Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard get IE11 support

Microsoft announced today that it plans to make Internet Explorer 11 available to the company's operating systems Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard.

Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) is the last version of Internet Explorer that Microsoft released. The company made the decision back when it was released to limit support to some versions of Windows; this meant, essentially, that operating systems such as Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 or Windows Embedded 8 Standard were not support.

The release history of Internet Explorer for Windows Server and Windows Embedded operating systems is quite confusing on first glance.

Microsoft did not release IE11 for Windows Server 2012 but it did release the browser for Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. Similarly, Windows Embedded 8 Standard was limited to Internet Explorer 10 while Windows Embedded Standard 7 received Internet Explorer 11.

Microsoft revealed that it will make Internet Explorer 11 available for Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard operating systems. The decision had to be made because support for Internet Explorer 10 security updates ends on January 14, 2020.

Internet Explorer 11 will be released for the two operating systems; administrators may download IE11 from Microsoft's Update Catalog website or distribute it using Windows Update or WSUS.

The company released the following timeline of events:

• Spring 2019: Internet Explorer 11 will be offered to commercial customers that run Windows Server 2012 or Windows Embedded Standard 8.
• Later in 2019: Internet Explorer 11 will become available through Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services.
• January 2020: end of support for Internet Explorer 10. Microsoft won't release security updates for the browser anymore.

Updates for Internet Explorer 10 and 11 will be labeled as such. Updates for IE10 are labeled Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 10, and updates for IE11 as Cumulative Update Internet Explorer 11 on all update platforms and the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Microsoft won't offer paid assisted support options to extend the Internet Explorer 10 support period.

Support for most Windows Server 2012 versions ends in October 2023, support for Windows Embedded 8 Standard in November 2023.

Organizations need to upgrade Internet Explorer 10 on these devices to Internet Explorer 11 to receive security updates for the built-in web browser. Microsoft notes that companies may use Enterprise Mode for application and website compatibility, and that migrating to IE11 will "ease the migration path to Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 or 2019, or Windows 10 IoT".

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