How to Use Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 in 2026

If you have landed here looking for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10, the short answer is that it is gone and it is not coming back. Microsoft permanently disabled the IE11 desktop application on mainstream Windows 10 on 15 June 2022. Clicking an Internet Explorer shortcut today does not open Internet Explorer: it redirects you to Microsoft Edge. That is by design, and no registry tweak or reinstall reverses it on a standard Windows 10 install.

The longer answer is more useful, because almost nobody actually wants Internet Explorer for its own sake. They want a legacy site, an intranet application or an ActiveX-dependent tool that only works in IE. That need is still met, through Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge, which runs the same Trident MSHTML engine IE11 used. Here is what is actually available in 2026, how to switch IE mode on, and how long you have got.

Why Internet Explorer will not open on Windows 10

This catches people out because the shortcut usually still exists. The icon is in the Start menu, iexplore.exe is still on disk, and double-clicking it appears to do something. What it does is hand off to Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft did not uninstall Internet Explorer, it disabled it. The redirect is deliberate behaviour shipped in a cumulative update, applied to Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel and Windows 10 IoT. Attempting to work around it, by launching the binary directly or restoring an older copy, is not supported and leaves you running an unpatched browser engine with direct exposure to the internet. It is the single worst way to solve a legacy application problem.

Where IE11 genuinely still exists

If you are on one of these, Internet Explorer 11 is still present and still launches. This is worth checking before you assume your environment is affected, because the LTSC editions in particular are common on kiosks, manufacturing lines, medical equipment and point-of-sale systems:

• Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2015 and LTSB 2016
• Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 and LTSC 2021
• Windows 8.1 Update
• Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 and 2022
• Windows Embedded Standard 7, POSReady 7, Thin PC, 8 Standard and 8.1 Industry Update

Being present is not the same as being a good idea. On every one of those platforms IE11 is a browser engine Microsoft stopped developing years ago. Treat it as a stay of execution for a specific internal application, not as a browser anyone should be reading email in.

Turning on IE mode in Microsoft Edge

For a single machine, this takes about a minute:

1. Open Edge and go to edge://settings/defaultBrowser.
2. Set Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode to Allow.
3. Restart Edge when prompted. The setting does not take effect until you do.
4. Browse to the site that needs it, then open the … menu and choose Reload in Internet Explorer mode.

Once a page is open in IE mode, an Internet Explorer icon appears in the address bar. Clicking it gives you the option to open that page in IE mode automatically in future. Note the catch: pages added this way expire after 30 days. That is fine for a one-off, and completely unworkable as a fleet strategy.

Doing it properly across a fleet

For anything beyond a couple of machines, use an Enterprise Mode Site List. It is an XML file listing exactly which URLs open in IE mode, published to a file share or web server and pointed at by Group Policy or Intune. Sites on the list open in IE mode every time, for everybody, with no 30-day expiry and no user action.

The two policies that matter are Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List and Configure Internet Explorer integration (set to Internet Explorer mode). Microsoft’s Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool builds and validates the XML for you, which is worth using rather than hand-editing, because a malformed list fails quietly and you find out from users.

Keep the list tight. Every URL you add is a page rendering in an engine that stopped getting feature work years ago, so the list should shrink over time, not grow.

The deadline nobody is watching

Microsoft has committed to supporting IE mode in Edge through at least 2029 on supported operating systems, and has promised a minimum of one year’s notice before ending it. In September 2026 Microsoft repeated that reminder publicly, with a point worth repeating here: application modernisation projects routinely take years, so the time to start is well before the deadline is in view.

If you are relying on IE mode today, the useful exercise is not “how long can we keep this running”. It is working out, for each site on your list, who owns the application, whether a modern version exists, and what replacing it would cost. Most organisations discover that half the list is software nobody uses any more and could be removed tomorrow, and the other half needs a budget conversation that is easier to have in 2026 than in 2029.

There is a second deadline stacked underneath it. Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. Extended Security Updates buy time, but if the reason you are still on Windows 10 is a legacy web application, you are now paying to keep an unsupported OS alive in order to run an unsupported browser engine. Solving the application problem solves both at once.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reinstall Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10?

No. On Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel and IoT, IE11 is permanently disabled rather than uninstalled, and the redirect to Edge is built into the OS. There is no supported reinstall, and the workarounds circulating online leave you with an unpatched browser engine exposed to the internet.

Does IE mode support ActiveX controls?

Yes. IE mode runs the same Trident MSHTML engine that IE11 used, so ActiveX controls, Browser Helper Objects and legacy document modes behave as they did before. That compatibility is the entire reason IE mode exists.

Why does my IE mode site stop working after a month?

Because it was added through the address-bar prompt rather than a site list. Pages added that way expire after 30 days by design. Put the URL in an Enterprise Mode Site List and it stays put permanently.

Is Internet Explorer still available on Windows 11?

No. Windows 11 never shipped a usable IE11 desktop application. IE mode in Edge is the only route to legacy rendering on Windows 11, and it works the same way described above.

What happens to IE mode after 2029?

Microsoft has not announced an end date, only a commitment to support it through at least 2029 and to give at least a year’s notice before retiring it. Plan on the basis that it ends rather than that it is extended, because the notice period is short relative to how long application migrations actually take.