M365 Changelog: Reminder: IE11 desktop application retires in 5 months on June 15, 2022 – Set up IE mode today (non-LTSC, non-Server)

MC316144 – As previously announced in (MC257152 – May), (MC288052 – Sept), (MC298657 – Nov), and (MC306663- Dec), the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) provides legacy browser support within Microsoft Edge. Because of this, the IE11 desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022. This means that the IE11 desktop application will no longer be supported and afterwards will redirect to Microsoft Edge if a user tries to access it.

With 5 months left before retirement, Microsoft highly recommends you start preparing for this multi-month transition today. The essential first step—Site Discovery—typically takes 3-4 weeks. Site Discovery identifies legacy-dependent sites in your organization based on user traffic. Don’t delay and get started on your transition today.

Note: The IE11 desktop application is not available on Windows 11. To continue using legacy IE-based sites and apps on Windows 11, IE mode in Microsoft Edge must be configured before deploying Windows 11.

Internet Explorer 11 desktop application

  • Timing: The IE11 desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022.
    • Windows 10 LTSC and Server not affected. For a full list of what is in scope for retirement, see the FAQ.
    • IE11 is not available on Windows 11.
  • Action:

How this will affect your organization:

If your organization has legacy sites and apps with IE dependencies, you will need to set up IE mode so that users can access them through Microsoft Edge. If you do not set up IE mode before IE11 is retired and disabled, users will lose access to those legacy sites, and you could experience business disruption.

Starting with the Windows 10 January 2022 C “Preview” release, IE11 will have an in-product banner notifying users of the upcoming retirement. This will only show on affected Windows versions. To configure, use the “Hide Internet Explorer 11 Application Retirement Notification” group policy found in the Local Group Policy Editor under Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer.

Note: After June 15, 2022, the IE11 desktop application will be removed from in-scope versions of Windows 10 via Windows update. We do not recommend avoiding Windows updates to keep IE11 as Window updates contain critical operating system security patches.

What you need to do to prepare:

To prepare, Microsoft recommends setting up Microsoft Edge in your organization. If your organization needs legacy browser support, they recommend setting up IE mode in Microsoft Edge as soon as possible because this is a multi-step process.

Additional Information

Microsoft always values feedback and questions from their customers. Please feel free to submit either feedback or questions via Message Center.

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