Microsoft has finally followed through on its plan to permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 PCs and has made it unavailable for older versions of Windows as well. The browser has been on its way out for years, but the death of the browser was officially announced in December and has now come to fruition.
The long-drawn-out process of phasing out Internet Explorer 11
This move has been a long time coming, as the end of support for Windows 11 was announced in 2020. In June 2022, Microsoft was supposed to kill off the browser in favor of Edge. However this date was only when Microsoft began to move users away from Internet Explorer and to Microsoft Edge. Those changes did not affect everyone right away, but as of yesterday, everyone must transition to the new Chromium-based browser. Thankfully, Microsoft Edge has an IE mode, which adds compatibility for legacy websites that still require Internet Explorer features. This feature has been improved upon since its inception and should make the transition process smoother for users.
As part of the browser’s retirement, you will no longer be able to download Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7, making it nearly impossible to use the browser after February 14. Microsoft has already dropped support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, so it does not matter if Internet Explorer runs on those versions. Windows 11 already shipped without Internet Explorer 11. Users will need to switch to Microsoft Edge if they want to continue browsing the web on a Microsoft browser.
This is a significant step forward for Microsoft as it moves away from the outdated and insecure Internet Explorer and toward a more modern browsing experience with Microsoft Edge. While some users may still mourn the passing of the browser that was once a standard, it is time for everyone to move on and embrace the future of the web.
