Access Microsoft Edge Legacy/Classic (EdgeHTML) after installing the new version of Microsoft Edge
Access Microsoft Edge Legacy/Classic (EdgeHTML) after installing the new version of Microsoft Edge (Chromium) This article describes how to access Microsoft Edge Legacy (version 45 and earlier) after installing the new version of Microsoft Edge. Note: This article applies to the Microsoft Edge Stable channel. The procedures in this article apply to systems that have been updated with the latest security updates, up to and including November 2019. When the new version of Microsoft Edge is installed, the old version (Microsoft Edge Legacy) will be hidden. All attempts to launch the old version will redirect the user to the newly installed version of Microsoft Edge. Before you begin Before using the detailed instructions in this article, consider the following 2 steps to enable a side-by-side browser experience. These steps will let your users run Microsoft Edge Legacy and the next version of Microsoft Edge (Beta channel) side-by-side. Prevent the automatic install of the next version of Microsoft Edge by Windows Update. For more information, see Windows Update: FAQ Install the Beta channel of the new version of Microsoft Edge. Note This side-by-side solution is less complex and requires less management that the detailed solution described next in this article. How operating system (OS) changes are triggered After the systems are fully updated and the Stable channel of the next version of Microsoft Edge is installed, the following registry key and value is set: Key: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\ClientState\{56EB18F8-B008-4CBD-B6D2-8C97FE7E9062} Key value: BrowserReplacement Important This key is over-written every time the Microsoft Edge Stable channel is updated. As a best practice, we recommend that you don’t delete this key to allow users to access both versions of Microsoft Edge. How to enable a side-by-side experience with both versions of Microsoft Edge Installing the Stable channel of the next version of Microsoft Edge at system-level will cause the current version (Microsoft Edge Legacy) to be hidden. If you want to let your users to see both versions of Microsoft Edge side-by-side in Windows, you can enable this experience by setting the Allow Microsoft Edge Side by Side browser experience group policy to "Enabled". To enable the side by side browser experience policy: Open the Group Policy Editor. Under Computer Configuration, go to Administrative Templates>Microsoft Edge Update>Applications. Under Applications, select "Allow Microsoft Edge Side by Side browser experience" and then click Edit policy setting. Select Enabled and then click OK. Note By default, this group policy is set to "Not configured", which results in Microsoft Edge Legacy being hidden when the new version of Microsoft Edge is installed. For the best experience, the Allow Microsoft Edge Side by Side browser experience should be enabled before the new version of Microsoft Edge is deployed to your users' devices. If the group policy is enabled after Microsoft Edge is deployed, there are the following side effects and required actions: Allow Microsoft Edge Side by Side browser experience won't take effect until after the installer for the new version of Microsoft Edge is run again. Note The installer can be run directly or automatically when the new version of Microsoft Edge updates. Microsoft Edge Legacy will need to be re-pinned to Start or the Taskbar because the pin is migrated when the new version of Microsoft Edge was deployed. Sites that were pinned to Start or the Taskbar for Microsoft Edge Legacy will be migrated to the new version of Microsoft Edge. Source
