diff --git a/include/wx/msw/webview_ie.h b/include/wx/msw/webview_ie.h
index edd2926f8f..1c9d154bae 100644
--- a/include/wx/msw/webview_ie.h
+++ b/include/wx/msw/webview_ie.h
@@ -36,11 +36,6 @@ class DocHostUIHandler;
 class wxFindPointers;
 class wxIInternetProtocol;
 
-#define wxIE_EMULATION_LEVEL 8000
-
-//Registry key where emulation level for programs are set
-#define wxREGISTRY_IE_PATH wxT("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\Main\\FeatureControl\\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION")
-
 class WXDLLIMPEXP_WEBVIEW wxWebViewIE : public wxWebView
 {
 public:
@@ -149,7 +144,8 @@ public:
     void onActiveXEvent(wxActiveXEvent& evt);
     void onEraseBg(wxEraseEvent&) {}
 
-    //Establish EmulationLevel for RunScript IE
+    // Establish sufficiently modern emulation level for the browser control to
+    // allow RunScript() to return any kind of values.
     static bool MSWSetModernEmulationLevel(bool modernLevel = true);
 
     wxDECLARE_EVENT_TABLE();
diff --git a/src/msw/webview_ie.cpp b/src/msw/webview_ie.cpp
index 2234f51012..46c26c3d21 100644
--- a/src/msw/webview_ie.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/webview_ie.cpp
@@ -857,26 +857,40 @@ wxString wxWebViewIE::GetPageText() const
 
 bool wxWebViewIE::MSWSetModernEmulationLevel(bool modernLevel)
 {
-    wxRegKey key(wxRegKey::HKCU, wxREGISTRY_IE_PATH);
-    if ( key.Exists() )
+    // Registry key where emulation level for programs are set
+    static const wxChar* IE_EMULATION_KEY =
+        wxT("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\Main")
+        wxT("\\FeatureControl\\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION");
+
+    wxRegKey key(wxRegKey::HKCU, IE_EMULATION_KEY);
+    if ( !key.Exists() )
     {
-        wxString programName = wxGetFullModuleName().AfterLast('\\');
-        if ( modernLevel )
-        {
-            if ( !key.SetValue(programName, wxIE_EMULATION_LEVEL) )
-            {
-                wxLogWarning(_("Failed to set the current browser control emulation level"));
-                return false;
-            }
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            key.DeleteValue(programName);
-        }
-        return true;
+        wxLogWarning(_("Failed to find web view emulation level in the registry"));
+        return false;
     }
-    wxLogWarning(_("Failed to find current browser control emulation level"));
-    return false;
+
+    const wxString programName = wxGetFullModuleName().AfterLast('\\');
+    if ( modernLevel )
+    {
+        // IE8 (8000) is sufficiently modern for our needs, see
+        // https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ee330730.aspx#browser_emulation
+        // for other values that could be used here.
+        if ( !key.SetValue(programName, 8000) )
+        {
+            wxLogWarning(_("Failed to set web view to modern emulation level"));
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        if ( !key.DeleteValue(programName) )
+        {
+            wxLogWarning(_("Failed to reset web view to standard emulation level"));
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return true;
 }
 
 static
diff --git a/tests/controls/webtest.cpp b/tests/controls/webtest.cpp
index e492ad0170..eeecb2ec08 100644
--- a/tests/controls/webtest.cpp
+++ b/tests/controls/webtest.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
 #include "wx/webview.h"
 #include "asserthelper.h"
 #if wxUSE_WEBVIEW_IE
-#include "wx/msw/registry.h"
-#include "wx/msw/webview_ie.h"
+    #include "wx/msw/webview_ie.h"
 #endif
 
 class WebTestCase : public CppUnit::TestCase
@@ -276,11 +275,32 @@ void WebTestCase::RunScript()
     wxString result;
 #if wxUSE_WEBVIEW_IE
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT(wxWebViewIE::MSWSetModernEmulationLevel());
-    wxRegKey key(wxRegKey::HKCU, wxREGISTRY_IE_PATH);
-    long val = 0;
-    wxString programName = wxGetFullModuleName().AfterLast('\\');
-    key.QueryValue(programName, &val);
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(val, wxIE_EMULATION_LEVEL);
+
+    // Define a specialized scope guard ensuring that we reset the emulation
+    // level to its default value even if any asserts below fail.
+    class ResetEmulationLevel
+    {
+    public:
+        ResetEmulationLevel()
+        {
+            m_reset = true;
+        }
+
+        bool DoReset()
+        {
+            m_reset = false;
+            return wxWebViewIE::MSWSetModernEmulationLevel(false);
+        }
+
+        ~ResetEmulationLevel()
+        {
+            if ( m_reset )
+                DoReset();
+        }
+
+    private:
+        bool m_reset;
+    } resetEmulationLevel;
 
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT(m_browser->RunScript("function f(){var person = new Object();person.name = 'Bar'; \
         person.lastName = 'Foo';return person;}f();", &result));
@@ -294,11 +314,8 @@ void WebTestCase::RunScript()
         &result));
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("\"2017-10-08T21:30:40.000Z\"", result);
 
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT(wxWebViewIE::MSWSetModernEmulationLevel(false));
-    val = 0;
-    key.QueryValue(programName, &val);
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(val, 0);
-#endif
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT(resetEmulationLevel.DoReset());
+#endif // wxUSE_WEBVIEW_IE
 
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT(m_browser->RunScript("document.write(\"Hello World!\");"));
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("Hello World!", m_browser->GetPageText());