I.E., forever: Microsoft will keep Internet Explorer alive until 2029
Internet Explorer has survived one of technology’s stranger afterlives. Microsoft abandoned the browser years ago, but a bit of it still lives on inside Edge , and businesses have until at least the end of 2029 to stop relying on it.
Microsoft has reminded administrators that IE mode in Microsoft Edge will remain supported through at least 2029, with at least one year’s notice before it is finally retired. This is not a fresh extension: Microsoft says the timetable was first announced back in 2021.
Some organisations still run old internal websites and business applications that were built specifically around Internet Explorer’s Trident engine. Replacing a browser is easy; rebuilding a hospital system, government portal or corporate application written around decades-old web technology can take years.
IE mode lets Edge open those stubborn legacy systems without forcing users back onto the defunct standalone browser.
IE is dead. Trident is not quite dead
The consumer version of Internet Explorer 11 was retired for most Windows users in 2022, and Microsoft has spent years steering customers toward Edge.
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Yet Edge’s IE mode can still invoke the old Trident rendering engine when a company encounters a page that modern browsers cannot handle correctly. That is why Internet Explorer can simultaneously be «retired» and still matter inside corporate IT departments.
Microsoft’s latest notice tells organisations to start inventorying everything that still relies on IE mode, then decide whether each application should be updated, rehosted, replaced or rebuilt. The company warns that complex modernisation projects can take years to complete.
There is no immediate panic button. Companies not using IE mode can ignore the update, while those that still depend on it can continue running their legacy applications during the migration period. Microsoft also offers App Assure compatibility help for eligible customers.
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By the end of 2029, Internet Explorer will have spent roughly seven years officially retired while one of its most important components continued reporting for duty inside another browser.
