Microsoft Silverlight will reach the end of support on October 12, 2021. Silverlight development framework is currently only supported on Internet Explorer 10 and Internet Explorer 11, with support for Internet Explorer 10 ending on January 31, 2020. There is no longer support for Chrome, Firefox, or any browser using the Mac operating system.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm trying to upgrade my site to Silverlight 3. All my customers are having a reasonabily good experience from upgrading to Silverlight 3 from Silverlight 2 or just a fresh install. But on Mac OS X in Firefox 3.5, after Silverlight is installed they cant view any Silverlight apps, it's just blank on screen. Enable the Silverlight Plugin in Firefox on a MAC if using Firefox version 52.0esr (other versions of Firefox are no longer supporting Silverlight). Launch Firefox web browser. Go to Firefox menu, Tools drop-down, choose Add-ons. From the Add-ons Manager tab, select Plugins. Locate the Microsoft Silverlight plugin, check to see if it is Enabled.
Firefox Silverlight Plugin
What is the current level of support Microsoft will provide for Silverlight?
Microsoft will provide technical help for customers using versions of Silverlight 5 only. Paid technical help is available to customers requiring support with issues beyond install and upgrade. Microsoft will continue to ship updates to the Silverlight 5 Developer Runtime for supported browser versions given that their extensibility model supports plug-ins; this includes updates for security vulnerabilities as determined by the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).
Silverlight 5 will support the browser versions listed on the system requirements page through October 12, 2021, or though the lifecycle of the underlying browsers, whichever is shorter. The support page will be updated to reflect compatibility with newer browsers and operating system versions.
Windows 7 will reach its end of support date on January 14, 2020. Will Silverlight be supported as part of the Extended Security Update (ESU) program available for Windows 7 customers?
Silverlight’s lifecycle policy is independent from the Windows 7 policy. After January 14, 2020, customers using Silverlight on Windows 7 will no longer be supported and will no longer receive automatic security updates.
What happens on October 12, 2021? Will existing applications stop working?
Microsoft is not planning to take any specific action to terminate Silverlight applications. After this date, however, Silverlight will be in an unsupported state and will not receive any future quality or security updates.
Will companies be legally allowed to continue to run Silverlight assets after October 12, 2021? What happens to the license to use Silverlight after October 12, 2021?
Silverlight’s license is a perpetual license and is not tied to the continuation of support. While support will be ending in October 2021, this date does not affect the license, which continues in effect for as long as the customer is using the software and complies with the terms of the license.
Can companies obtain a custom agreement to extend Microsoft support past 2021?
There are no plans for extending Silverlight support beyond the existing support dates listed here.
What will happen to the microsoft.com/silverlight website after October 12, 2021?
The microsoft.com/silverlight website will still be available. However, the Silverlight installer will no longer be available after the end of support date of October 12, 2021.
What is the recommended technology/development framework for customers who want to migrate applications from Silverlight?
There are various options for migrating applications from Silverlight. We recommend that you evaluate the requirements of the application that you are migrating and determine the technology that best suits the application in question:
If your application is non-browser dependent and you’d like to migrate to a Windows Desktop application, we recommend you migrate your application to UWP or WPF on .NET Core.
If your application is web-based, we recommend that you look into Blazor, which allows re-usability of .NET Silverlight code. Blazor lets you build interactive web UIs using C# instead of JavaScript. Blazor apps are composed of reusable web UI components implemented using C#, HTML, and CSS. Both client and server code are written in C#, allowing you to share code and libraries.
Symptoms
When you try to access a Web site that requires Silverlight to display the content, you receive an error message that states that you have to install Silverlight.
Cause
This behavior can occur for several reasons:
Your system has an earlier version of the plug-in and does not meet the requirements for the plug-in that the site is using.
You do not have the plug-in installed.
The browser is set to 'Run using Rosetta,' which will cause the computer to be identified incorrectly as a PowerPC-based Mac.
Resolution
Before you determine how to address the issue, you should assess the current environment in which the software is running. To do this, follow these steps:
On the Apple menu, select About this Mac.
Note the processor type, speed, RAM, and operating system information, as some Web sites have specific requirements to view their content.
Close the window.
Close all open browser windows.
Double-click the hard drive icon on the desktop.
Double-click the Library folder.
Open the Internet Plug-ins folder.
Is there a file that is named Silverlight.plugin? If this file exists, the plug-in is installed. To determine the version, click to select the file. Then, select Get Info on the File menu. Note the version number that is displayed.
If the version number that is displayed is 1.0.xxx and your processor type is a PowerPC, you have the correct version of the plug-in installed.
If you have an Intel Processor, all versions of Silverlight are supported. But we recommended that you run the latest version so that you can access Web sites that use the newest features and take advantage of the most recent product improvements.
Now we can address the individual causes and resolutions.
Silverlight Firefox Download
Your system has an earlier version of the plug-in and does not meet the Web site's requirements
The most common cause of this issue is that the Web site is using Silverlight 3 for its content. If a site requires version 3, it recognizes whether your system meets the requirement. If the system does not, you are prompted to upgrade. You are directed to the Silverlight site. If you are using a PowerPC, the site recognizes this and that only version 1 can be installed. (This situation would have to be addressed by the Web site's support team, as the decision on what version of Silverlight to use is made by the Web site designers.)
You do not have the plug-in installed
If Silverlight has not yet been installed, follow these steps to install the plug-in:
Start a Web browser, and then visit the following Web site:
Locate the 'Install Silverlight' area in the lower-right part of the window.
If you are running an Intel processor, click Mac Runtime next to 'Silverlight 3.'
Otherwise, click Runtime for Mac PowerPC next to 'Silverlight 1.0.'
After the download is completed, installation should start automatically. Follow the steps in the installation wizard.
After the installation is complete, you should be prompted to exit your browser. Close any browser windows, and then restart the browser. The browser should recognize the new plug-in.
Note If you have any problems with the installation, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for information about how to manually install the plug-in:
970064 How to remove and manually reinstall Silverlight 2 for Mac
The browser is set to 'Run using Rosetta,' which will cause the computer to be identified incorrectly as a PowerPC-based Mac
If the browser is set to run in the Rosetta engine, it will incorrectly identify the computer as a PowerPC-based Mac, or the Web site will not recognize that the appropriate plug-in is installed.
If the appropriate plug-in is installed as described in the previous section, follow these steps:
Enable Silverlight Firefox
Double-click the hard drive icon on the desktop.
Choose the Applications folder.
Find the icon for the browser that you are using. Hold down the CONTROL key while you click this icon.
Select Get Info.
Locate the Run using Rosetta option and make sure that this check box is not selected. If it is selected, click to clear the check box. Close the window.
On the Apple menu, click Restart.
After the computer restarts, again try to access the Web site that generated the error message.
Allow Silverlight Firefox
Note If the appropriate version of the plug-in is not installed, make sure that the Run using Rosetta check box is not selected, and then follow the steps in the previous section to install the plug-in.