I recently reported on how Microsoft has been celebrating the forced roll-out of the new Outlook as a “migration success”. Now the company has confirmed it won’t let you use the Mail & Calendar apps. The first phase of this change is already rolling out on Windows 11, with second and final phase expected in Q3 2024.
As we all know, Microsoft is slowly replacing all flavors of Outlook with a new Outlook, which is based on Outlook.com. While Outlook Classic (Win32) is here to stay because Microsoft cannot afford to lose enterprise customers, Mail & Calendar consumer apps are going away by the end of 2024.
In a new update to the Outlook app, Microsoft has confirmed what Windows Latest exclusively reported recently: Mail & Calendar no longer remembers your preference and forces you to use the new Outlook whether you like it or not.
After the update, if you try to turn off the new Outlook toggle, you’ll see a pop-up message that confirms your preference will be reversed. Microsoft says it will hide the toggle to switch back to Mail & Calendar under Settings > General > About.
The company also warns that you can switch back “temporarily,” as the new Outlook will reopen the next time. As we previously observed, the toggle now applies to the current Windows session only.
Microsoft confirmed this for the first time after Windows Latest flagged the issue.
“The toggle to return to Windows Mail and Calendar is moving to Settings > General > About Outlook. You can switch back temporarily, but the next time you try to open Mail or Calendar, new Outlook will open,” Microsoft warned in a new pop-up message.
“In 2024, Outlook is replacing Windows Mail and Calendar. You can switch back now, but you will be returned to the new Outlook in the future,” the company added.
In a separate support document, which was updated on May 28 and noticed by Windows Latest today, Microsoft wants you to stop trying to use Mail and Calendar and migrate to the new Outlook. But what if you truly dislike the new Outlook for Windows?
In that case, Microsoft’s advice is to stop using its products and look for a third-party client.
“Support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and People is ending in 2024 so if you don’t want to use the new Outlook for Windows after trying it, you’ll need to move to a different application by the end of 2024. More information on specific end of support dates will be made available in accordance with the Modern Policy for product lifecycles,” Microsoft noted.