Firefox will support Windows 7/8 until at least 2024

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Why it matters: Windows 7 went out of Microsoft's extended support (through the Extended Security Updates paid program) in January, and software companies are now revealing they will do the same in the upcoming months. Mozilla won't be among such companies, however, as the open-source foundation has decided to postpone the fateful date for quite a while.

The Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox will keep supporting Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 until at least until 2024. Mozilla programmer Mike Kaply confirmed the decision through the Bugzilla platform, stating that the corporation "will not be ending support for Windows 7/Windows 8 before the release of the Firefox 115 ESR," and that the Firefox 115 ESR release will support the aged operating systems "at least until 3Q 2024."

Mike Kaply also hinted at the fact that Mozilla still has to decide exactly when support for Windows 7/8 will be finally removed. Firefox ESR is stable release of the open-source browser which Mozilla supports for an extended period of time compared to regular, "rapid" releases coming out every month. During its one-year support cycle, each Firefox ESR version only gets incremental updates containing security fixes with no new features or performance enhancements.

As stated by Firefox's official release calendar, Firefox 115 ESR should come out on July 4, 2023. The Firefox Public Data Report also reveals that Windows 7 still provides a sizable portion of the overall Firefox userbase (13.44%), while Windows 10 is the leading platform with 71% of users. The much-maligned Windows 8.1 is still used by 2.3% of Firefox installations.

Mozilla's decision to continue supporting Windows 7 should make a lot of long-time Windows (and Firefox) users happy, as the availability of newer Firefox versions for the ancient (yet still extremely popular) operating system will give them a bit more time before the inevitable hardware/OS upgrade.

Windows 7 was already abandoned by Google Chrome (and other Chromium-based browsers), which doesn't run on the OS anymore starting from Chrome 110. Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 in January 2023, and Valve will do the same with Steam on January 1, 2024.

Windows 7 was initially released to manufacturers on July 22, 2009, and Microsoft had to postpone the end of its official support period many times as the OS proved to be the most popular version of Windows ever produced with 630 million of licensed PCs worldwide (by July 2012). Windows 10 surpassed Windows 7 as the most popular PC operating system in January 2018.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/98122-firefox-support-windows-78-until-least-2024.html

 

[netman]

"Firefox will support Windows 7/8 until at least 2024"

Good News...! Unlike the freaking Chrome...!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Yep, good ol' Firefox! The best browser in the world instead of the best-marketed (which is why the noobs don't use it).

 

[Avro Arrow]

"Firefox will support Windows 7/8 until at least 2024"

Good News...! Unlike the freaking Chrome...!

Yeah, Chrome and all of its derivatives like Edge and Opera can...

 

[Gastec]

Guess what! I'm writing this comment in Mozilla Firefox, on a PERFECTLY FINE Windows 7 system. A Core i7-860, Intel P55, PCIe 2.0 system that doesn't have driver support for Windows 10. So, in the near future, just to be able to write meaningless strings of words on TechSpot forums,I will be forced to throw away my PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING computer system to buy a new motherboard, a new CPU and new RAM and a new tower case, because the one I have now doesn't fit the pathetically monstrous RTX 4000 series cards, that "Just Works!", that we have to "Just Buy It!". What can I say...I hope you get nuked by that Satan-2!

 

[RudyBob]

Yeah!

 

[jonny888]

Disclaimer: I haven't attempted to validate how accurate these numbers are, but assuming they are roughly correct
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

If you expect software developers to continue spending time and resources (read: money) developing for OS versions that are both EOL and used by barely 7% of that ecosystems audience, you are dreaming. It's an unfortunate truth, but it is what it is. Blame the OS developer(s) if you don't like it. It's not a Chrome/Firefox/Other problem.

For those who seem to think that Firefox is a white knight that supports everything forever:
a) 2024 is only next year. Not exactly super far away unless they really want to drag it out past that.
b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-mac-osx-users-esr - They adopt a very similar model of only supporting OSs that are still in support by the OS developer. They just happen to be clinging onto older Windows versions a bit longer, probably because they know Windows is a larger ecosystem overall and it will give them a bit of positive PR.

