After more than 25 years, Microsoft is officially retiring Internet Explorer next year. The ancient web browser has been mostly ignored by most customers for years, but on June 15th, 2022, Microsoft will hammer the final nail in the coffin of Internet Explorer by retiring it in favour of Microsoft Edge.
“We’re announcing that Microsoft Edge will be the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10,” says Sean Lyndersay, a Microsoft Edge programme manager. “For certain versions of Windows 10, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop programme will be decommissioned and support will end on June 15, 2022.”
While Internet Explorer will be supported in the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) of Windows 10 next year, it will be phased out of all consumer versions. Although Microsoft doesn’t say so (and we’re checking), it’s likely that Internet Explorer will be phased out of Windows by June 2022 or shortly thereafter.
For most organisations, Microsoft Edge with Internet Explorer mode will be the best option. Microsoft’s Edge IE mode was introduced a few years ago, allowing businesses to use the new Chromium-based browser to access older legacy websites. Older ActiveX components and legacy sites are supported by IE mode, which is surprising because many organisations still use them. Microsoft has stated that this IE option will be supported in Edge until at least 2029.
It’s been a long time coming, but Internet Explorer is now being phased out. Last year, Microsoft stopped supporting Internet Explorer 11 for the Microsoft Teams web app, and it plans to stop supporting it for Microsoft 365 services later this year. On August 17th, Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be supported by Microsoft for online services such as Office 365, OneDrive, Outlook, and others.
For more than five years, Microsoft has been attempting to discourage consumers from using Internet Explorer. In 2015, Microsoft Edge was released, signalling the retirement of the Internet Explorer brand. Since then, Microsoft has referred to Internet Explorer as a “compatibility solution” rather than a browser and has urged businesses to abandon it in favour of Edge and its IE mode.
How to turn on Internet Explorer Mode in Edge?
Thankfully, the process for enabling Internet Explorer mode in Edge hasn’t changed. Of course, your PC will need Microsoft Edge, which will most likely be located on the taskbar. Edge’s settings can be used to enable IE Mode.
Type edge:/settings/defaultbrowser into the Microsoft Edge address bar and press Enter. Alternatively, you can go to the Edge Settings menu and select Default browser from the drop-down menu. To enable compatibility mode, toggle the Allow webpages to be reloaded in Internet Explorer toggle to On. You can also choose to launch web pages in IE Mode at any time, including Always. You’ll need to restart your browser after that.
Of course, Microsoft is hoping that you’ll just switch to Edge. Go back to the Edge Settings menu and then to the Profiles header in the left-hand menu to make Edge your default browser. Select Import browser data from the top drop-down box, and then Microsoft Internet Explorer. When you click Import, Edge will configure itself in the same way as Internet Explorer did.
