Control IE retirement on your own schedule with the Disable IE Policy
Published Sep 14 2022 03:20 PM 68K Views
Microsoft

Update: The retired, out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 desktop application is scheduled to be permanently disabled through a Microsoft Edge update on certain versions of Windows 10 on February 14, 2023. Learn more >

As previously announced, IE11 is being retired through two phases – a redirection phase in which devices are progressively redirected from IE to Microsoft Edge over the next few months after June 15, 2022, and a Windows Update phase, in which IE will be permanently disabled. For organizations that are ready to remove IE, you don’t have to wait for redirection or the Windows update to do so.

What is the Disable IE Policy?

After configuring IE mode, you can disable IE11 as a standalone browser on your organization’s devices and replicate the user experience that will be rolled out with the future Windows Update that will permanently disable IE. Given its gradual nature, the redirection phase is optimal for those organizations who are not entirely confident yet of the state of IE retirement readiness across their estate.

For organizations that do not want to wait for the gradual redirection, or prefer to transition all of their users off of IE11 at once with Group Policy, the Disable IE Policy is our strongly recommended option to control the timing and rollout of the IE retirement process for their users. Using this policy gives you the ability to set your own schedule with your users and to communicate the transition accordingly. You can dictate precisely when IE is retired in your environment.

Once enabled, the Disable IE Policy redirects all IE activity, including shortcuts using IE11 and invoking the iexplore.exe binary, to Microsoft Edge. It also removes the IE11 icons on the Start Menu and the task bar, to decrease confusion for your users.

When should the Disable IE Policy be used?

If you are ready for IE retirement

Instead of waiting for the Windows Update to happen at a future date, we strongly encourage those organizations that have set up IE mode and that feel ready to transition off IE to use the Disable IE Policy to control when and how IE is disabled. We suggest first rolling out the Disable IE Policy to small sets of devices to reduce risk, should there be any hidden pockets of IE dependent sites, and then rolling out to your entire organization once you've determined any missed sites. Since many organizations have end of year IT freezes and holiday time off, we recommend applying the Disable IE Policy by November 1, 2022 to avoid surprises and business disruption in case IE dependent websites were missed.

If you are not sure your organization is ready for IE retirement

If you are concerned that your organization is not ready to transition off IE11, continue working to get off IE, as the redirection phase could cause business disruption for organizations that are not prepared. As you test Microsoft Edge with IE mode, you may want to use automated testing, and we recommend this troubleshooting guide for common issues. After that, please deploy the Disable IE Policy to permanently disable IE, rolling out in stages as a best practice. Since many organizations have end of year IT freezes and holiday time off, we recommend applying the Disable IE Policy by November 1, 2022 to avoid surprises and business disruption in case IE dependent websites were missed.

How can I configure the Disable IE Policy?

To configure the Disable IE Policy for your organization, see our documentation on Disable Internet Explorer 11 and follow the steps provided.

Additional information

To learn more about the IE retirement process, read our FAQ.


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‎Dec 16 2022 06:27 AM
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