Microsoft is once again looking to take another step to make Internet Explorer reach its End Of Support (EOS) destination. On August 17, 2021, Internet Explorer will no longer be supported by any of the Microsoft 365 apps.
What does this mean?
The Microsoft 365 apps will still be accessible from the browser. However, users will notice a few things:
- There will be no new feature updates or releases
- The daily experience will tend to get worse and slowly phase out over time
- Using the Microsoft Edge “Internet Explorer (IE) mode” will also not help extend the support for M365 apps
What Users Will See
Starting on August 17th the experience will look like the following:
- Outlook Web App: Users logging in with AAD accounts will still receive the full OWA experience but will not receive new features beginning August 17, 2021, while users logging in with Microsoft Accounts (MSA) will be redirected to the Outlook Web App Light experience.
- Open with Explorer/View in File Explorer (SharePoint): We understand that some customers may continue to use Open with Explorer and View in File Explorer (only accessible in IE11) to access document libraries. To avoid disruption, these customers will be able to use these features for now when they go to a document library in IE11. These features remain in maintenance mode and aren’t receiving further development. We encourage all customers to move to a modern browser and OneDrive sync for a better user experience and easier access to files. For more information on how to prepare your SharePoint environment for the end of support on IE11, please read this Docs article.
- All other apps and services will phase out over weeks and months to ensure a smooth end of support with each app and service phasing out on independent schedules.
What does the future look like?
Microsoft has made no concessions about their plan to slowly phase out IE 11, the EOS for M365 apps is just the latest addition to that plan. Next year, Microsoft will plan to begin to phase out IE 11 on some versions of Windows 10.
After being retired on systems running Windows 10 client SKUs (version 20H2 and later) and Windows 10 IoT (version 20H2 and later), the Internet Explorer desktop app will be disabled — automatically redirecting users to Microsoft Edge when launched.
Enterprise organizations depending on legacy IE-based websites and apps for critical processes can still use them with Microsoft Edge’s IE mode (more info available in this Getting Started guide.)
If you have any questions about all of the ongoing changes in the world of Internet Explorer please reach out to our team.
