What you need to know
- Microsoft Edge and WebView2 will reach end of support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 in January 2023.
- Microsoft Edge version 109 and WebView2 Runtime version 109 will be the final respective versions to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
- Edge 109 and WebView2 Runtime 109 will ship on January 12, 2023, which is two days after Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 reach end of support.
Microsoft announced the end of support date for Edge on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Since those older operating systems will reach end of support in January 2023, it makes sense that Microsoft would cut off support for its browser running on those operating systems. Google is also ending support for Chrome on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, so people looking to browse the web will want to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11.
Microsoft Edge version 109 and WebView2 Runtime version 109 will be the last respective versions to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Those are both currently scheduled to ship on January 12, 2023, which is just two days after Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 reach end of support.
The timeline was shared by Microsoft in a recent blog post:
"This end of support timeline applies to both the Evergreen and Fixed versions of the WebView2 Runtime.
Previously installed Evergreen WebView2 Runtimes will update as normal to version 109 but will not continue updating after that. After end of support, future attempts to install the Evergreen WebView2 Runtime on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 will install version 109.
Fixed versions of the WebView2 Runtime higher than 109 will fail to start on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 and should not be used on those operating systems."
To continue to receive support, people should upgrade their system to Windows 10 or later. Windows 10 will still be supported until 2025, so people don't need to jump all the way to Windows 11 yet.
