Microsoft is dropping support for IE on many versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022
We've known seemingly forever that Microsoft someday intended to get rid of Internet Explorer. But it wasn't until today, May 19, that we got an actual date. IE will be removed from many, but not all, versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022.
The June 15, 2022 date for retirement of the IE11 desktop application is for most versions of Windows 10, but not all. The retirement does not affect "in-market" Windows 10 Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop apps, Microsoft officials said. It also doesn't affect the MSHTML ("Trident") rendering engine.
The replacement for IE on Windows 10, obviously, is the new Microsoft Chromium-based Edge. Edge has Internet Explorer (IE) Mode, designed to provide compatibility for legacy IE-based sites and apps.
Here's the fine print as to which versions of Windows are affected by this announcement: IE 11 will be retired for Windows 10 client SKUs (version 20H2 and later) and Windows 10 IoT (version 20H2 and later). Products not affected by this retirement include IE Mode in Edge; IE 11 desktop on Windows 8.1, Windows 7 (with Extended Security Updates), Windows 10 Server Semi-Annual Channel (all versions), Windows 10 IoT LTSC (all versions; Windows 10 Server LTSC (all versions) and Windows 10 client LTSC (all versions).
Microsoft's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on this says IE Mode will be supported on Windows Client, Server and IoT releases through at least 2029. Microsoft will give one year of notice before retiring the IE Mode experience, officials said.
Last year, Microsoft provided some guidance, but no definitive date, for IE11's retirement. At that time, officials said that after November 30, 2020, Microsoft Teams would no longer support IE11. And August 17, 2021, is the date when Microsoft 365, all up, no longer will support IE11.
After March 9, 2021, Microsoft no longer provided any security updates for the legacy Edge desktop app, officials said. They are calling this the "end of life" date for legacy Edge.