Following the launch of its Chromium-based Edge browser earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans yesterday to launch the legacy version of Edge. In addition, the company said it was dropping its Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services for Internet Explorer 11.
Microsoft gives users a lot of notice before support for both products drops. If you use Microsoft Teams, Microsoft said that the communication platform Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be supported beginning November 30, 2020. Other Microsoft 365 apps and services will then stop supporting IE 11 beginning August 17, 2021.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Edge Legacy will end its life on March 9, 2021, and will not receive any security updates on it. All users on the latest stable Windows 10 releases would have already received the new Chromium-based Edge browser.
Customers have been using IE 11 since 2013 when the online environment was much less sophisticated than the landscape today. 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 by this change through faster and more responsive web access to larger sets of features in everyday toolsets such as Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more.
Because many companies still rely on legacy IE 11 apps, Microsoft has not yet fully removed the plug in browser. IE 11 will continue to function, but Microsoft encourages users to migrate to the new Microsoft Edge that has Internet Explorer mode to maintain compatibility. In Internet Explorer mode, you can seamlessly access a lower IE app in one tab, while browsing the rest of the modern web in other tabs. Please note that Microsoft 365 apps and services will not work with Edge’s Internet Explorer mode after August 17, 2021.
