Silverlight doesn't work on Windows 8

Question

I'm running Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10. I installed Silverlight, but for some reason it doesn't work and Silverlight contents never show up. I tried to install it once again and I get a message saying that it's already installed.

What's the problem and how can I fix this?

Solution

Are you running Internet Explorer in desktop mode or in tiled/"modern ui"/"metro" mode? Silverlight, and any other browser plugins, are disabled in Internet Explorer's tiled mode.

Internet Explorer provides an add-on–free experience, so browser plugins don't load and any dependent content isn't displayed. However, Internet Explorer for the desktop does support browser plugins, including ActiveX controls such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.

-http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh846773.aspx

Comments

[Albihany Aden]

Well the thing is that it runs well on the Desktop mode while it fails on the Metro mode.

[Marcus Chan]

Yes, that is how Windows 8 was designed.

[Albihany Aden]

So that means there's no way for IE10 to run Silverlight ?

[Marcus Chan]

Only the Metro mode. This is the case with Chrome in Metro mode as well; Microsoft chose not to allow plugins in any Metro app (Flash is a notable exception, though).

[Mark Allen]

Aha, I wonder if this is why Netflix wrote a Windows 8 app?