Microsoft plans to disable its Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) web browser in some Windows systems in February 2023. Microsoft plans to permanently disable IE11 on Windows 10 systems through the February 2023 cumulative security update so that it cannot be reactivated and used in the future.
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In addition to Windows 10, IE11 is currently available on earlier versions of Windows, but Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 Extended will eventually end support in January 2023. After stopping support for them, Microsoft will focus on Windows 10 systems.
Microsoft has confirmed the decision on its website and in the Microsoft 365 admin center. “As part of the February 2023 Windows Security Update (“B”) scheduled to be released on February 14, 2023, some versions of Windows 10 will permanently disable the discontinued, unsupported Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) Desktop application. Setting IE mode in Microsoft Edge and disabling IE11 by this date is highly recommended to ensure your organization does not experience business disruption.”
According to Microsoft, any future calls to IE11 will be automatically redirected to the Microsoft Edge web browser. IE11 support ends on June 15, 2022, and the first phase of decommissioning begins. At this stage, IE11 remains on the system, but calls to IE are redirected to Microsoft Edge. The second phase will uninstall components of IE11 from the system, but Microsoft has not provided a deadline until now.
Microsoft plans to release an optional update for Windows 10 and Windows 11 on January 17, 2023; this optional non-security update will remove installed IE11 from Windows devices. Then, on February 14, 2023, Internet Explorer will be automatically removed as part of the February Patch Day. Optional updates remove components early, but patch-day updates will remove them on all supported systems.
Microsoft created IE Mode in Microsoft Edge to give organizations and home users the option to load technical content that requires Internet Explorer. In particular, organizations may operate content that requires certain Internet Explorer technologies. IE mode in Edge is designed to load this content.
Moreover, removing IE11 will not remove all components of the browser from Windows systems. Although it can no longer run, some components of IE may still be required by programs on the operating system.
