Recently, Microsoft reminded Windows users that they will retire the Internet Explorer browser from some win10 versions in June this year, replacing it with the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser. However, after the elimination of Internet Explorer, Microsoft will still support old Internet Explorer-based websites and applications in Microsoft Edge through the built-in Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) feature.
In this regard, Microsoft also said in the announcement that in the future, Internet Explorer will be replaced by Microsoft Edge, and for some versions of Windows 10, Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications will be retired on June 15, 2022. After deactivation, the Internet Explorer desktop application will be disabled and no longer supported, and users will be automatically redirected to Microsoft Edge at startup, while the deactivation of IE11 will still have a significant impact on the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application.
Internet Explorer 11 retirement timeline (Microsoft)
If you want to enable IE mode in Microsoft Edge, users must go to the edge://settings/default browser, turn on the option “Allow websites to reload in Internet Explorer,” and then restart the web browser. Users can also learn more about IE Patterns and how to deploy and transition to the new Microsoft Edge by reading the Getting Started Guide.
Microsoft first announced in August 2020 that it was dropping support for Internet Explorer 11 web browsers in Windows 10 and Microsoft 365. Following the initial announcement, Microsoft discontinued IE support for Teams on November 30, 2020. Microsoft also ended support for Internet Explorer across Microsoft 365 apps and services on August 17, 2021. From then on, those who are still trying to connect to Microsoft 365 may face connection failures and a degraded user experience. WordPress, the most popular blogging platform, also announced plans to abandon support for Internet Explorer 11 in March 2021, as the browser’s usage has fallen below 1%.
