How to Hard Refresh and Reload a Page in Edge on the Computer

An Edge page that keeps showing last week's images or a broken layout is usually serving you cached files. The site changed, but your browser is holding on to its own copy.

Press Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows or Command+Shift+R on Mac to force fresh files from the server. You stay signed in. Clear cookies only when the problem is sign-in state or saved site preferences.

In this guide, I have covered:

Start With a Normal Reload in Edge

A page in Microsoft Edge looks out of date, and you want to know whether the site changed or your browser is showing you a stale copy. Start with a normal reload. It is the fastest check, and it costs you nothing.

A normal reload asks the site for the page again, but Edge can still reuse the images and scripts it already has on disk. That is why a page sometimes redraws with the same old banner. Use the shortcut for your system, or reload with the mouse:

1. Open the tab that contains the page you want to reload.
2. On Windows, press F5 or Ctrl + R.
3. On macOS, press Command + R.
4. To reload with the mouse, click the Reload button beside the address bar.

The tab redraws and the content updates when it works. If the old layout or an old image survives, move on to a hard refresh.

Hard Refresh a Page in Edge

You have reloaded twice and the page still shows yesterday’s version. A hard refresh tells Edge to request fresh image, style, and script files instead of reusing the cached copies.

Use the keyboard shortcut for your operating system:

1. Open the affected page in Edge on your computer.
2. On Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + R. You can also press Ctrl + F5.
3. On macOS, press Command + Shift + R.

The page redraws after Edge pulls the current files. You stay signed in, because this shortcut does not touch cookies. If the page still looks wrong, the site itself may not have published the change yet.

Hard Refresh with the Reload Button

Some keyboards make three-key shortcuts awkward, and plenty of people simply prefer the mouse. Edge runs the same hard refresh from the Reload button next to the address bar.

1. Open the page you want to refresh in Microsoft Edge.
2. On Windows, hold Ctrl and click the Reload button.
3. On macOS, hold Command and click the Reload button.

The tab reloads and requests the page files again, so the result matches the keyboard shortcut.

What Edge Clears During a Hard Refresh

You pressed the shortcut, the page blinked, and now you want to know what actually changed. Short answer: only the cached copies of files tied to that page.

A hard refresh does not delete cookies, site data, browsing history, or saved passwords. It is not the same as clearing browsing data, so do not treat it as a privacy step.

Cookies keep you signed in and remember site choices. Cached images, styles, and scripts are temporary copies Edge reuses to load pages faster. Reach for a hard refresh when the files look outdated. Reach for the Clear browsing data panel when sign-in state or saved preferences are wrong.

TIP: Signed in and not ready to lose it? Try the hard refresh first. Clearing cookies is the bigger hammer, and it signs you out of every site you clear.

Clear Cache and Cookies Separately in Edge

Some problems survive a hard refresh because they are not file problems at all. You are signed in as the wrong account, a cookie banner reappears on every visit, or a site preference keeps flipping back.

Those live in cookies and site data, and the fix is a different procedure. It removes the selected data for every site in Edge, not just the tab you have open.

1. Open the Edge browser on computer.
2. Click on the More for the menu list, and select the Settings menu.
3. Switch to the Privacy, Search, and Services tab from the left sidebar.
4. In the Right side pane, under the Clear browsing data section, click the Choose What to Clear button. It will open a Clear browsing data window.
5. Select the Time Range from the drop-down, and enable the checkboxes for the 'Cookies and other site data' and 'Cached image and files' options.
6. Finally, hit the Clear Now button. It will delete the cache and cookies stored for all sites from the Edge browser.

You’ll know it worked when the affected page loads as if you had never visited it. Expect to sign in again, since clearing cookies removes each site’s stored session.

If you also want to wipe history or start over with a reset, the longer guide covers how to delete the browsing data for the sites.

Hard Refresh Edge on Other Devices

Phones and tablets have no Ctrl or Command key, so the shortcuts above stop at the desktop. Edge on a touch screen uses different controls.

If Edge is open on an Android phone or tablet, the mobile guide explains how to hard refresh the page in Edge on Android.

RELATED: Hard Refresh and Reload a Web Page in Edge on iPhone & iPad