If you’ve moved over from Windows to Mac, you might be wondering if you can download Internet Explorer. After all, it’s the browser most of us have become accustomed to over the years. Microsoft has transitioned over to Microsoft Edge as their new browser which has some key new features but you can still access Internet Explorer with a few workarounds.
Unfortunately, Apple discontinued the use of Internet Explorer on their computers in 2005 and replaced it with their own Safari browser. Whilst some websites might claim to allow you to download Internet Explorer for Mac, they don’t work and you should avoid these kinds of websites because you don’t know what you’re really downloading.
The good news is, there’s a handful of ways that will allow you to run Internet Explorer on your Mac. In this guide, we’ll let you know exactly how you can do this.
Install Windows on your Mac
As we mentioned, you can’t install Internet Explorer on your Mac however you can install Windows itself and then run Internet explorer. To do this, you’ll need software like Parallels Parallels allows you to run both macOS and Windows on your Mac at the same time so you can switch between with relative ease.
The good news is, Windows no longer requires an activation key so as soon as you’ve downloaded Windows by using Parallels, you can get straight into using Internet Explorer on your Mac. If you have a new M1 Mac, you can still use parallels to get access to Internet Explorer!
Internet Explorer and Windows will be projected on your Mac and your computer will act as if you were using a Microsoft computer so technically you’re using Internet Explorer on your Mac but it’s more a case of remotely accessing it on a virtual machine.
The only disadvantage of using this method is you can’t switch between macOS and Windows instantly. You have to reboot your Mac first. So if you’re working on a project, this method could become frustrating.
Emulate Internet Explorer in your browser
The next workaround for installing Internet Explorer on your Mac is to emulate it in your browser. This method works by activating Developer Mode in the browser and then setting the user agent to Internet Explorer. This method will work in Safari, Firefox, and Chrome browsers.
All you need to do is play with the developed tools and set your default browser to Internet Explorer which is much easier than you may think. As most Mac users use Safari, we’ll start with how to emulate Internet Explorer on Safari.
- Open Safari up on your Mac.
- Navigate up to Preferences at the top of the bar.
- Select the Advanced tab on the far right.
- Check the box Show Development menu in menu bar.
- Close the Preferences and then click on the Developer option in the Safari menu.
- Then select User Agent to open the browser as Internet Explorer.
You should then have a variety of browser options shown in the menu. If you have Internet Explorer 11, select it. If not you can choose Internet Explorer 10 or 9.
How to emulate Internet Explorer on Chrome
- Open up Chrome and go to the View options at the top of the bar.
- Select Developer and then Developer Tools.
- In the pop up, make sure you have naviagted to ‘Console’ at the top bar.
- Next, select Network Conditions.
- Next to User Agent, deselect “select automatically” and then click Custom Menu to select a new browser to primarily use.
You can then use Internet Explorer as your browser. If you close your browser, it will revert back to Chrome the next time you open a new tab.
Use Microsoft Edge
The third and final way to use Internet Explorer on your Mac is to just switch over to Microsoft Edge completely, Microsoft’s latest and greatest browser. Most Microsoft users are already using Microsoft Edge instead of Internet Explorer because it has its benefits. The good news is you can download Microsoft Edge for your Mac so there’s no need to emulate Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge for your Mac. Just head over to Edge and download the browser now.
Of course, if you need Internet Explorer to access specific websites, you may be better off using the first two ways on the list to Download Internet Explorer on your Mac.
Microsoft Edge is a more modern browser that is more secure, faster, and simplified. If you have an option to use it, we recommend doing so.
