Mozilla has made a significant announcement regarding the future of its Firefox browser, particularly for users operating on unsupported systems. The company has decided to extend support for Firefox on these platforms until March 2025, a move that reflects its commitment to a loyal user base still utilizing older operating systems.
What You Need to Know
Mozilla announced its plans to extend Firefox support on unsupported operating systems until March 2025. The company will offer two ESR (Extended Support Release) releases, including 115 for unsupported operating systems and 128 for Windows 10 and newer. Mozilla argues "enough" Firefox users are still running unsupported operating systems, including Windows 7, prompting its decision to extend support for Firefox on old devices.
As Microsoft gears up to discontinue support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, Firefox users can breathe a sigh of relief. They will still be able to run Firefox 115 on unsupported devices such as Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, as well as macOS versions 10.12 to 10.14. Mozilla’s commitment means that important updates will continue to roll out until April 1, 2025, with Firefox 115.21 receiving updates until March 4, 2025.
Firefox 115 marks the last version of the browser compatible with these unsupported operating systems, making attempts to install Firefox 116 on these platforms a futile endeavor. In contrast, competitors like Microsoft’s Edge and Google Chrome have already ceased support for Windows 7, potentially giving Mozilla a competitive edge in this niche market.
According to Mozilla, "Continuing to support it past October isn’t going to be free (backporting security fixes is already getting increasingly painful due to the divergence which naturally happens over time as an ESR goes further into its lifecycle), but there’s still enough users there that we felt it was worth doing for now at least."
While the current extension of support provides a temporary solution, the future of Firefox on these unsupported operating systems remains uncertain beyond the announced dates. Users are left to ponder what lies ahead as the tech landscape continues to evolve.
