diff --git a/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/index.ts b/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/index.ts
index 88f7356d0893..1e867c4d0dd9 100644
--- a/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/index.ts
+++ b/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/index.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ interface JasmineNodeOpts {
 
 function runProtractor(root: string, options: ProtractorBuilderOptions): Promise<BuilderOutput> {
   const additionalProtractorConfig: Partial<ProtractorBuilderOptions> & Partial<JasmineNodeOpts> = {
-    elementExplorer: options.elementExplorer,
     baseUrl: options.baseUrl,
     specs: options.specs && options.specs.length ? options.specs : undefined,
     suite: options.suite,
diff --git a/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/schema.json b/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/schema.json
index 4fbf3cf04cb6..1b1513cffd66 100644
--- a/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/schema.json
+++ b/packages/angular_devkit/build_angular/src/protractor/schema.json
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@
     "elementExplorer": {
       "type": "boolean",
       "description": "Start Protractor's Element Explorer for debugging.",
-      "default": false
+      "default": false,
+      "x-deprecated": "This option has no effect. See: https://github.com/angular/protractor/blob/master/docs/debugging.md#enabled-control-flow for alternative methods."
     },
     "webdriverUpdate": {
       "type": "boolean",
diff --git a/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/basic/e2e.ts b/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/basic/e2e.ts
index c3c7db2d6c49..8f7ef2de0569 100644
--- a/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/basic/e2e.ts
+++ b/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/basic/e2e.ts
@@ -57,13 +57,6 @@ export default function () {
           },
     `, `allScriptsTimeout: 11000,`
     ))
-    // Should start up Element Explorer
-    .then(() => execAndWaitForOutputToMatch('ng', ['e2e', 'test-project', '--element-explorer'],
-      /Element Explorer/))
-    .then(() => killAllProcesses(), (err: any) => {
-      killAllProcesses();
-      throw err;
-    })
     // Should run side-by-side with `ng serve`
     .then(() => execAndWaitForOutputToMatch('ng', ['serve'],
       /: Compiled successfully./))