What do I do when a website says my browser is out of date?
Two completely different situations behind the same message: a genuinely old browser that a site will no longer support, and a fake notice designed to get you to install something. How to tell them apart in seconds.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 5 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
Never use the download button on the page. Instead open your browser's own menu, go to Help then About, and let it check — a real browser updates itself and will tell you truthfully whether it is current. If it says it is up to date, the page was either wrong or lying. If it genuinely cannot update, the cause is almost always the operating system underneath, not the browser.
This message covers two situations with almost nothing in common. The genuine one: browsers stop being supported, sites drop compatibility, and a machine running an operating system that has stopped receiving updates cannot install a current browser at all — so the notice is accurate and the fix is not really about the browser. The fake one: a page, often reached through an advert or a redirect, presents a convincing update notice with a download button, and the download is malware. The two are trivially distinguishable, because a real browser tells you its own version and a fake page cannot.
Safety
Step by step
- Ignore the button on the page entirely.No legitimate site distributes browser updates. This is the single rule that makes the whole situation safe: whatever the page says, the answer never involves downloading from it.
- Check the version from inside the browser.Every browser has Help then About, which displays the version and checks for an update at the same time. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all do this. If it reports itself current, you have your answer and the page was wrong.
- Restart the browser if an update is waiting.Browsers download updates in the background and apply them on restart, so a browser left open for weeks can be genuinely behind while having the update ready. Closing every window and reopening applies it.
- Work out whether the operating system is the real limit.If the browser says it cannot update, it is almost always because the version of Windows or macOS underneath is no longer supported by it. That is the actual problem, and it means the machine is not receiving security updates either. The catalogue's guides on end of support and on options for a computer out of support cover the decision.
- Recognise the fake notice by its behaviour.It appeared on a page rather than from the browser. It names a version number or a browser you are not using. It has a countdown, or an alarming warning about viruses. It wants you to download an installer, or to call a number. Any one of these is enough.
- Deal with it if you already clicked.If you downloaded something, do not run it, and delete it. If you ran it, treat the machine as compromised — the catalogue's guides on responding to clicking a bad link and removing malware cover the steps, and changing passwords from a different device is part of it.
- Consider whether the site is simply old.Some sites check the browser badly and reject perfectly current browsers, particularly less common ones. If your browser is current and one site refuses it, trying a different mainstream browser establishes whether the site is at fault.
- Set the browser to update automatically and leave it.All major browsers do this by default, and the effective habit is simply closing the browser occasionally so updates apply. Anyone who never closes their browser is running an old one, however good their intentions.
Common mistakes
- Downloading the update the page offers — This is the entire mechanism of a long-running and effective attack. There is no situation in which a website is the right source for a browser update.
- Installing an unfamiliar browser to get round a site — A search for a browser download is itself a targeted attack surface, with sponsored fake results. If you install another browser, get it from the vendor's own site typed directly.
- Ignoring a genuine out-of-date warning for years — An unsupported browser on an unsupported system is genuinely exposed, and browsers are the main way things reach a computer. If updating is impossible, that is information about the machine's remaining useful life.
If it doesn't work
The page insists but the browser says it is current
Cause: A fake notice or a badly written site check — Fix: Believe the browser. If it is a site you trust and it is still refusing, try a different mainstream browser to see whether the site is at fault.
Browser says it cannot check for updates
Cause: The operating system is too old, or the update service is blocked — Fix: Check the operating system version against the browser's stated requirements. On a work machine, updates may be managed centrally and blocked deliberately.
Update downloads but never applies
Cause: The browser has not been fully closed — Fix: Close every window, including any minimised ones and any background instance, and reopen. On Windows the browser may still be running in the notification area.
A pop-up with a phone number to call
Cause: A tech support scam — Fix: Close the tab, and force-quit the browser if it will not close. Never call the number. The catalogue has a dedicated guide on tech support scams.
Banking site refuses an old browser specifically
Cause: A genuine security requirement — Fix: Banks drop support for old browsers deliberately, and they are right to. This is a real signal that the machine needs attention rather than a workaround.
Only happens on one machine in the house
Cause: That machine's operating system or browser is genuinely behind — Fix: Compare the versions. An older machine kept for one purpose gradually loses access to the web, which is a normal end-of-life symptom rather than a fault.
Questions people ask
How do I find out which browser and version I have?
Help then About in the browser's menu, which is also where it checks for updates. It shows the name and full version number, and it is the authoritative answer — no web page can be trusted to report it correctly, though many try.
Do I need to update if everything works?
Yes. Browser updates are overwhelmingly security fixes for problems already being exploited, and the browser is the single most exposed program on any computer. It is the one thing worth updating promptly even if you are cautious about updates generally.
My old iPad cannot update its browser
On iPad and iPhone the browser is tied to the operating system version, so a device that cannot take a newer iOS cannot get a newer browser engine — installing a different browser does not help, because they all use the same engine underneath. Sites will progressively stop working, and that is the device's end of life for web use.
Is Edge or Chrome or Firefox safer?
All three are actively maintained and update quickly, and the differences in security are much smaller than the difference between an updated browser and an old one. Pick on features and privacy preference — the catalogue's guide on the most private browser covers that side.