Moving WinActor and UiPath robots to Windows 11 and Edge

The PC refresh is scheduled. You are moving to Windows 11. An internal system you opened in IE will now open in Edge. A notice arrives about upgrading your RPA product. Any one of these means the person in charge of RPA has to re-check every robot. The robots’ steps stay the same, but the operating system, browser, screen size, and components they relied on change.

This article sets out what has changed as of October 2026, with sources; where WinActor and UiPath robots tend to break; how to re-check them without stopping the business; and what to decide while every robot is being re-checked anyway.

What has changed (as of October 2026)

Windows 10 end of support

Support for Windows 10 ended on October 14, 2025. Since then, Microsoft has provided no updates, including security fixes. The PCs keep working, but running a robot PC that holds business system passwords and logs in every day without updates is a risk.

For PCs that cannot be replaced right away, there are Extended Security Updates (ESU) for organizations. The price is 61 US dollars per device for the first year, doubling each year, for at most three years after end of support. Year one began in November 2025, and joining in year two means paying for year one as well. ESU is provided at no extra cost for Windows 10 virtual machines on Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop. ESU buys time until the replacement; it does not remove the replacement.

Windows 11 has hardware requirements such as TPM 2.0. Older PCs that do not meet them have to be replaced outright. Replacing the PC changes the operating system, the browser, the screen size and scaling, and the company’s browser settings all at once.

The end of IE and Edge’s IE mode

Support for the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application ended on June 15, 2022, and an Edge update permanently disabled it on February 14, 2023. Windows 11 does not include the IE11 desktop application. Internal systems that run only in IE open in Edge’s IE mode. Microsoft says it will support IE mode through at least 2029 and will give one year of notice before retiring it.

Microsoft recommends listing the sites that open in IE mode in a site list the organization manages (the Enterprise Mode Site List). A page a user reloads in IE mode on their own stops opening in IE mode after 30 days by default, and it does not sync to other PCs. Before replacing PCs, confirm that the IE mode pages your robots open are on the organization’s list.

VBScript deprecation

Microsoft is retiring VBScript in phases. In Windows 11 version 24H2, VBScript is preinstalled and enabled, but around 2027 it will be disabled by default, and later it will be removed from Windows.

WinActor plans no new VBScript libraries, feature extensions, or bug fixes for them. Python versions of the bundled libraries have shipped since Ver.7.6 in July 2025, and Ver.7.7 in September 2026 added a feature that helps move your own VBScript libraries to Python. That feature, however, comes only with the AI integration license. The WinActor migration guide covers the details, including prices.

UiPath’s Classic and Modern

Since Studio 2024.10, the modern design experience is the only one. Classic UI Automation and Excel activities remain under the Classic category and still work. But newer features such as Unified Target and Healing Agent, which recovers from screen changes, work only with modern UI Automation.

Projects in the older Windows - Legacy compatibility are changing too. Short Term Support (STS) releases of Studio since December 2024 can neither create nor edit Windows - Legacy projects. Long Term Support (LTS) releases can still create and edit them for the foreseeable future. The UI Automation package drops .NET Framework 4.6.1 from 26.10, so Windows - Legacy projects stay on version 25.10 or older.

In April 2026, UiPath made the Activity Migrator generally available. It converts Windows - Legacy projects to Windows and moves classic UI Automation activities to modern ones in bulk. UiPath’s documentation says migrated workflows may run more slowly and asks for end-to-end tests and a review of selectors before production. Whatever tool you use, re-checking after the move remains.

Where robots break, whatever the product

Screen size and scaling

Operations that find their target by image or screen position depend on resolution and scaling. If the new PC’s screen size or scaling differs from the old one, the recorded images and positions no longer match.

According to UiPath’s documentation, an unattended robot’s Windows session is started by the robot service through a Remote Desktop connection, so its resolution and scaling can differ from a run started by someone sitting at the PC. UiPath recommends identical resolution and scaling in development and production, and lists image-based operations, OCR, and clicks that do not use Window Messages or Simulate among the operations affected. NTT Advanced Technology, WinActor’s developer, likewise notes in its IE-to-Edge guidance that image matching and emulation may need their images or coordinates set again.

Browser extensions and company settings

Both WinActor and UiPath use a browser extension to operate Edge (WinActor can also use WebDriver). On a new PC, the extension has to be installed again. If the company restricts extensions through browser settings (Group Policy), the robot cannot operate the browser.

Browser updates change things too. The Edge 149 update, which began on June 2, 2026, restricts what extensions force-installed by policy can do unless Developer Tools access is explicitly allowed. UiPath tells companies that install its Edge extension by policy to add allowlist settings.

