Firefox has announced that it will no longer support these versions of Windows. Check whether this affects you and how to fix it
Even in the Windows 11 era, there are still users who continue to use versions of Microsoft's operating system that have been unsupported for years. A prime example is the customers and businesses that still use Windows 7.
There are several reasons why this older version of the operating system continues to be used on some computers, both personal and business. Sometimes it's due to the use of specific programs, or out of curiosity or nostalgia. Whatever the reason, we can still find a significant number of computers today running Windows 7, 8, or even 8.1.
Windows versions that will stop receiving Firefox updates
Despite the gradual withdrawal of official support from third-party software developers, some important programs remain compatible. For example, despite the inherent risks, users of older versions of Windows 10 continue to use their devices to connect to the internet.
Mozilla is well aware of this, which is why it continues to provide security updates for one of its core products on these older versions of Windows. Of course, we're talking about Firefox, the popular privacy-focused browser. But this support will end in just a few days. As the company itself announced several months ago, support for Firefox on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will end at the end of this month.
This change could pose a serious problem for many. Browsing the internet with an outdated browser is extremely dangerous. We're telling you this because Mozilla recently announced it will end support for Firefox 115 ESR by the end of this year. Furthermore, once February 2026 is over, security updates will no longer be released for users of earlier versions of Windows 10.
This means that Firefox 115 ESR, the last version compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, will end support this month. While Mozilla has made this decision twice before, only to reverse it and continue supporting Firefox, it's possible this could happen again, though unlikely.
It's important to keep in mind that working daily on a computer with an unsupported operating system is risky in itself. But the situation is compounded if we also use a browser that doesn't receive security updates, as is the case with Firefox starting this month.
This means that when that time arrives, users affected by the change are advised to update their operating system to a newer version. At a minimum, they should install Windows 10 (and preferably Windows 11), even though support for this version ended in October 2025. This is all in order to continue receiving security updates and available features for the Firefox browser.
At the same time, we must bear in mind that other browsers with a wider market presence, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, stopped sending updates to these older versions of Windows a long time ago, so there are only a few alternatives left.