Mozilla has finally named the end of support date for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Firefox 115 will be the last version to support these OSes. With it, the company will move its users to the ESR branch, that will receive security updates until September 2024. There will no longer be any updates for the unsupported OS users after that time.
Microsoft no longer Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, as well as its browser, Edge, doesn't support them too. Chrome has stopped supporting them too, leaving Firefox the only mainstream browser that can be used on aged OSes.
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The shift to the ESR channel means that Firefox users will no longer receive new features. The browser won't receive new tools, UI changes, and new capabilities. However, it will continue to receive security patches, keeping your daily browser safe. This sounds good for those who cannot go with a newer Windows version.
In January 2020, Microsoft terminated their mainstream support for Windows 7. Although regular users could continue to use the outdated system or upgrade to a newer one, business customers had the option to pay Microsoft for an additional three years of security updates and fixes through the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. For the Windows 8 family, Microsoft didn't offer such an option. Microsoft ended official support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 in January of 2023.
The Steam marketplace and software is another product that will stop supporting aged OSes in September 2024. This means that users on these operating systems will eventually be unable to access Steam and their purchases. In order to continue using Steam after January 1, 2024, users must upgrade their operating system to Windows 10 or 11.
The official announcement is here.
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Windows 7 was last truly semi private OS. I will use it until the computers die
me too… I will use WIN 7 until my notebook dies
Firefox will receive another support extension for Windows 7 & 8.x until March 2025 as reported by these sites:
https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/09/mozilla-extends-firefox-115-support-for-old-windows-and-macos-devices/