How to Enable Enterprise Mode in Internet Explorer 11 and Later?

The latest version of Internet Explorer web browser is 11.0 which comes preinstalled with Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 8.1 and can also be installed in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 using following link:

Download Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) for Windows 7

IE11 comes with various new features such as preloading website content in background to optimize performance, 64-bit process for Enhanced Protected Mode, support for SPDY/3 protocol, etc.

Another interesting, useful and hidden feature introduced in Internet Explorer 11 is the "Enterprise Mode" which has been implemented to provide better support for websites having compatibility issues in IE11 web browser.

Basically Enterprise Mode in IE11 tries to behave like IE8 version so that older websites which can recognize IE8 but can't recognize the new IE11 version, can open properly in IE11. Enterprise Mode in IE11 replicates original IE8 user agent string and outputs IE8's response to ActiveX controls and other binaries query so that old websites can open perfectly in IE11.

Enterprise Mode also brings back many deprecated features of IE8 such as CSS Expressions, etc for websites which contain objects or legacy web apps requiring those features to run. Enterprise Mode also turns off preloading website content feature of IE11 because some old websites do not support this feature. Basically you can consider Enterprise Mode as an emulation of IE8 web browser within IE11 which uses a modified browser configuration to open incompatible websites.

Enterprise Mode in IE11 is disabled by default but interested people can enable it using following methods:

• METHOD 1: Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
• METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor (regedit.exe)

Once enabled, you can use Enterprise Mode feature in IE11 or later by accessing Menubar usingALT key and then click on "Tools -> Enterprise Mode" option. It shows an icon in addressbar so that you can know if the current website is running in Enterprise Mode or not.

METHOD 1: Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)

You can turn Enterprise Mode on in Internet Explorer 11 or later using Group Policy Editor. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Type gpedit.msc in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer

3. In right-side pane, look for "Let users turn on and use Enterprise Mode from the Tools menu" option.

4. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.

Apply the changes and now you can use Enterprise Mode feature in Internet Explorer 11 and later using "Tools -> Enterprise Mode" option in Menubar.

PS: To disable Enterprise Mode feature, again set the "Let users turn on and use Enterprise Mode from the Tools menu" option to Not Configured.

METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor (regedit.exe)

If you don't want to use or can't use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\

3. Create a new key Internet Explorer under Microsoft, then create another new key Main underInternet Explorer key. Again create another new key EnterpriseMode under Main key.

So the final key structure would be:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\EnterpriseMode

4. In right-side pane, create a new string Enable and leave its value empty as shown in following screenshot:

That's it. Now you can use Enterprise Mode in Internet Explorer web browser from Menubar -> Tools -> Enterprise Mode option.

PS: To disable Enterprise Mode in future, delete Enable string created in step 4.