When WebDriver is used, the first three parts of the version number of Edge and of Edge WebDriver must match. If company settings turn off Developer Tools (DeveloperToolsAvailability set to 2), WebDriver cannot operate Edge.

Windows screens and settings tied to the PC

Also check where robots operate Windows screens: the save and print dialogs, File Explorer, and so on. And the settings tied to the PC, such as these, are easy to miss in a replacement:

• Where files are kept (folders that include the user name, mapped network drives)
• Printers, and the default printer
• The robot account’s password and when it expires
• Task Scheduler entries or other settings that start robots at set times
• The versions of Excel and other applications, and macro settings

What to check in WinActor

• A version that supports Windows 11: WinActor added Windows 11 support in Ver.7.3.1 (December 2021). If you run an earlier version, the PC replacement and the WinActor upgrade come together
• Scenarios that operate IE: Ver.7.3.0 added Edge’s IE mode as a target, and Ver.7.4.0 made the operations for IE available in other browsers as well. NTT Advanced Technology’s migration guidance divides the work: scenarios that use only IE nodes need just the upgrade, unmodified bundled IE libraries are updated with the Library Checker, and modified libraries or old bundled versions need their scripts fixed by hand
• Upgrades from Ver.5 or Ver.6: Ver.7 reads and runs Ver.5 and Ver.6 scenarios as they are. Once saved in Ver.7, however, they no longer open in Ver.5 or Ver.6 (the original file you loaded remains). Execution speed, screen drawing timing, and on-screen positions also differ, so scenarios that depend on them may not run the same way
• Edge WebDriver: the Ver.7.4.0 release notes say that Edge WebDriver is not updated automatically even when the update policy is set to automatic; you start the download from the update list screen. If robots stop after Edge itself updates, check this first
• Licenses: the node-lock edition is licensed per PC. To move to a new PC, clear the license on the old PC, then register it on the new one. From Ver.7.4.0, if you notify online when clearing on the old PC, you can register on the new PC without submitting a license clearance certificate. Confirm with your reseller how licenses work during the period the old and new PCs run side by side
• VBScript: mark the scenarios that use VBScript libraries or your own VBScript components. If the company turns VBScript off on the new PCs, they stop working at that point

What to check in UiPath

• Workflows that operate IE: operating Edge’s IE mode through UiPath’s Edge extension requires UiAutomation package 20.10.5 or later. UiPath does not guarantee that IE mode behaves the same as IE11, and users need to verify it. A Browser Migration Tool converts IE selectors for Edge or Chrome, but some selectors are not converted, and converted workflows need manual fixes and testing
• Resolution for unattended robots: match the resolution and scaling of the PC the robot was developed on and the PC that runs it unattended. Run workflows that use images or OCR once unattended to confirm
• Classic and Modern, Windows - Legacy: decide whether to re-check classic activities as they are or move them to modern. Healing Agent requires modern. After converting a Windows - Legacy project to Windows, check for unresolved dependencies and activities, and convert libraries before the processes that use them
• The Edge extension and policies: confirm that the extension is installed on the new PC and works under the company’s policies

The UiPath migration guide covers price and licensing changes and the conditions for Healing Agent.

Re-checking without stopping the business

1. List the robots: for each robot, write down the PC it runs on, the browser, whether it uses IE mode, whether it uses images or coordinates, whether it uses VBScript or classic activities, when it starts, and who receives its output. The columns in How to build a robot ledger for RPA work as they are
2. Order them by impact: check the robots tied to closing dates, payments, and messages to customers first. Note whether the work can be done by hand if the robot stops
3. Do not retire the old PCs yet: keep running the robots on the old PCs until the new ones are confirmed. If Windows 10 PCs stay in service for long, enroll them in ESU so they keep receiving updates
4. Run each robot on the new PC, one at a time: use a test environment if you have one. For robots that go as far as registering or sending, use test data or stop just before registering and check the screen. Keep screenshots of any screen where a robot stops
5. Run them side by side and compare the results: run the old PC and the new PC on the same input and compare the outputs. Include at least one month-end or closing run
6. Write down what you fixed: record the cause and the fix in the ledger and the handover notes. For robots whose builder has left, see Taking over an RPA bot whose builder has left
7. Switch over one robot at a time, and keep a way back: after switching, keep the old PC and the original scenario for a while so you can go back if something goes wrong

In a WinActor customer case, Persol Tempstaff, moving from IE to Edge’s IE mode, split about 300 tasks into three priority levels by impact and counted the components to replace in each robot. Departments that had built their own scenarios fixed them themselves, a rework manual was written, and the work ran on an 11-month plan. The Library Checker handled the replacement; the company estimated that fixing everything by hand would have taken five to six times as long.

