Can I set a default browser other than Safari on Apple Devices?

Yes. Send the Settings command from the Device detail page and enter the bundle identifier of the browser you want in the Web Browser field.

How do I set the default calling or messaging App?

Use the Calling and Messaging fields of the same command, entering each App's bundle identifier. Both fields need iOS or iPadOS 26.0 or later.

Which OS versions support this configuration?

Calling and Messaging need iOS/iPadOS 26.0 or later. Web Browser has a wider reach, including macOS 10.12 Sierra or later, tvOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Can I stop the user changing the default App afterwards?

Only for the browser, and only on supervised Devices, through Apple's allowDefaultBrowserModification restriction. On unsupervised Devices the user can always change it back.

Is this a Policy or a command?

It is a one-off command delivered over APNs, not a persistent configuration profile. Nothing stays installed on the Device.

What happens if the target App is not installed?

The default will not change. The App has to be installed before you send the command, so adding it to the Policy as a forced install is the safest approach.

Where do I find an App's bundle identifier?

It has to match exactly the identifier registered in the App Store. This article lists the values for the most common browsers.

Does this work on macOS?

The Web Browser field does, from macOS 10.12 Sierra onwards. Calling and Messaging are iOS and iPadOS only.

Set Default Browser, Calling and Messaging Apps on Apple Devices

On Apple platforms, which App answers a call, opens a message or handles a link has always been the user's choice. Applivery lets you make that choice for them: from the Device detail page you can send a command that sets the default App for calling, messaging and web browsing, by passing each App's bundle identifier.

This is a one-off command, not a persistent Policy. It sets the defaults at the moment you send it.

Send the command

Open the Device

In the Applivery Dashboard, go to Devices 1 and open the detail page of the Apple Device you want to configure.

Create a new command

Select the Commands 2 tab and click + New command 3.

Choose Settings

From the list of available commands, select Settings, then select Default Applications.

Review the available fields

The panel that opens shows three fields, each with the platforms and minimum versions it supports.

Field	What it does	Minimum compatibility shown
Calling	Bundle identifier of the App the system uses as the default calling App. It has to be an App eligible for calling.	iOS/iPadOS 26.0
Messaging	Bundle identifier of the App the system uses as the default messaging App. It has to be an App eligible for messaging.	iOS/iPadOS 26.0
Web Browser	Bundle identifier of the App the system uses as the default web browser. It has to be a browser App eligible for the Device's region.	iOS/iPadOS, macOS (10.12 Sierra+), tvOS, watchOS, visionOS

Note

You only need to fill in the field you want to configure. The three are independent of each other.

Enter the bundle identifier

Type the bundle identifier of the target App in the matching field. Some common values for the Web Browser field:

Browser	Bundle ID (iOS/iPadOS)
Safari	`com.apple.mobilesafari`
Google Chrome	`com.google.chrome.ios`
Microsoft Edge	`com.microsoft.msedge`
Firefox	`org.mozilla.ios.Firefox`

Send it

Click Send to push the command to the Device.

Warning

The target App has to be installed on the Device before you send the command, and it has to be able to handle the matching content type — calls, messages, or http and https schemes, depending on the field. That validation is done by the operating system, not by Applivery. The safest approach is to add the App to the Policy as a forced install.

How it works on Apple's side

This maps to Apple's native Settings MDM command with the DefaultApplications item, which Apple added to its MDM protocol so default Apps could be set remotely. Unlike configurations that ship as profiles — a .mobileconfig with a PayloadType — this is a one-off command delivered over APNs. Nothing stays installed on the Device as a persistent profile.

Stop users changing the browser back

The command sets the default browser at the moment you send it, but the user can change it again from Settings > Apps > Default Apps. To prevent that, Apple exposes an additional restriction inside the com.apple.applicationaccess payload:

<key>allowDefaultBrowserModification</key>
<false/>

Warning

This restriction only takes effect on supervised Devices. On unsupervised Devices the command to set the browser still works, but the user will always be able to change it afterwards.

Requirements

Requirement	Detail
Minimum OS — Calling and Messaging	iOS/iPadOS 26.0 or later
Minimum OS — Web Browser	iOS/iPadOS, macOS 10.12 Sierra or later, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS. Check the command panel for the exact detail per platform.
App installed	The target App has to be installed on the Device before you send the command
Mechanism	A command sent from the Device detail page, not a persistent configuration profile
Connectivity	The Device has to be online and responsive to receive the command

Troubleshooting

Situation	Likely cause
The command is sent but the default App does not change	The target App is not installed, or its bundle ID does not exactly match the one registered in the App Store
The Calling or Messaging field has no effect	The Device runs a version of iOS/iPadOS earlier than 26.0
The command never reaches the Device	The Device is offline or not responding to MDM at the time you send it

Key Takeaways

Sets the default calling, messaging and browser Apps by bundle identifier.

It is a one-off command, not a persistent configuration profile.

Calling and Messaging need iOS/iPadOS 26.0; Web Browser reaches further back.

The target App must already be installed on the Device.

Only supervised Devices can stop the user changing the browser back afterwards.