Surprisingly, Windows 7 support lingered in Firefox for a while, even though Microsoft ended its own support for the operating system in 2023. In the following year, 2024, Mozilla highlighted its plan to extend support for legacy versions of Windows (and macOS) through March, including Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, and macOS 10.12 to 10.14 by continuing to ship important security updates via an Extended Support Release (ESR) version of its browser.
Mozilla was initially supposed to extend support for Firefox 115 via its Extended Support Release (ESR) channel until September 2024. The company later pushed the timeline to 2025, then changed it again to March 2026.
"This extension gives users more time to transition while ensuring critical security protections remain available," Mozilla indicated. However, the company has now updated its official support document, indicating that it's poised to end support for Firefox 115 ESR later this month (via Neowin).
As such, Mozilla will no longer continue supporting Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 security updates via its Extended Support Release (ESR) channel.
Firefox 115 is now the last version supported on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Updates will be delivered through the ESR channel until the end of February 2026. After that, users should upgrade their operating system to continue receiving Firefox security and feature updates.
Mozilla
As it stands, the best option is to upgrade to an officially supported version of Microsoft Windows (Windows 10 or later). This allows you to continue using mainstream browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and now Firefox, while still accessing the latest features, security updates, and improvements.
"Unsupported operating systems receive no security updates and have known vulnerabilities," Mozilla added. "Without official support from Microsoft, maintaining Firefox for outdated operating systems becomes costly for Mozilla and risky for users."
Alternatively, Mozilla recommends switching to a Linux-based operating system if your PC can't upgrade to a supported Windows version for any reason. Besides, "the vast majority of Linux distributions come with Firefox as the default browser."
Over to you
Firefox is leaving Windows 7 behind in 2026. What’s your next move? Let me know in the comments.
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