Internet Explorer first started to take shape all the way back in 1994. For years it dominated the Web until Chrome arrived to knock it off its throne. Now, IE’s demise is nearly at hand.
Earlier this week Microsoft announced that the Microsoft 365 platform had ended support for Internet Explorer 11. Users who sign in to Microsoft 365 from IE may find that certain features just won’t work — and they also won’t be able to utilize any new features Microsoft adds.
This will be your new normal and Microsoft warns that your experience “could get progressively worse over time” if you don’t switch from Internet Explorer to a more modern browser.
In order to ensure a smooth transition — particularly for enterprise settings where moving away from IE happens at a snail’s pace — Microsoft will wind down access to certain apps and features gradually.
Two key corporate apps, the Outlook web app and Sharepoint, will continue to function albeit in a somewhat limited fashion.
Microsoft will do everything it can to push you away from Internet Explorer if you’re still using it. You can expect to see plenty of banners on Microsoft 365 pages you visit advising you that there’s no time like the present to make the switch to Edge.
Browsing Off Into The Sunset
Internet Explorer won’t disappear instantly just because Microsoft 365 dropped support. No, this is just one more step being taken to prepare users for IE’s end of support date.
That’s scheduled for June 15, 2022. At least it’s mostly scheduled for that date.
On that date, the IE desktop application will be retired “for certain versions of Windows 10. Customers running the Windows 10 or Windows Server Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) are exempt.
So is Windows 8.1, and there’s even a single version of Windows 7 that won’t have to part ways with Internet Explorer next summer.
For the vast majority of Windows users, however, there’s no reason not to switch to Microsoft Edge — or an alternative browser like Firefox or Chrome — right now.
