Enable Internet Explorer (IE) Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge Ranjan.info

Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode (IE mode) enables users to view legacy websites in the Microsoft Edge browser as if they were opened in classic Internet Explorer 11. This feature can be useful for users of corporate networks who have legacy websites (portals) that were developed or optimized for the legacy IE engine and do not function correctly on Chromium-based browsers. This article shows how to use IE Mode in Edge on Windows 10 or 11.

How to Enable IE Mode in Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 and 11?

In IE mode, Edge users will see websites as if they were opened in Internet Explorer 11 (the Trident MSHTML engine is used for rendering). This means that a user does not need to install any additional browser on his computer to view legacy websites. In this mode, Edge changes its user agent and presents itself as IE 11. ActiveX, COM, Java, Internet, and all other components developed for IE are available. You can set a list of websites that Edge should always open in IE render mode manually or by using GPOs.

To configure Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge on Windows 11:

1. Start Microsoft Edge;
2. Open browser settings;
3. go to default browser section (edge://settings/defaultBrowser,
4. Change Allow sites to reload in Internet Explorer Mode (IE Mode) To allow and restart your Edge browser;
5. Now you can view any website in IE compatibility mode. To do this, right-click on the tab and select reload tabs in internet explorer mode menu options,
6. The IE icon appears next to the website’s name in the navigation bar. If you click it, you’ll see the message: This page is open in Internet Explorer Mode,

You can create a list of websites that you want to always open in IE mode. Add their URL addresses to edge://settings/defaultBrowser , internet explorer mode page , Add,

Internet Explorer 11 had a similar compatibility mode (Enterprise Mode). This enabled you to transparently open legacy websites and applications designed for IE8.

Configure Internet Explorer Mode in Microsoft Edge using GPO

You can enable and configure IE Mode in Microsoft Edge with Group Policies.

First, you need to make a list of websites that you want to open in IE compatibility mode.

1. download Enterprise Mode Site List Manager v2 ,https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49974,
2. establish EMIESiteListManager.msi,
3. run Enterprise Mode Site List Manager, Add the list of websites you want to open in IE Compatibility Mode. save list as sitelist.xml,

Now you can configure IE mode using GPO.

1. First, download and install the Administrative Group Policy Template for MS Edge (https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/enterprise, Select the current build and platform, then click get policy files, Download the archive and extract the ADMX file (msedge.admx) in C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions,
2. Then open Group Policy Editor (run gpedit.msc on a standalone computer, or GPMC.msc console to configure IE mode on multiple computers in your AD domain);
3. Navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Edge;
4. Enable Configure Internet Explorer Integration set the item and its value internet explorer mode,
5. then enable Configure enterprise mode site list options, Set the path of the file with the list of websites (SiteList.xml) you created earlier (you can use UNC path). I put the sitelist.xml in the netlogon directory on the domain controller (\\woshub.com\NETLOGON\SiteList.xml, Additionally, you can copy the file to the user computer by using a GPO (the path to the local file is specified in the following format): file:///c:\\windows\\sitelist.xml) or use the HTTPS path: ,
6. go to edge://policy/ and reload Edge policies;
7. Make sure the target intranet site is always opened in IE compatibility mode.