For those who assume I'm writing this as a Firefox hater/Chrome fan boy, I still happily use FF sometimes, even if it isn't my main daily driver anymore. Then again, aside from skipping W8 which was too awful to cope with, I also use the latest version of Windows, because I don't cling onto unsupported versions and then get angry or surprised when they stop doing everything I want them to do.

 

[psycros]

Disclaimer: I haven't attempted to validate how accurate these numbers are, but assuming they are roughly correct
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

If you expect software developers to continue spending time and resources (read: money) developing for OS versions that are both EOL and used by barely 7% of that ecosystems audience, you are dreaming. It's an unfortunate truth, but it is what it is. Blame the OS developer(s) if you don't like it. It's not a Chrome/Firefox/Other problem.

For those who seem to think that Firefox is a white knight that supports everything forever:
a) 2024 is only next year. Not exactly super far away unless they really want to drag it out past that.
b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-mac-osx-users-esr - They adopt a very similar model of only supporting OSs that are still in support by the OS developer. They just happen to be clinging onto older Windows versions a bit longer, probably because they know Windows is a larger ecosystem overall and it will give them a bit of positive PR.

For those who assume I'm writing this as a Firefox hater/Chrome fan boy, I still happily use FF sometimes, even if it isn't my main daily driver anymore. Then again, aside from skipping W8 which was too awful to cope with, I also use the latest version of Windows, because I don't cling onto unsupported versions and then get angry or surprised when they stop doing everything I want them to do.

"I don't cling onto unsupported versions and then get angry or surprised when they stop doing everything I want them to do."

So you happily embrace technological devolution and are willing to pay for it? Wow.

 

[Underdog]

And also willing to be led by the nose (and wallet) to change for the sake of change. Not everyone wants to play the latest resource hungry games and edit videos. I can say pretty much everyone I know does little more than gather emails, surf the net, keep a few domestic records, and maybe use a word processing app. Most of them dread yet another MS operating system coming along to make their perfectly functioning laptop or desktop PC obsolete and having to relearn a new interface cluttered with gimmicks, junk, and unwanted spyware.
I can't think of any other major consumer product that is regularly released for public sale that is so full of bugs and naff design that it has to be continually updated and repaired, sometimes to fix problems the most recent repair actually caused. Are the public easily led, like sheep.............. or just plain stupid?

 

[kira setsu]

Of course they'll support it for a few more months, firefox isn't as big as chrome/chromium and they'd be leaving users behind.

I use firefox and edge also, ff is a darn good browser but seems to get confused with autofilling forms which edge doesnt.

I also keep my pc up to date so this isn't a worry to me.

 

[jonny888]

"I don't cling onto unsupported versions and then get angry or surprised when they stop doing everything I want them to do."

So you happily embrace technological devolution and are willing to pay for it? Wow.

Pay for what? Free OS updates and free browsers? Hasn't cost me anything.

 

[sorten]

Windows 7 & 8 support? I can almost understand Windows 7 if you're in the tinfoil hat crowd and you're not a gamer or a software developer, but who on earth decided that Windows 8 was their "last" version of Windows?

 

[Gastec]

Windows 7 & 8 support? I can almost understand Windows 7 if you're in the tinfoil hat crowd and you're not a gamer or a software developer, but who on earth decided that Windows 8 was their "last" version of Windows?

What now, gamers only use Windows 10 and 11?

 

[sorten]

What now, gamers only use Windows 10 and 11?

No, not really. It depends on the age, features, and performance requirements for the games you play. Windows 7 was a great OS back in the day.

 

[hwertz]

I'm a Linux user, so I don't have much sympathy for people expecting to run current software on 10+ year old OSes. (I note here that the mainstream Linux distros, other than requiring a 64-bit Intel/AMD CPU, have no other requirements for a modern GPU, modern CPU instructions, TPM, etc. AND no plans to do so in the future; a few distros recently considered requiring AVX2 in their next releases but realized they already had a mechanism (that they used years back for SSE2) to ship side-by-side code and run the AVX2 version on CPUs that support it and the other version on older CPUs that don't. )

With that said -- good on Firefox! As a mutli-platform app, I'm sure Firefox is not that tightly tied into any Windows features (the main one being using direct3d to accelerate the graphics; and they are not using Direct3D12 for this). If there's no technical reason to drop support for older OSes I'm all in favor of not dropping support for older OSes.

