Microsoft: please stop using Internet Explorer before it runs out of support next month

Microsoft announced in mid 2021 that it will retire the company's Internet Explorer 11 browser in most Windows versions in June 2022. That day is coming nearer, and while many Home users and organizations have moved on to other browsers, some have not migrated to another browser.

Microsoft is asking organizations to set a retirement date for Internet Explorer before June 15, 2022 to ensure that company employees won't run into issues when IE retires.

Internet Explorer 11 won't start anymore on its retirement date and Microsoft Edge will be loaded automatically, according to Microsoft. The company suggests that the new Microsoft Edge web browser is used instead by organizations, as it supports legacy Internet Explorer features through its IE Mode functionality.

IE Mode may load local and remote content that requires specific Internet technologies. Modern web browsers such as Edge, Chrome or Firefox do not support these technologies, and the loading of services may fail completely or functionality may be limited, when these browsers are used.

Only Microsoft Edge supports IE Mode, making it an essential application for organizations that require access to content that requires specific Internet Explorer technologies.

Microsoft recommends the following preparations for setting a retirement day for Internet Explorer 11:

1. Testing IE Mode to make sure that everything is set up correctly and working. Sites need to be tested in IE Mode to ensure that it works properly and that work flows continue to work in the mode. IT administrators may pilot the change with groups of users, for instance, by using the Disable IE policy to make Edge the default application right away on select systems.
2. Setting a date for the retirement if Internet Explorer in the organization. Using the Disable IE policy, organizations may set a retirement date for IE that is set before June 15. Microsoft recommends a retirement date that is weeks in advanced of the end of support date of the browser.
3. Informing users and data importing. Employees need to be aware of the change, as data needs to be migrated from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge. Microsoft recommends that users import their date from IE to Edge before the retirement date. Users may load edge://settings/importData  in the Edge address bar and select Microsoft Internet Explorer to start the importing of data from the browser.
4. Deploy the policy that blocks Internet Explorer.

Closing words

Internet Explorer's usage share is relatively low already. Only Microsoft knows the real numbers, but most third-parties that release browser stats see it at below 0.50% of the entire market. Edge is the default browser on Windows 11 already, and it seems likely that most home users have moved on already.

Organizations who still use Internet Explorer have six weeks to migrate to Edge, before this is happening automatically. The IE chapter will be closed on June 15, 2022 for the most part

Microsoft: please stop using Internet Explorer before it runs out of support next month