Firefox 115 is the latest version of the browser that is compatible with many old versions of Windows or even macOS. For example Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12 to 10.14 are supported.
Any attempt to install Firefox 116 or later on these operating systems will fail.
But Mozilla announced in July that it would expand support for those operating systems. Last week, it released the final version of Firefox 115 to the public. Mozilla didn't say anything about extending support to older systems, meaning that those using Firefox on those older systems didn't know if they would receive updates.
So it's good to know:
The Extended Support Release (ESR from Extended Support Release) allows users on these older systems to continue using Firefox.
Mozilla's major competitors, Google and Microsoft in particular, have already ended support for Windows 7.
So today it was announced official confirmation that support is extended.
The details:
Firefox 115 ESR support is extended until at least March 2025.
It will be supported until the release of Firefox ESR 115.21.
This means users will receive security updates for at least another six months.
Mozilla does not say if the extension is final or if there is a possibility that it will be extended again in March 2025 for these systems.
But it said it is looking at user numbers to determine whether to extend support. Currently, about 10% of Firefox users are using older systems. The number decreases over time as older systems are replaced by newer ones.
It is very likely that Mozilla will extend support again in March 2025 if enough users are still using these systems.
Firefox users running Firefox ESR 115 on devices with unsupported operating systems will receive the updates automatically through the browser's built-in update function.
