You open your bank, your webmail or your favourite online shop, and instead of the usual page you get a warning: “Your browser is out of date”. Sometimes it is worded differently, like “Your browser is not supported” or “This browser is no longer supported”. Nothing looks broken on your side, so what exactly has happened to it?
Good news: in most cases, a quick trip to the browser’s settings is all it takes. Let’s look at what the message means, why it appears, and what to do on Windows, Mac and Chromebook.
In short
- “Out of date”, “not supported” and “no longer supported” all mean the same thing: your browser is several versions behind, websites stop testing it and it misses security fixes.
- In Chrome, Firefox and Edge, opening the About page checks for updates and installs them.
- Safari is updated with macOS: if your Mac can no longer update, Safari is stuck too.
- If no update is offered, your operating system is usually the real problem. Switching browser can buy you time.
The messages you may see
Each website words it its own way. Here are the most common versions:
- “Your web browser is out of date. Update your browser for more security, speed and the best experience on this site.” This is a ready-made banner that many websites install, which is why you may see exactly the same sentence on very different sites.
- “Your browser is not supported” or “You’re using an unsupported browser”.
- “This browser is no longer supported. Please switch to a supported browser.”
- “This version of Chrome is no longer supported”, or the same with Safari or Firefox.
- In Chrome itself, on an older computer: a bar at the top saying “To get future Google Chrome updates, you’ll need macOS 13 or later” (or a newer version of Windows).
Whatever the wording, the meaning is the same: the website no longer guarantees that it works with your version of the browser. And the solution is the same too.
What does “out of date” mean?
An out-of-date browser (some websites say “outdated” or “unsupported”) is a browser that technology has overtaken. It still works and nothing is broken, but the world has moved on without it.
The same thing happens to computers, smartphones, smartwatches and the software that runs on them: they keep working perfectly, yet become less and less useful simply because everything around them has changed.
Why has your browser become out of date?
Obsolescence came into our lives with computers. A record player bought sixty years ago still plays vinyl as well as ever (and vinyl is fashionable again). The web, on the other hand, has very little in common with what it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago.
It is far more interactive, and we no longer use it only from a computer. More than half of the visits to my French blog come from a smartphone, and that is far from unusual.
What we do online has changed too, and so have the threats. Online banking, tax returns and shopping all raise the bar for security.
Yet we don’t all look after our browsers the same way. Some people update, others don’t, and their browser slowly falls behind.
For a website to work everywhere, its developers would have to build a workaround for every version of every browser. That costs a lot, and fewer and fewer companies are willing to pay for it, which is understandable. So at some point, they simply show you a warning.
When does a browser become out of date?
A new release doesn’t make the previous version obsolete overnight. Nobody expects every user to update on the same day, and large company networks are no quicker: rolling out an update to thousands of computers takes time.
A version is usually considered out of date once several newer ones have been released. Chrome, Firefox and Edge publish a new major version roughly every four weeks, so a browser left alone for a few months is already well behind.
How to update your browser
- Chrome: click the three vertical dots, then Help and About Google Chrome. If an update is already waiting, an Update button also appears next to the dots.
- Firefox on Mac: open the Firefox menu, then About Firefox.
- Firefox on Windows: click the menu button (three lines), then Help and About Firefox.
- Edge: click the three horizontal dots, then Help and feedback and About Microsoft Edge.
- Safari: on a Mac, go to System Settings, General, Software Update. Safari is updated together with macOS.
In Chrome, Firefox and Edge, the About page looks for updates as soon as you open it. Restart the browser when it asks you to.
But what if a website says your browser is out of date and the browser offers no update? In that case, the problem usually lies with your operating system. Here is what to do, depending on your computer.
On Windows
Windows 7, 8 and 8.1: a lost cause
Here, your browser is not the only thing that is out of date: so is your operating system. Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 in 2020 and Windows 8.1 in 2023.
Chrome and Edge dropped these systems in early 2023, with version 109. Firefox is the last major browser that still protects them, through a special edition called Firefox ESR 115. It receives security fixes only, no new features, and Mozilla has promised them until March 2027.
That buys you time, not a future. The real fix is a more recent version of Windows, or a more recent computer.
Windows 10
Windows 10, released in 2015, is a mature system that has received many updates over the years. But even well-established systems eventually grow old.
End of support: Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 Home and Pro on 14 October 2025. Since then, security updates only reach PCs enrolled in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme, which Microsoft has quietly extended for home users until 12 October 2027.
You can enrol in Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update. In the European Economic Area, it is free as long as you sign in with a Microsoft account. Elsewhere, you can sync your settings to the cloud, redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or pay a one-off $30.
Browsers should keep working on Windows 10 while ESU lasts, but nothing says they will still support it after October 2027. Let’s be honest: the clock is ticking. If your PC can run Windows 11, it is a good idea to make the move before then.
Is Edge the answer?
If you would rather not install another browser, what does Microsoft offer? Internet Explorer, the out-of-date browser par excellence, was retired in June 2022.
Its replacement, Edge, had a false start: the first version did not catch on and Microsoft abandoned it in 2021. The current Edge is built on Chromium, the same open-source base as Chrome and Opera. (Safari, for its part, runs on Apple’s own WebKit engine.)
Today’s Edge is a reliable choice. Keep it up to date and you should not see any more warnings about an out-of-date browser.
On a Mac
Apple’s history is simpler than Microsoft’s, with one catch: Safari comes with macOS and cannot be updated on its own. As soon as your Mac can no longer install a recent version of macOS, Safari falls behind and becomes out of date. To see which version you have, click the Apple menu, then About This Mac.
Fortunately, other browsers support older Macs for longer:
- Chrome has become stricter: since version 151 (July 2026), it needs macOS 13 Ventura or later to receive updates. On macOS 12 Monterey or older, Chrome still opens, but it no longer gets updates or security fixes.
- Firefox needs macOS 10.15 Catalina or later. On older Macs, from macOS 10.12 Sierra (2016) to 10.14 Mojave, you can install Firefox ESR 115, which receives security fixes (no new features) until March 2027.
On a Chromebook
Chromebooks are a bit special. Google starts from the idea that everything can be done in a browser, so ChromeOS is, to keep it simple, a souped-up version of Chrome.
To update Chrome, you update ChromeOS. Updates are automatic, but every model has an end date. Google now guarantees ten years of updates for Chromebooks released from 2019 onwards; older models got less. You can check yours in Settings, About ChromeOS, Additional details, under Update schedule.
After that date, Chrome stays frozen and can be flagged as out of date at any time. You can still install another browser such as Firefox, but the system underneath no longer receives security fixes. It is time to start thinking about a replacement.
Going further: if browsers interest you, see what private browsing really protects. And if you also want to take back control of your data, see how to move your photos from Google Photos to Proton Drive or use Proton Mail with Gmail.
You now have no reason left to stay stuck with an out-of-date browser!
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