Microsoft Explains How the IE Mode Will Ease the Internet Explorer Retirement

Microsoft has recently shipped the last set of updates for Internet Explorer, so at this point, the famous browser is an unsupported piece of software that would no longer get further security patches and improvements.

To ease the transition from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge, the company recommends the IE mode, which is bundled with the new browser and allows websites to be loaded in a compatibility mode.

In an announcement this week, Microsoft also revealed that it’s adding a Reload in IE mode button that will make the new feature even more straightforward.

“To help users get started with IE mode, the redirection process will add a “Reload in IE mode” button (see below) to their toolbar in Microsoft Edge. That way, if they encounter a website that may not work correctly—or if they visit a website that asks them to open the site using Internet Explorer—they can easily click the button to open the page in IE mode,” Sean Lyndersay, General Manager, Microsoft Edge Enterprise, explains.

“Microsoft Edge will even ask them if they’d like the page to open in IE mode next time automatically! Microsoft Edge will check in with the user every 30 days to make sure they still need IE mode for the site. As more and more sites get updated to modern standards, users will need to use IE mode less and the modern rendering engine more.”

The move to a modern browser

IE mode in Microsoft Edge will be supported through at least 2029, Microsoft says, so companies whose apps are still running exclusively on Internet Explorer have a lot of time to migrate to a modern browser.

Internet Explorer will continue to be supported on some versions of Windows, including Windows 10 LTSC, Windows 10 China government Edition, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 with ESU.