 

[Hotlynx16]

Guess what! I'm writing this comment in Mozilla Firefox, on a PERFECTLY FINE Windows 7 system. A Core i7-860, Intel P55, PCIe 2.0 system that doesn't have driver support for Windows 10. So, in the near future, just to be able to write meaningless strings of words on TechSpot forums,I will be forced to throw away my PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING computer system to buy a new motherboard, a new CPU and new RAM and a new tower case, because the one I have now doesn't fit the pathetically monstrous RTX 4000 series cards, that "Just Works!", that we have to "Just Buy It!". What can I say...I hope you get nuked by that Satan-2!

My back-up computer is a Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G,Win10,Modified Xeon Quad E5472 3Ghz @ 1600MHZ to fit 775 board, Ballistix Sport 16GB memory and a RX480 GPU. Runs great!! It is a 2011 model and it runs windows 10 perfectly! I have a switch to switch my monitor, keyboard and mouse between it and my main computer!

 

[bviktor]

Oh yes, using an up-to-date browser on an OS that's full of secholes is such a great idea!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Guess what! I'm writing this comment in Mozilla Firefox, on a PERFECTLY FINE Windows 7 system. A Core i7-860, Intel P55, PCIe 2.0 system that doesn't have driver support for Windows 10.

Hey, if it does what you want it to, good enough, eh?

So, in the near future, just to be able to write meaningless strings of words on TechSpot forums,I will be forced to throw away my PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING computer system to buy a new motherboard, a new CPU and new RAM and a new tower case, because the one I have now doesn't fit the pathetically monstrous RTX 4000 series cards, that "Just Works!", that we have to "Just Buy It!". What can I say...I hope you get nuked by that Satan-2!

Ummm, this article says that Firefox will NOT be abandoning W7 anytime soon so I don't get this. Also, if you're concerned about your case not fitting an RTX 4000 video card, don't get an RX 4000-series video card. It's quite clear that you don't need one if you're able to get by just fine with an i7-860. The most that you could possibly need would be something like an RX 6700 XT which will fit in anything that isn't low-profile/mini-ITX:

It has full 16-lane PCI-Express v4.0 (so PCI-Express v2.0 won't be a hindrance like it would on an RX 6600/XT or worse) and it has 12GB of GDDR6 so it won't be going obsolete anytime soon like its weaker rival, the RX 3070 will. Not bad for $370, eh?

 

[Avro Arrow]

Disclaimer: I haven't attempted to validate how accurate these numbers are, but assuming they are roughly correct
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

If you expect software developers to continue spending time and resources (read: money) developing for OS versions that are both EOL and used by barely 7% of that ecosystems audience, you are dreaming. It's an unfortunate truth, but it is what it is. Blame the OS developer(s) if you don't like it. It's not a Chrome/Firefox/Other problem.

People are annoyed because Firefox, a browser made by a non-profit organisation (Mozilla), is going to continue to support W7 while other browsers won't because their devs are lazy and just plagiarised Google Chromium. This is Google's decision more than anyone else's and we know that Microsoft doesn't care.

At the same time, I agree with you that the era of W7 is long-over. A lot of people are still accustomed to the incredible staying power that was exhibited by XP Pro. I can't say that I blame them because I also refused to use Vista and stuck with XP for seemingly forever.

For those who seem to think that Firefox is a white knight that supports everything forever:
a) 2024 is only next year. Not exactly super far away unless they really want to drag it out past that.
b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-mac-osx-users-esr - They adopt a very similar model of only supporting OSs that are still in support by the OS developer. They just happen to be clinging onto older Windows versions a bit longer, probably because they know Windows is a larger ecosystem overall and it will give them a bit of positive PR.

White Knight that supports everything forever? Of course not. It stopped supporting XP years ago, but it's still doing a better job than anything based on Chromium.

