Microsoft will end support for Windows Mail, Calendar, People and classic Outlook by the end of the year

Microsoft will stop supporting the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps on December 31 of this year. They will still be usable, but the functionality will be limited. For example, you won’t be able to send or receive emails through the Windows Mail app, or you won’t be able to schedule appointments using the Calendar app.

Image source: Microsoft

The Outlook desktop app will also be discontinued. The company continues to remind users about this through pop-up notifications. Microsoft says the desktop Outlook app is on a different, more progressive migration scale. The company has already released a new Outlook application for Windows, but the transition to it is carried out only with the user’s consent. When using classic Outlook, users will see a “Try new Outlook” switch in the top right corner of the interface. By default, new Outlook is disabled. If some features or workflows are not yet available in the new Outlook, users can revert to the classic version of the app.

Next is the opt-out phase, where the new Outlook will be enabled by default, automatically enrolling users in the new version of the app. With the third phase, the transition, users will no longer be able to switch back to classic Outlook for Windows. This stage will occur after December 31 of the current year. The new Outlook app can be found in the Microsoft Store under the name “Outlook for Windows.”

Microsoft offers the ability to automatically export all user data and emails to the new Outlook and this is perhaps the easiest and most reliable way to migrate to the new application. However, there is also the option to manually export emails and contacts from the Windows Mail and People apps. Microsoft has outlined step-by-step instructions here.

The company emphasizes that the new Outlook app is an improved and more secure version of previous email apps.