If every robot gets re-checked anyway, what to decide

A PC refresh, Windows 11, or an RPA upgrade all mean the work of re-checking every robot. So decide, robot by robot, whether to re-check it in place or move a robot that keeps breaking. That choice changes how much work the next such moment brings.

Robot’s situation	Recommendation	Reason
Operates an internal system whose screens rarely change, without images or coordinates	Re-check in place	Once checked, it will likely keep working as is
Operates an internal system that opens only in IE mode	Re-check in place, and ask about the system’s future	IE mode is supported through at least 2029. Plan around the system’s own migration schedule
The other system offers an API or CSV integration	Replace with the official integration	More resilient to changes, faster, and more reliable than screen operation
Relies on images or coordinates and stops whenever a screen changes	Move it	Even after re-checking, the next screen change stops it again
Has many VBScript components, or a rewrite is near for UiPath classic or Windows - Legacy	Decide whether to move it by comparing with the rewrite	If you must touch it anyway, moving it then takes less work
Its builder is gone and no one understands it	Investigate it and add it to the ledger first, then decide	Keeping it running without the facts means no one can fix it the next time it stops
No longer used	Retire it	Less re-checking, fewer licenses

For why robots stop, see Why RPA bots break when screens change; for working out costs that include re-checking and fixing, see What RPA costs to keep running.

Moving robots to Kitewell

Robots that keep breaking can be moved to Kitewell at the same moment you re-check the rest. Kitewell does not read WinActor scenarios or UiPath projects. You describe the current steps in words, and AI builds the workflow again on the real screens. A moved workflow repeats what it learned as it is, relearns only the operations that a PC replacement or a screen change no longer matches, and records which ones it relearned. Steps that read PDFs or Excel files, and steps that check a screen, use AI every run. With Kitewell’s automatic updates, there is no upgrade work.

Kitewell Team is ¥14,800 per computer a month, or ¥148,000 a year (excluding tax), the same for building and running computers. You can try Kitewell free for 14 days, or ask for a 30-minute demo. RPA migration covers how it runs, and the WinActor migration guide and UiPath migration guide cover each product.

Summary

• Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. ESU costs 61 US dollars per device in year one, doubling each year, for up to three years. Windows 11 has no IE11, and Edge’s IE mode is supported through at least 2029
• Robots tend to break on screen size and scaling, browser extensions and company settings, Edge WebDriver, IE mode pages, and settings tied to the PC
• In WinActor, check IE libraries, how Ver.7 runs differently, moving licenses, and VBScript. In UiPath, check IE mode, resolution for unattended runs, Classic and Modern, and Windows - Legacy
• List the robots, order them by impact, keep the old PCs, check one robot at a time side by side, and switch over in a way you can undo
• If every robot gets re-checked anyway, use the moment to separate the robots you re-check in place from the ones that keep breaking and should move

Sources

• Microsoft: Windows 10 Enterprise and Education lifecycle, Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10 (November 17, 2025), Windows 11 requirements (July 14, 2026)
• Microsoft: Internet Explorer 11 end of support (June 15, 2022), Lifecycle FAQ: Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ (May 19, 2021, updated November 9, 2023), IE mode local site list (July 18, 2024)
• Microsoft: VBScript deprecation: Timelines and next steps (May 22, 2024), Automate Microsoft Edge with WebDriver (December 12, 2024)
• WinActor: VBScript’s deprecation and WinActor’s response, Persol Tempstaff case study (in Japanese)
• NTT Advanced Technology: announcement of Ver.7.7.0 (August 19, 2026), introducing WinActor Ver.7 and preparing to move (January 13, 2021), Ver.7.3.1 release notes (December 1, 2021), Ver.7.4.0 release notes (May 26, 2022), moving to Edge’s IE mode as IE support ends (December 2, 2021) (in Japanese)
• IT Leaders: WinActor Ver.7.4.0 moves IE scenarios to other browsers (June 2, 2022, in Japanese)
• UiPath: migrating workflows as Internet Explorer support ends (September 10, 2021, in Japanese), Extension for Edge, Robot execution troubleshooting
• UiPath: Deprecation timeline, Modern design experience, About the Windows - Legacy compatibility, Studio release notes (December 17, 2024), About the Activity Migrator tool, Activity Migrator is generally available (April 8, 2026)