How to enable Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has an Internet Explorer mode for compatibility that can be used by organizations or older sites on the Internet. This module will allow users to access information on websites and services that use legacy technologies.

Microsoft made the decision to retire the old browser 26 years after it was launched in 1995. Now, instead of Internet Explorer (IE), the Edge browser is used in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 operating systems.

Many users have noticed that the Internet Explorer 11 browser has disappeared from Windows components. Even where there is Internet Explorer, after clicking on the shortcut of this browser, the Microsoft Edge browser running on the Chromium engine is launched.

Microsoft explains this by saying that Internet Explorer has become an outdated and less secure Internet browser, and the new browser uses modern technologies with a large number of diverse features.

This solution causes some problems, in particular with the display of outdated web pages on the Internet. Therefore, users can use the Microsoft Edge browser in Internet Explorer mode to view older websites.

Internet Explorer Mode in Edge

Until now, there are quite a few websites on the Internet that require Internet Explorer to open. These may be educational or government resources, this Internet browser often uses outdated software associated with this browser.

To solve this problem, Microsoft Edge additionally integrates the Trident (MSHTML) rendering engine from Internet Explorer to load older websites. In the Edge “IE Mode” version of Internet Explorer 11, users have access to all document and enterprise modes, ActiveX controls (such as Java or Silverlight), Browser Helper Objects, and the Internet.

In one browser – Microsoft Edge, two different engines are used, depending on the tasks being solved. Thanks to this, you can use Internet Explorer mode in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7. Microsoft says that Internet Explorer mode in Edge will be supported until at least 2029.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to enable IE mode to load legacy website pages using the Internet Explorer rendering engine in the Chromium-based Edge browser. Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode is used on the Windows operating system.

How to enable IE mode in Microsoft Edge

Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode is built into all modern versions of the Microsoft Edge browser. You need to enter your browser settings to enable and use the IE Mode feature.

To enable Internet Explorer mode in Edge, follow these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows
2. Click the “Settings and more” (ellipsis) button in the upper right corner.
3. Select “Settings” from the menu that opens.
4. Click on the “Default Browser” option.

 

5. In the “Ensuring compatibility with Internet Explorer” section, there are options:

• Allow Internet Explorer to open sites in Microsoft Edge.
• Allow sites to reload in Internet Explorer mode.
• Pages in Internet Explorer mode.

6. In the first option, you can leave the setting “Only incompatible sites.”

This means that when running in IE Compatibility Mode, sites that are incompatible with that browser will automatically open in Microsoft Edge (Chromium). The “Always (recommended)” setting will disable the use of Internet Explorer mode to open websites on the Internet. The Never setting will prevent you from opening a site that is not supported by Internet Explorer in the Edge browser.

7. In the “Allow sites to reload in Internet Explorer mode” option, set the value to “Allow”.

 

Using the third parameter, you can manually add some URLs (links) that will automatically open in Internet Explorer within 30 days after being added to this list.

8. Click the Restart button to restart the browser.

 

After completing these steps, when Internet Explorer is required to view sites, you can use Microsoft Edge to reload the required pages in IE mode according to your configuration settings.

After enabling IE mode, you need to manually reload the page with the compatibility mode module.

How to open a website in Internet Explorer mode

If necessary, while surfing the Internet using the MS Edge browser, the user can open any or incompatible website in Internet Explorer compatibility mode, if this function is activated in the program settings.

Do the following:

1. Open the website page you need to open with IE.
2. On the top bar, click on the “Settings and more” icon (three dots).
3. In the context menu that opens, select Restart in Internet Explorer Mode.

 

After reloading, the site page will open in the Edge browser running in Internet Explorer 11 mode.

The Internet Explorer icon will appear in front of the address bar. If you click on the icon, a small window will open in which you are told: “This page is open in Internet Explorer mode.” Here you can move the switch to open this page in compatibility mode next time or enter the settings for managing this mode.

 

How to automatically open pages in Internet Explorer compatibility mode

Some users constantly open the same pages on the Internet. If such a site is developed for Internet Explorer, then it would be more convenient to automatically open its pages in compatibility mode immediately without using a reload.

To automatically open certain sites on the Internet in Internet Explorer mode, do the following:

1. Enter Internet Explorer Compatibility Settings.
2. In the “Pages in Internet Explorer Mode” option, click on the “Add” button.

 

3. In the “Add Page” window, enter the URL in the corresponding field, and then click on the “Add” button.

 

The settings window for this setting will display the added website pages, as well as the expiration date of this option for each website within 30 days from the date the page was added to this setting.

 

Restart your Edge browser to apply these settings.

This page will now automatically open in compatibility mode for Internet Explorer 11.

How to disable Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge

You can easily exit compatibility mode on individual pages of sites using your browser settings.

Do the following:

1. On a web page opened in Internet Explorer mode, click the Settings and more icon (three dots).
2. From the context menu, select Exit Internet Explorer Mode.

 

3. The site page will reload and open in normal view.

You can change your Edge browser settings to disable IE Mode completely. In the compatibility mode settings, in the option “Allow sites to reload in Internet Explorer mode”, set the option to “Do not allow”, and then restart the browser.

 

How to enable Internet Explorer in Windows 11

The Windows 11 operating system no longer includes the Internet Explorer browser, because instead it uses the Microsoft Edge browser, which runs on the Chromium engine. Therefore, some users are wondering how to open Internet Explorer in Windows 11.

Running Internet Explorer in Windows 11 is possible in the compatibility mode built into the Microsoft Edge browser, we described the use of this module in this article.

Article Conclusions

Microsoft has discontinued support for the Internet Explorer browser, which has been replaced by the Microsoft Edge browser. Some of the sites on the Internet were created for the outdated IE browser, so many interface elements are not supported in modern browsers. The Edge browser has an Internet Explorer mode that lets you open the websites you want in Compatibility View.