Internet Explorer 11 will finally be killed off in February 2023

The classic browser is finally set to be disabled on Windows 10 devices early next year, pushing users to switch to Edge as soon as possible.

Microsoft has finally provided a date for the true end of Internet Explorer’s life on Windows 10, after it began phasing it out in June of this year. Starting on February 14th of next year, Internet Explorer 11 will be disabled completely on Windows 10 through a Microsoft Edge update.

Previously, Microsoft had said that Internet Explorer 11 would be disabled through a Windows update, but instead, it’s arriving through an update for Edge itself. According to the company, this is to provide a better user experience and make the transition to Edge easier.

The death of Internet Explorer has been in the cards for a long time now. Back in 2020, Microsoft outlined its plans for phasing out the browser, as well as the legacy version of Microsoft Edge (the one that existed prior to the current Chromium-based iteration). In 2021, the company said it would kill off Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022, but in reality, it only began phasing it out on that day. Since then, some devices have gradually been redirected to Edge instead, but it will be only in February that it will be completely unavailable. Even for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, the browser will no longer be available.

Additionally, Microsoft will remove any visual references to Internet Explorer from Windows 10 with the Patch Tuesday update in June. That means you won’t see the IE logo on the taskbar or in the Start menu anymore.

One of the big features of the current version of Microsoft Edge is IE Mode, which basically allows you to open websites as if they were running in Internet Explorer. It’s a feature designed to allow business users to keep using resources that were designed for Internet Explorer, since many times, these aren’t properly supported on modern browsers. If you try to open a site that requires Internet Explorer in Microsoft Edge, you’ll be prompted to switch to IE Mode, which should let you use that site as normal.

If you do have any resources that require Internet Explorer 11, you’re running out of time to make sure they will work properly in Microsoft Edge when the end of support date hits. Otherwise, you’re at risk of being unable to use them for a while. We’ve taken a look back at the history of Internet Explorer if you’d like to know more about its legacy now that it’s going away forever.

Source: Microsoft