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Change the Default Home Page for IE Mobile on Windows Mobile

You wouldn't think this was a hard task. After all, you can do it very easily on the Pocket PC. However, for some reason known only to the developers at Microsoft, it's not an easy task for Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone / Non-Touchscreen) based devices. I know that some are you are wondering why anyone would want to change the default home page on IE mobile. To all of you I say "Why not?" and "UNLIMITED DATA". Wink

So, let's get down to how this is done.  First, you will need a good registry editor.  If you don't already have one, grab a copy of PHM or even SOTI's Pocket Controller - then you can edit from the desktop. Browse to the following location HKLM / Software / Microsoft / Internet Explorer / AboutURLs.  In this section you should see a number of entries labelled home_04xx that has a value of file://\windows\default_04xx.htm The trick here is to pick the correct entry.  For me, it's home_0409, edit this and change the value to whatever you want to use for your home page - http://www.google.com I think the different entries are for different languages.  With a little testing and you should be able to figure out what page your device is loading.

I would be interested to hear what others find as their default home page and what language they are using on the device.  It would help others to figure out what entry they need to edit to get the same results.

That's all there is to it.  Get going and change the your mobile home page.

Published Monday, November 26, 2007 9:28 PM by Mike Temporale
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Adam said:

I just got a Blackjack II with Windows Mobile v6. It actually had a 'home' registry key.
January 1, 2008 7:14 PM
 

Dilshan said:

You don't need to edit the registry. The option is available, just hard to find:

- Open Internet Explorer
- Go to the page you want as your homepage
- Tap: Menu > Tools > Options > General Tab > Use Current.

Done! :P
January 3, 2008 7:22 AM
 

Mike Temporale said:

@Dilshan - Actually, you're wrong.  That only works on Pocket PC based devices (the ones with a touch screen).   That option isn't available on Smartphone based devices (the ones without a touch screen).   Big Smile
January 3, 2008 8:37 PM
 

TheNeoBeast said:

Awesome tip man!  Thanks for digging that up... the AT&T page that shipped on my blackjack II was driving me nuts.
January 12, 2008 6:27 PM
 

Chris said:

I have a new Telus (Canadian provider) HTC S640 Smartphone and had to edit the default2.htm entry. The other entries you mentioned were there but did not do anything. Thanks a ton for the tip.

I think it would also be possible to edit the default2.htm page so it redirects to the homepage of choice (which is what seems to happen when I open the browser), but it may be stored in ROM which makes it read only like some of the system files(like alert tones) that I can't overwrite or change from Read Only. I guess I will just have to keep hacking at it to find out.
February 28, 2008 10:59 PM
 

Ceasar said:

This worked out fine. I was able to change my homepage from Tmobiles default page to my own. Thanx.
May 16, 2008 10:47 AM
 

chris said:

k i have a samsung jack on rogers on windows mobile 6. i cant find any of the files mentioned above. helpp meee please
June 12, 2008 12:38 AM
 

Mike Temporale said:

@chris - These aren't files, but registry settings.  You'll need to get a registry editor and modify these values.  I'm pretty sure that Rogers would have Application Locked the device. So you might need to app unlock it first, before you can modify the registry.  Try it and see.  If you do need to, I would suggest installing the MoDaCo GPS utility which will app unlock the phone and free the GPS to be used with other programs like Live Search and Google maps.
June 12, 2008 6:39 AM

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