Microsoft Permanently Disables Internet Explorer With Valentine’s Day Update

Microsoft is stabbing Internet Explorer in the heart today with a software update that’s designed to permanently disable the browser across all consumer versions of Windows 10. 

Microsoft originally announced the plan to release the IE-killing software update in June, when support for the browser officially ended. In December, the company said(Opens in a new window) it would permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. 

The time has finally come. Redmond plans on permanently disabling the software with an update to Microsoft’s alternative browser, Edge, rather than through a Windows update as the company previously indicated. 

Microsoft has been rolling out the IE-killing software update since June. Once installed, Internet Explorer 11 will fail to open. Instead, it redirects the user to Microsoft Edge while automatically migrating their IE11 data to the modern browser. 

An example of the redirect message Microsoft has been sending to users.
(Credit: Microsoft)

Today’s deadline means “all remaining devices that have not already been redirected from IE11 to Microsoft Edge are scheduled to be redirected on February 14, 2023,” the company says.

On June 13, 2023, the company plans on removing visual references to IE11, including the Internet Explorer icon on the Start Menu and taskbar, through a Windows security update. 

IE only has a 2.1% market share(Opens in a new window) right now; Google’s Chrome has long been the top dog of the desktop browser sector. So the end of IE is more symbolic, especially since Microsoft has been working to retire it for years. Internet Explorer first emerged back in 1995, and dominated the market for well over a decade before Chrome took the crown away during the 2010s. 

Microsoft isn’t killing IE off entirely, though. The browser will remain available over Windows 10 Long-Term Service Channel versions and Windows 7 Extended Security Updates, OS versions that can be sold to companies and governments. Internet Explorer will be kept alive in these cases, since some older enterprise software and websites only work with IE. According to a Microsoft commissioned-survey, companies on average use 1,678 legacy apps. 

IE will also live on through a function on the Edge browser called “IE mode,” which can run legacy websites.