RIP: Microsoft Edge Legacy Nuked By April Windows Updates

Microsoft has confirmed that today’s release of mandatory Patch Tuesday updates will automatically remove Edge Legacy and replace it with the new Chromium-based Edge.

Chromium-based Edge was released in January 2020 and Microsoft started pre-installing it on all devices that shipped with Windows 10 October 2020 Update. In older versions of Windows 10, users who wished to use it could download it from the Microsoft Edge site or wait for the mandatory Windows Update.

With the April edition of Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft Edge Legacy (based on EdgeHTML) will be permanently removed and replaced with the Chromium Microsoft Edge (based on Blink).

“To replace this out of support application, we are announcing that the new Microsoft Edge will be available as part of the Windows 10 cumulative monthly security update—otherwise referred to as the Update Tuesday (or “B”) release—on April 13, 2021,” the company said.

After applying the April Patch Tuesday, Microsoft Edge (Chromium) will become an essential and mandatory component of the operating system in all supported versions of Windows 10.

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If you still use legacy Edge or you’ve blocked the Chromium Edge update using group policies/registry hacks, those settings will be ignored and the legacy version will be removed automatically.

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Microsoft is forcing the Chromium-based Edge because support for the legacy version ended last month. According to the company, the forced migration will make sure that all Windows users have access to the supported and secure version of Microsoft Edge.