Millions to be blocked from Word, Outlook and Powerpoint later this month, Microsoft warns

Microsoft 365 users could find themselves blocked from certain applications or having to suffer a downgraded experience later this month. That’s because the popular suite of apps that are part of this subscription will no longer work when using the Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) web browser.

News of this dramatic change was first announced late last year with Microsoft giving users plenty of time to switch to its latest Edge software or rival browsers such as Chrome.

Despite those early warnings, latest stats show that millions still use Internet Explorer 11 with this ageing browser accounting for around four percent of the total market. Sadly, from August 17 many of those still using IE11 may have a nasty shock when trying to view their emails in Outlook or type a letter in the web-based version of Word.

Explaining more in a blog post Microsoft said: “Beginning August 17, 2021, Microsoft 365 apps and services will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) and users may have a degraded experience, or be unable to connect to, those apps and services.

“These apps and services will phase out over weeks and months to ensure a smooth end of support, with each app and service phasing out on independent schedules.”

But by the end of the year, Microsoft’s offering had seen its market share grow by four percent and leapfrog Mozilla’s browser.

So, if you are still using IE11 and want to keep having access to Outlook and Word on the web then you’ve only got a couple of weeks left before you’ll need to jump ship and switch to Edge.