M365 Changelog: Reminder: Microsoft 365 apps and services ending support on IE11 beginning August 17, 2021

MC272080 – As communicated in MC220490 (August ’20), Microsoft 365 apps and services have been focusing their efforts on modern browser support over the last year. Beginning August 17, 2021, Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) and users may have a degraded experience, or be unable to connect to, those apps and services. These apps and services will phase out over weeks and months to ensure a smooth end of support with each app and service phasing out on independent schedules.

Microsoft 365 applications and services

• Timing: Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support IE11 beginning August 17, 2021.
  • Microsoft Teams ended support for IE11 as of November 30, 2020.
• Action: To access Microsoft 365 apps and services using a supported platform, open with Microsoft Edge or another supported browser prior to August 17, 2021, or use an applicable Win-32 app (if available).

For a full list of Microsoft apps that have ended (or will end) support for IE11, please see this Docs page.

Please note: While Microsoft 365 apps and services will end support for IE11 on August 17, 2021, the IE11 desktop application remains a supported browser by Microsoft until June 15, 2022. On June 15, 2022, IE11 will be retired and go out of support on certain versions of Windows 10. Please see Microsoft’s retirement announcement and FAQ page for more details.

How this will affect your organization:

Initialdegraded experiences beginning August 17, 2021 will include:

• Outlook Web App:Users logging in with AAD accounts will not receive new features beginning August 17, 2021 while users logging in with Microsoft (MSA) accounts will be redirected to the Outlook Web App Light experience.
• All other apps and services will phase out over weeks and months to ensure a smooth end of support with each app and service phasing out on independent schedules.

Note: If you encounter issues while accessing Microsoft 365 apps and services from IE11 after August 17, 2021, support will be unavailable. Additionally, you should expect no new features and that your daily usage experience could get progressively worse over time until the apps and services are disconnected.

Using SharePoint’s Open with Explorer and View in File Explorer in IE11: Microsoft understands that some customers may continue to use Open with Explorer and View in File Explorer (only accessible in IE11) to access document libraries. To avoid disruption, these customers will be able to use these features for now when they go to a document library in IE11. These features remain in maintenance mode and aren’t receiving further development. Microsoft encourages all customers to move to a modern browser and OneDrive sync for a better user experience and easier access to files. For more information on how to prepare your SharePoint environment for end of support on IE11, please read this Docs article.

What you need to do to prepare:

• To avoid an unsupported and degraded experience, or one where you are unable to connect to Microsoft 365 apps and services, upgrade to Microsoft Edge prior to August 17, 2021. Microsoft 365 apps and services will continue to support Microsoft Edge.

Additional Information

• If you’d like help upgrading your organization’s devices to Microsoft Edge, FastTrack can help with deployment and configuration at no additional charge for customers with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
• For help with web app and site compatibility, learn more about the App Assure program.
• Read more about these changes in the Lifecycle announcement.
  • Microsoft’s blog also provides more information about these announcements.
• To learn about the IE11 desktop application retirement on June 15, 2022, please read this retirement announcement blog.