The latest 20H2 update on my Windows Insider machine appears to have removed legacy edge even though the side by side mode was activated prior to the installation of Edge stable as per Microsoft's own documentation. Legacy edge was functioning correctly prior to the update. How do I restore Edge Legacy in side by side mode with Chromium Edge.

I, too, faced this issue on my 20H2 machine after Edgium stable 85 update. The only workaround I found, for now, is to delete BrowserReplacement key value at 'Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\ClientState\{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}' in registry. The only downside is that you have to delete this key each time Edge Chromium gets an update. Please proceed with caution with registries. I'm not responsible for any damage. If anyone has better solution I would be happy to try.

Thank you for the updated link. I have read it, and it does appear to state end of life support for the legacy version, but it does not appear to state outright that it will be completely inaccessible. As ever and always, they are vague in their messaging. Also, reading through the comments, there appears to be a lot more issues with these moves than my relatively trivial ones, and it seems like hardly any of them have been answered adequately. Intriguing.I just tried to open a pdf on my insider machine, and good lord. It is still so bad and at almost the same level of usability as when it initially launched. Not a lot of confidence that they will manage to reach parity any time soon. I tried canary with the flag for smooth scrolling enabled and it did improve, but still nowhere near legacy levels. Also, they added support for Table of contents in canary and dev too, I think. I believe I posted a long time ago about PDF viewing issues, but they have made very little headway into most of my issues, and only one of them is being actively worked on as per their feedback summary. Edge does not even have the ability to view pdfs in two-page mode, and that has been on the feedback summary for 10 weeks. So, there's that. Can't believe they are stumbling again. After such a good launch too. Oh well.I actually decided to just keep pace with Windows updates, and try to find a replacement pdf viewer instead of a replacement browser. At least, for now.Thank you for responding with the helpful link.

nikhilk0 Nice find. It would be great if Classic Edge would be added to the menu "Turn Windows Features on or off" to make this easier.

Wait. There is an Acrobat extension? Oh. I will check that out.Okay. I downloaded it, but it just converts webpages to pdf. Also, I found that Adobe Reader is not smoother than Leacy Edge, for some inexplicable reason. Thouh Adobe, of all companies, would have had that down. Anyway, I actually got Drawboard PDF with a Dell PC a few years back, and it seems to be a much better viewing tool, but a little less convenient, than current Chromium Edge. I am using that for now.

nikhilk0That's a great find! I use it every time an update is installed. However, something I want to warn everyone of is that if you have Edge Legacy open when the update is installed, it will close the browser without warning. I was recently in the middle of writing a forum post (not to mention a long one) and my browser closed instantly closed without warning. So just be extra careful about this (if you know some registry entry that can prevent this, please let us know, it could be a lifesaver!), thanks!

Microsoft Edge Legacy | Microsoft Community Hub

13 Replies

nikhilk0
Copper Contributor
Sep 01, 2020
I, too, faced this issue on my 20H2 machine after Edgium stable 85 update. The only workaround I found, for now, is to delete BrowserReplacement key value at 'Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\ClientState\{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062}' in registry. The only downside is that you have to delete this key each time Edge Chromium gets an update. Please proceed with caution with registries. I'm not responsible for any damage. If anyone has better solution I would be happy to try.
- njsokalski
  Copper Contributor
  Dec 05, 2020
  nikhilk0That's a great find! I use it every time an update is installed. However, something I want to warn everyone of is that if you have Edge Legacy open when the update is installed, it will close the browser without warning. I was recently in the middle of writing a forum post (not to mention a long one) and my browser closed instantly closed without warning. So just be extra careful about this (if you know some registry entry that can prevent this, please let us know, it could be a lifesaver!), thanks!
- ChromeRefugee
  Iron Contributor
  Sep 02, 2020
  nikhilk0 Nice find. It would be great if Classic Edge would be added to the menu "Turn Windows Features on or off" to make this easier.
  - nikhilk0
    Copper Contributor
    Sep 03, 2020
    ChromeRefugee That would be great. I still prefer Edge classic over Chromium edge as my PDF viewer and for streaming Netflix.
TheShaunSaw
Silver Contributor
Aug 31, 2020
Alexei_Drekker
If you don't know about it, Microsoft Edge Legacy will be removed from bottom-up in the Windows 10 20H2 release and will be shipped directly with Edge Chromium. I had linked the blog in a post in this community recently which has everything to tell about what you are asking and support for IE11 and Edge Legacy in the future, but if haven't seen it yet, I would recommend you to read it posted by Microsoft365_MicrosoftEdge_Product.
- Alexei_Drekker
  Iron Contributor
  Aug 31, 2020
  TheShaunSaw The link is broken, but if true, that is a terrible move. Edge Chromium is nowhere near good enough yet to replace Edge Legacy without reprieve. **bleep**. Guess I must try and find another replacement browser now or decide to downgrade and defer Windows Updates on my main machines until Edge Chromium achieves parity with Edge Legacy. I hope it does not take years.
  - TheShaunSaw
    Silver Contributor
    Aug 31, 2020
    Alexei_Drekker
    Sorry for the inconvenience. I checked the link now and the issue was that the link provided before was half and would have happened because I copied, pasted and posted the before reply on my mobile phone and it did not paste the whole link but did ... at the end which broke the URL. I have now corrected the link and now should work correctly. Thanks for bringing it into my attention
    
    Alexei_Drekker wrote:
    TheShaunSaw The link is broken, but if true, that is a terrible move. Edge Chromium is nowhere near good enough yet to replace Edge Legacy without reprieve. **bleep**. Guess I must try and find another replacement browser now or decide to downgrade and defer Windows Updates on my main machines until Edge Chromium achieves parity with Edge Legacy. I hope it does not take years.
    True, I also feel that this should not happen till the Microsoft Edge Chromium is at par or better than Edge Legacy. Edge Chromium still does not have all the important features that the Legacy Edge did and would be unreliable for many users if this gets shipped through Windows 10 early.
ChromeRefugee
Iron Contributor
Aug 30, 2020
Alexei_Drekker Yeah good question. I occasionally used Edge Classic as fallback if a site didn't work in Edgium. Not anymore! Also interested in re-enabling Edge Classic / Legacy.
- HotCakeX
  MVP
  Dec 06, 2020
  ChromeRefugee
  ChromeRefugee wrote:
  Alexei_Drekker Yeah good question. I occasionally used Edge Classic as fallback if a site didn't work in Edgium. Not anymore! Also interested in re-enabling Edge Classic / Legacy.
  Wow. this is the first time I'm hearing this. a website more compatible with EdgeHTML engine than Chromium or FireFox engines. lol in my entire life I've never come across such a website. not even Microsoft's websites do that.
  EdgeHTML engine has always been either equally or less performant and compatible than other engines such as Chromium and Firefox, never more compatible and better.
  and not talking about now, even back in 2015 when it was first introduced all the way till now.

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Microsoft Edge Legacy

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