Microsoft is notifying its Mail and Calendar app users to switch to free web-based Outlook. Many users have reported noticing pop-ups from the app. Microsoft insists users make the migration by December 31, 2024. After that date, the app will only display emails and calendar entries saved until the scheduled date.
The company published a support document emphasizing that the Mail and Calendar app will switch to read-only mode for old data after December 31, 2024. Microsoft, however, will allow existing data, including emails, contacts, and events, to be exported to the Outlook option. Microsoft advertises its free Outlook option as having 'core Outlook security features' with 15GB mailbox storage and 5GB cloud storage, web and mobile apps available, and paid options for larger cloud-based storage and support.
Despite this request, Microsoft allows users to toggle to its Mail and Calendar app through Settings > General > About Outlook. The option to roll back is puzzling, considering there are only a few weeks left before the standalone app is rendered unusable.
Users, therefore, have no option other than to use the cloud-based Outlook or switch to other apps. Many shifted to Mozilla's Thunderbird and will likely use it as a replacement. Microsoft has warned its users that it will eventually have its Mail & Calendar app users switch to the open-source option for better security, but switching to a cloud-based app feels forced.
It should also be no surprise that Microsoft's standalone apps occasionally have issues, especially those affecting power users. Only three days ago, users noticed that its Classic Outlook app crashed when they opened more than 60 emails simultaneously.
Irrespective of Microsoft's final decision and claims that users get 'the best of Outlook,' many do not like migrating to a cloud-based app and interface changes, primarily because they have been using the interface for a very long time, which has been available through previous iterations of the operating system spanning more than two decades.
The difference between the experience of a standalone app and a cloud-based option is very noticeable. Hence, the decision to axe a reliable option leaves a bad taste among users, as the experience is not seamless and does not have the same functions. Microsoft will unlikely reconsider this decision as it did in the past, leaving no other option but to use different apps available or to make a point via its store.