For those who assume I'm writing this as a Firefox hater/Chrome fan boy, I still happily use FF sometimes, even if it isn't my main daily driver anymore. Then again, aside from skipping W8 which was too awful to cope with, I also use the latest version of Windows, because I don't cling onto unsupported versions and then get angry or surprised when they stop doing everything I want them to do.

I have to agree with you there, I took one look at W8 and said "That's so ugly that it hurts my feelings!". It was also completely un-Windows-like in operation so, yeah, I skipped that. It's ironic you know, Windows Vista and Windows 8 are two of the biggest reasons that Windows 7 was so beloved.

My back-up computer is a Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G,Win10,Modified Xeon Quad E5472 3Ghz @ 1600MHZ to fit 775 board, Ballistix Sport 16GB memory and a RX480 GPU. Runs great!! It is a 2011 model and it runs windows 10 perfectly! I have a switch to switch my monitor, keyboard and mouse between it and my main computer!

I love this. Back when I worked at Tiger Direct, socket 775 and AM2+ were en vogue. It brings back a lot of fond memories of that era!

And also willing to be led by the nose (and wallet) to change for the sake of change. Not everyone wants to play the latest resource hungry games and edit videos. I can say pretty much everyone I know does little more than gather emails, surf the net, keep a few domestic records, and maybe use a word processing app. Most of them dread yet another MS operating system coming along to make their perfectly functioning laptop or desktop PC obsolete and having to relearn a new interface cluttered with gimmicks, junk, and unwanted spyware.

You're not wrong.

I can't think of any other major consumer product that is regularly released for public sale that is so full of bugs and naff design that it has to be continually updated and repaired, sometimes to fix problems the most recent repair actually caused. Are the public easily led, like sheep.............. or just plain stupid?

*cough!* AUTOMOBILES! *cough!*

Of course they'll support it for a few more months, firefox isn't as big as chrome/chromium and they'd be leaving users behind.

They're also non-profit so they're not constantly trying to increase profits by screwing people over like Google and Microsoft do.

Pay for what? Free OS updates and free browsers? Hasn't cost me anything.

Yeah, I don't know what they're talking about. Windows 10 Pro OEM keys can cost less than $10 these days and "upgrading" to W11 is free. Having said that, I won't do the upgrade until I literally have to.

Windows 7 & 8 support? I can almost understand Windows 7 if you're in the tinfoil hat crowd and you're not a gamer or a software developer, but who on earth decided that Windows 8 was their "last" version of Windows?

The same people who bought Nokia Windows Phones.

What now, gamers only use Windows 10 and 11?

According to Steam, yeah, they do. I don't believe the Steam surveys but Steam is ending support for W7 as well.

Oh yes, using an up-to-date browser on an OS that's full of secholes is such a great idea!

You're kinda damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't because all you're doing when you adopt a new version of Windows is trade said sescurity holes for Microsoft spyware. Sure, the spyware is the lesser of two evils but it's still evil.

 

[Gastec]

Hey, if it does what you want it to, good enough, eh?

Ummm, this article says that Firefox will NOT be abandoning W7 anytime soon so I don't get this. Also, if you're concerned about your case not fitting an RTX 4000 video card, don't get an RX 4000-series video card. It's quite clear that you don't need one if you're able to get by just fine with an i7-860. The most that you could possibly need would be something like an RX 6700 XT which will fit in anything that isn't low-profile/mini-ITX:

It has full 16-lane PCI-Express v4.0 (so PCI-Express v2.0 won't be a hindrance like it would on an RX 6600/XT or worse) and it has 12GB of GDDR6 so it won't be going obsolete anytime soon like its weaker rival, the RX 3070 will. Not bad for $370, eh?

It actually doesn't do what I want, It hasn't done it for years, I just reduced my gaming needs according to the hardware I had. But that's what happens when one waits for prices to go down and then new stuff comes along and then again waits for their prices to go down and then the crypto-schemes come around and Covid-19 and the European Green Deal and the rest of the "special operations" and "surprise mechanics". What I now want is a Ryzen 7 78003DX in a X670E motherboard and one of those shamelessly overpriced $1000-1500 graphics cards, to game until I turn by brains into mush and I won't be able to see 2 feet in front of me.