Microsoft Edge and Chrome to drop support for Windows 8.1, 7 in early 2023

Google and Microsoft to stop supporting older versions of Windows for their web browsers.

Edge and Chrome version 110
Edge and Chrome version 110

Microsoft Edge 110 to drop support for older versions of the operating system, including Windows 8.1, 8, and 7. The company made the announcement with the release of version 110.0.1543.0 in the Dev channel for Microsoft Edge, alongside other changes planned for this release.

The main reason for Microsoft Edge dropping support for older versions of Windows is that the browser is based on the Chromium project, and Google is scheduled to drop support for Windows 8.1, 8, and 7 on its Chrome browser starting with version 110 as the older versions of the operating system will reach the end of service in early 2023. 

This means that Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge version 110 will be the first browsers requiring Windows 10 or higher releases to run on computers. (Google says that version 110 could release as soon as February 7, 2023.)

If you still have a computer running an older version of the operating system, it’s now the time to upgrade to Windows 10 or directly to Windows 11. You won’t need a purchase a new license since the product key from Windows 8.1, 8, and 7 should work to activate any of the latest versions of the operating system.

You can use these guides to upgrade to a supported version of Windows:

If you don’t want to upgrade, consider switching to Mozilla Firefox, which will support these operating systems until August 2023.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].