• Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer 11 on June 15, 2022.
  • The end of support will affect Windows 10 20H2, 21H1, and later releases.
  • The support will continue for Windows 10 LSTC, Windows Server, Windows 8.1, and 7.
  • Moving forward the company recommends using Microsoft Edge with IE mode.

Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer (IE) on Windows 10 will be retiring after more than two in a half decades. Although the company has already switched to Microsoft Edge, a modern and more capable browser, it has kept the IE around to allow organizations to continue accessing legacy pages and services. However, it will all come to an end on June 15, 2022.

In an announcement at the Windows Blog, the company said that the desktop version of Internet Explorer 11 would go out of support on June 15, 2022, for all consumer versions of Windows 10. However, the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) of the operating system will continue to ship with the browser for the foreseeable future.

While the best approach moving forward would be making the necessary plans to upgrade those legacy websites and services, Microsoft is offering the IE mode as an alternative solution for businesses.

IE mode is a feature available with Microsoft Edge that allows rendering incompatible websites using a modern web browser without the need for Internet Explorer. You can enable the IE mode on Microsoft Edge now, but this is not a permanent solution since this support will only last until 2029.

The news may come as a surprise to many people, but it is a long time coming. Microsoft has been trying to move users away from the legacy browser for years. In 2020, for example, the company began ending support for the legacy browser for the web version of Microsoft Teams. In 2021, more specifically, on August 17, Internet Explorer will lose support for Microsoft 365 services, including Office, OneDrive, Outlook, and more.

Although the support for Internet Explorer will come to an end in 2022, the application will be removed from devices running Windows 10 20H2 and higher releases. Older versions, including Windows 10 LTSC, Windows Server, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 (Extended Security Updates), will continue to support the legacy version of the browser.