Microsoft deprecated Internet Explorer in favor of Edge Chromium in recent versions of Windows 10. The new browser, which comes with a plethora of exciting new features, also includes a compatibility mode for Internet Explorer 11’s Trident MSHTML engine. Known as ‘IE mode‘, the feature helps load older websites and supports older apps that haven’t been updated to work with Chromium-based software (or other newer browsers). So today we are going to show you how to turn on or turn on IE mode in Microsoft Edge Chromium through app settings and through Windows Group Policy Editor for better compatibility with older apps and services.
Enable IE Mode on Microsoft Edge Chromium
Aimed largely at businesses that are still running applications and intranet sites written for Internet Explorer, IE Mode is available in both the older EdgeHTML engine-based Edge, as well as Edge Chromium, which began to be released. rolled out to Windows 10 early last year. expanding to other desktop and mobile platforms. However, since the old Edge itself is outdated, our tutorial will exclusively cover Edge Chromium. So, without further ado, let’s see how to turn on or enable IE mode in Microsoft Edge Chromium on your Windows 10 PC.
What is IE Mode in Microsoft Edge Chromium?
IE (Internet Explorer) mode on Microsoft Edge Chromium is a compatibility mode that helps the browser render older sites and web pages written for Internet Explorer. It also allows enterprise users to use all the sites their organization needs in a single browser.
IE mode uses the built-in Chromium engine for modern sites and the Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) Trident MSHTML engine for legacy sites. As part of the feature, only sites that you specifically configure (via policy) will use IE mode, while all other sites will be rendered using the new engine.
Method 1: Using In-App Settings
You can easily enable IE mode (Internet Explorer mode) on Microsoft Edge Chromium using in-app settings with just a few simple steps. Here’s how:
1. Open MS Edge Chromium in full screen mode and click on the More button (three dots) in the upper right corner. In the context menu, click Settings.
2. Now select Default browser in the left pane. If you’re not in full-screen mode, the option may be hidden behind a hamburger menu (three small parallel horizontal lines) at the top left.
3. In the “Internet Explorer Compatibility” section in the right pane, enable the toggle for “Allow sites to reload in Internet Explorer mode”. Also, make sure the “Let Internet Explorer open sites in Microsoft Edge” drop-down menu retains the default option of Incompatible sites only. Restart the browser for the change to take effect.
4. To open a web page in IE mode, load the target page. Now click on the overflow menu at the top right, hover over More tools and click on Reload in Internet Explorer mode.
5. When a site loads in IE mode, the IE logo indicator is displayed on the left side of the navigation bar. You can click on the logo for more information.
Method 2: Using Local Group Policy Editor
You can also enable IE mode on Microsoft Edge Chromium with Group Policy. However, to do this, you will need to download the policy template from the official Microsoft website. Here’s how:
1. Download the policy template from the “Microsoft Edge for Business” website (free). Be sure to click the ‘Get Policy File‘instead of the blue Download button.
To note: You will need to enter your Edge version, build, and platform details to download the file. You can check these details by going to the Settings menu as described above, then clicking “About Microsoft Edge” in the left pane.
2. Once you have downloaded the zip file, extract its contents. Now go to the extracted folder and navigate to windows > admx. Here scroll down and copy the msedge.admx and msedgeupdate.admx files to C:WindowsPolicyDefinitions . Give admin permission and click To continue when asked.
To note: If you don’t already have file archiving software on your computer, download WINRAR (free) to start.
3. Next, copy everything *.adml files in your language folder (e.g. “en-US” for US English, “fr-FR” for French, “ja-JP” for Japanese, etc.) C:WindowsPolicyDefinitions . Give administrator permission and click “Continue” when prompted.
4. Now open the Local Group Policy Editor using the Course dialog box (Windows key + R). type in gpedit.msc and knock Enter or click on Okay.
To note: Group Policy Editor is only available in Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows 10. It is not available in Windows 10 Home.
5. In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge in the left pane. Then, in the right pane, find: Configure Internet Explorer configuration.
6. Double click on the IE configuration option and in the pop-up window first set the option to Enabled [1] as shown below. Then use the drop-down menu [2] to select it for ‘Internet Explorer Mode“. Click on Okay [3] to save your settings.
7. Now navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer. In the right pane, find “Use Enterprise Mode IE Website List”.
8. First, activate this option [1] in the same way as previously described. Next, set the path to your XML site list [2], either as URL or as UNC if you are using a local XML file. Finally, press Okay [3] at the bottom to save your changes.
To note: If you don’t have an Enterprise Mode Site List, download the Enterprise Mode Site List Manager v2 from Microsoft (free). Be sure to specify your language before downloading.
Enable IE mode on Microsoft Edge Chromium for compatibility with older apps and websites
The guide above works for Microsoft Edge Chromium v77.0.223 or higher (latest version is Edge 88) in Windows 10 v1903 with KB4503293 or higher and KB4501375 or higher or v1809 with KB4509479 or higher. Once you enable IE mode, you will be able to run older websites and intranet pages, while still loading new websites using Chromium.
So go ahead, enable IE mode on Microsoft Edge Chromium and see if you can make the modern browser work better with sites and apps that require the older engine. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also just launched a child mode in Edge Chromium to improve online safety for children. Click the link to check how you can enable this feature.
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