How to Use Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge

When Microsoft decided to discontinue Internet Explorer (IE), legacy/older websites that require IE were at risk of fading out. Considering this Microsoft introduced the compatibility or the Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft uses the Chromium engine for the new sites and the Trident (MSHTML) engine for the old sites to support backward compatibility. It eliminates the need to rebuild the old websites while the users can still enjoy the legacy websites.

In this article, we will first look at ways to use the compatibility mode. Then we will see how to open it and finally round up the article with the way to exit the compatibility mode in Microsoft Edge.

How to Use Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Edge?

Opening any legacy website in Microsoft Edge via Compatibility mode requires minimum effort. All you need to do is toggle on some options from the Default browser settings option and run the older websites seamlessly.

1. Open the Microsoft Edge application.
2. Click the Three-dots on the upper-right region of the browser window.
3. Then, choose Settings.
   
4. You need to select the Default browser option from the left sidebar menu.
5. Now, click the drop-down menu box in the Let Internet Explorer open sites in Microsoft Edge option and select the Recommended option.
   
6. Next, select the drop-down menu for the Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) and choose the Allow option.
7. After that, you need to select the Restart button to apply the changes to the browser.
   

Open Browser Page in Compatibility View

It is also possible to open a certain browser page in compatibility mode. Doing so will make Internet Explorer your default browser engine. Also, the selected webpage will prefer Internet Explorer over Microsoft Edge as the browsing option.

1. Launch the Microsoft Edge browser.
2. First, you need to turn on the Microsoft Edge Compatibility mode.
3. Then, click the Add option next to the Internet Explorer mode pages.
   
4. Now, you need to type the web page’s URL and hit Add. You can get the web page’s URL from the address bar beneath the tabs section.

Also, you can use the compatibility view mode for a specific browser page when you don’t have the exact URL address.

1. First, turn on the Microsoft Edge Compatibility mode.
2. Then, open a new tab and search for anything you want.
3. Now, right-click on the browser tab.
4. Pick the Reload tab in Internet Explorer mode option.
   
5. After that, you will see an information screen; toggle on the Open this page in Compatibility view option. It will open the page in compatibility mode only for the existing session.
6. To enable the compatibility mode for every other session, you need to toggle on the Open this page in Internet Explorer mode next time option and press Done.
   
7. You can now see a new bar beneath the address bar indicating ‘You’re in Internet Explorer mode.’ It means the page is operating in compatibility mode.
   

Once you enable the ‘Open this page in Internet Explorer mode next time,’ the page will continue to open in Internet Explorer mode for the next 30 days.

Exit the Browser Page from the Compatibility View

You can try using the compatibility view mode to open the legacy browser pages. But, if you intend to switch back to Microsoft Edge mode, you can completely turn off the Compatibility View mode for Microsoft Edge.

For that, you can follow the exact steps from Run Microsoft Edge in the Compatibility Mode section and change Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) option to Default or Don’t allow. Then, hit the Refresh button to save the changes.

Likewise, you can also implement the methods below to turn off the Compatibility View mode for a certain page for the time being.

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Select Three-dots > Default browser.
3. Head to the Internet Explorer mode pages and press the Delete icon next to the webpage.
   

Likely, you can use the steps below to remove a certain page from the Compatibility View.

1. With the web page open, you need to right-click the browser tab.
2. Now, pick the Exit tab from Internet Explorer mode.
   

You can also click the Open in Microsoft Edge button beneath the address bar to instantly close the compatibility view mode. It will switch the browser tab back to Microsoft Edge mode.