Edge will remove Favorite bar on fist page but not new pages

I went into settings and turned off the favorites bar. The bar was removed on the first page, but any new pages show the bar. If I go into settings on a new page that shows the bar, the setting is off. Tried turning it on and then off again with no change.

I have the start page set for Gmail, so when I start Edge it comes up. That page there is no bar.

Any feedback on this?

I think the Favorites bar is always shown when you first open a new blank tab, but it disappears automatically as soon as you navigate to a site (if it's switched off in Settings).

Yes you are correct, it does disappear once on a web page.