. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics

VUE3 Getting Started Example: Building a Simple Music Player Vue is a progressive framework for building user interfaces. It differs from other frameworks in that its core library only focuses on the view layer, making it easy to integrate it into other libraries or projects. In this article, we will demonstrate how to build a simple music player using Vue3. This sample project will let us understand the basics of Vue3, including components, state management, and event handling. let's start! Install Vue3 First, we need to install Vue3. I

How to use MySQL and Java to implement a simple music player function Introduction: With the continuous development of technology, music players have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives. This article will introduce how to use MySQL and Java programming language to implement a simple music player function. The article will contain detailed code examples to help readers understand and practice. 1. Preparation work: Before using MySQL and Java to implement the music player, we need to do some preparation work: install the MySQL database

How to use C++ to implement a simple music player program? Music player is one of the common applications in our daily life. It allows us to enjoy our favorite music anytime, anywhere, relieve stress and enjoy the wonderful world of music. Below, I will introduce how to write a simple music player program using C++. First, we need to understand the basic functions of the music player program. A simple music player should have the following functions: play, pause, stop, jump, display the current playback progress, etc. Therefore, when writing a program

How to use PHP to implement a simple online music player. With the advent of the digital age, more and more people are beginning to enjoy music through the Internet, and online music players have become an important tool. In this article, we will implement a simple online music player through the PHP programming language and provide specific code examples. Preparation work: Before starting, we need to prepare the following aspects: a machine running a web server (such as Apache). PHP running environment. Music files, music files can be

Title: Develop a simple music player using Node.js Node.js is a popular server-side JavaScript runtime environment that helps developers build high-performance web applications. In this article, we will introduce how to use Node.js to develop a simple music player and provide specific code examples. First, we need to install Node.js and npm (the package manager for Node.js). After the installation is complete, we can start creating our music player

With the popularity of the Internet and mobile devices, the spread and playback of music continues to increase. More and more websites and applications are also beginning to provide online music playback functions. This article will introduce how to use PHP7.0 to implement a simple online music player. Environment preparation First, you need to install PHP7.0 or above locally or on the server. In addition, we also need a MySQL database to store music file information (such as file name, path, play times, etc.). Create a file server We need to create a file service

Quick Start: Use Go language functions to implement a simple music player Music is an indispensable part of people's lives, and the development of modern technology makes it easier and easier for us to enjoy music. In the field of computer programming, we can also use various languages ????to implement music players. This article will introduce how to use Go language functions to quickly implement a simple music player. Before starting, make sure you have installed the Go development environment. First, we need to create a file called "music_player.go" and

With the popularity of mobile Internet and music services, music players have become an indispensable part of our lives. For developers who want to develop a music player themselves, using the PHP framework Symfony will be an efficient choice. Symfony is a PHP framework based on the MVC pattern. It provides many efficient tools and components to help developers quickly build high-quality web applications. In this article, we will introduce how to use the Symfony framework to build an efficient
