Windows 10 by default comes with Edge as well as Internet Explorer browser apps. Therefore, you can open older websites in Internet Explorer when needed. However, Microsoft formally ended support for Internet Explorer and the app is no more available in Windows 11. Unfortunately, many organizations and individuals continue to rely on websites that only work in IE and do not work on Edge or other modern browsers. Good part is that Edge comes with an Internet Explorer support mode in Windows 11 so that you can use for accessing incompatible websites.
Need for Internet Explorer
At this point of time there are two reasons you may look for using Internet Explorer.
- You have an old website that only works in IE and you need to access the site in Windows 11.
- You are testing or migrating the website from IE to Edge and wanted to check all functionalities are working fine in Edge (either in Windows 10 or Windows 11).
If you are in one of the above situations, then Microsoft covered you with the latest Edge browser in Windows 11.
Enable IE Mode in Edge
First, you must enable IE mode in Edge so that it is possible to access the website in compatible mode.
- Launch Edge and press Alt + F or click on the three dots “Settings and more” icon showing on the top right corner of your browser.
- Select “Settings” option from the menu to open Edge settings page.
- Go to “Default browser” section and check the options under “Internet Explorer compatibility”.
- If you are on Windows 10, click on the dropdown against “Let Internet Explorer open sites in Microsoft Edge” option. Select, “Always (Recommended)” to force all websites to open with Edge.
- The above option is not useful in Windows 11 as IE app will not be available. Therefore, click on the dropdown against “Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode” and select “Allow” option.
- Now, you will see a “Restart” button and click on it to restart Edge for the changes to take effect.
- Allowing sites to open in IE mode will enable an option in Edge so that you can manually reload the incompatible pages. However, reloading every time may take time and you can force Edge to open in compatibility mode by adding the site under “Internet Explorer mode pages”. Click on “Add” button and enter the URL you want to open in IE compatibility mode.
- Edge will keep the entry for 30 days and force to open in IE mode till that time. After that, you need to add the page again if you still like to force Edge to open the page in IE mode. You can also delete the page anytime if you have finished the testing and ready to move to Edge version of the site.
Using IE Compatibility Mode in Edge
Now that you have enabled IE mode in Edge, let see how it works.
Manually Reloading in IE Mode
If you have not added the site for forcing in IE mode, you need to manually reload the page.
- Open the site you want to check in IE mode.
- Press “Alt + F” and select “Reload in Internet Explorer mode” option.
- Edge will reload the page in IE mode and show you a toolbar indicating the page is loaded in compatibility mode.
- Click on “Show in toolbar” to add an IE mode icon to the right side of the address bar. You can toggle this icon to reload the page in IE or Edge ad you like.
- You can also see an IE icon at the start of the address bar. If required click on it and select “Open the page in Internet Explorer mode next time” to add the page to the IE mode list in your settings.
- Finally, click on the “Settings and more” option (Alt + F) and select “Exit Internet Explorer mode” to reload the page in Edge.
- If you like the IE mode icon next to address bar instead of selecting the option from the menu, you can enable it in Edge settings page. Go to edge://settings/appearance URL and enable the option “Internet Explorer mode button”.
Alternatively, right click on the IE mode icon next to address bar and select “Hide from toolbar” to remove it from the visibility.
Directly Open Page in IE Mode
The pages you have added in the IE mode list in your settings will automatically open in IE mode till expiry of the entry. All other options work similar to manually reloading the page as explained above.
Points to Note
- You may see the settings are greyed out when you using organizational network controlled by group policies.
- In addition, the above settings will be available only in Windows Edge version and not applicable for Edge for Mac version.
- We have explained this article with the latest Edge with Chromium version in Windows 11.
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