Microsoft to Finally End Support for Internet Explorer

By this time next year, Microsoft will no longer support Internet Explorer, the company announced earlier this month.

On Nov. 30 of this year, the Microsoft Teams web app will no longer support Internet Explorer 11, and by Aug. 17, 2021, all remaining Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support the internet browser.

In a blog, Microsoft encourages users of Internet Explorer to transition to Microsoft Edge, the company’s newer browser that has recently undergone a makeover similar to Google Chrome.

This means that after the above dates, customers will have a degraded experience or will be unable to connect to Microsoft 365 apps and services on IE 11. For degraded experiences, new Microsoft 365 features will not be available or certain features may cease to work when accessing the app or service via IE 11. While we know this change will be difficult for some customers, we believe that customers will get the most out of Microsoft 365 when using the new Microsoft Edge. We are committed to helping make this transition as smooth as possible.

Internet Explorer 11 was released in 2013 “when the online environment was much less sophisticated” that it is today, the company noted in the blog.

Since then, open web standards and newer browsers—like the new Microsoft Edge—have enabled better, more innovative online experiences. We believe that Microsoft 365 subscribers, in both consumer and commercial contexts, will be well served with this change through faster and more responsive web access to greater sets of features in everyday toolsets like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.

While Microsoft 365 apps and services won’t be accessible via IE 11, customers’ own legacy apps will continue to work on the browser.

For customers worrying about using two browsers for different functions, Microsoft offers the Internet Explorer Mode on Edge. It uses the integrated Chromium engine for modern sites and uses the Trident MSHTML engine from IE 11 for legacy sites, allowing sites that only work in Internet Explorer to work in Edge, according to Microsoft.

The company is also shutting down security updates for Microsoft Edge Legacy as it makes way for the new Microsoft Edge. By March 9, 2021, the company will no longer issue security updates.

The new Microsoft Edge is our best expression of a modern browser—we’re excited for customers to experience it. Apps and sites created for Microsoft Edge Legacy will continue to work in the new Microsoft Edge, but if a compatibility issue does arise, we have our App Assure promise to provide support. For more information, see the section below.