Microsoft planning to shut down Windows Live Mail 2012; is there an alternative?
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Key notes
- Microsoft announced that Windows Live Mail 2012 will no longer be compatible with Outlook.com accounts.
- Users will have to switch to a newer solution, such as Outlook Express or the Mail app in Windows 10.
- Windows Live Mail 2012 is not compatible with the Office 365 infrastructure anymore.
- Don't panic, there are plenty of alternative email clients on the market that you can rely on.
There are a couple of clues that point to Microsoft discontinuing its older email service, Windows Live Mail 2012. Although the company hasn’t confirmed this claim, it announced that Windows Live Mail 2012 won’t support Outlook.com accounts in the future, which is basically the same thing as killing the program.
In a recent blog post, Microsoft stated that users of Outlook.com email accounts currently using Windows Live Mail 2012 will have to find another, newer solution, like Outlook Express or Windows 10’s Mail app.
“You will not be able to send or receive Outlook.com email from Windows Live Mail 2012 after your account is upgraded. This means the time has come for you to upgrade to a new email application.”
Apparently, Windows Live Mail 2012 doesn’t support the Office 365 infrastructure, meaning that users won’t be able to send and receive their emails with it anymore. Microsoft hasn’t precisely said when WLM 2012 would be discontinued, but Outlook.com accounts will be upgraded to new Office 365 infrastructure on June 30, so users should switch to another service before that date.
What about Windows 7 users?
Microsoft presented migration from WLM 2012 as a normal technology step. New technologies are developed and we move on to them, leaving old ones behind — it’s a natural circle. But what about Windows 7 users?
When Windows Live Mail 2012 stops supporting Outlook.com accounts completely, Windows 7 users will be left without any mailing software at all. So they will have three options: either using the web-based Outlook.com, using a third party email software or upgrading to Windows 10.
Many people see this Microsoft’s move as an effort to force users to make the third choice. As we already discussed earlier, when Microsoft presented the ‘Service Pack 2’ for Windows 7, everything the company does with this system will be categorized as an effort to force people to upgrade to Windows 10.
And although it might sound like a conspiracy theory, this theory might make perfect sense. As you can notice, Microsoft is pushing the upgrade mostly through Windows Update, but also discontinuing programs compatible with Windows 7 (in this case Windows Live Mail 2012), more or less disguising efforts to force people to upgrade.
Speaking about email clients, you can also consult our list of best Windows mail alternatives or download Mailbird, one of the best mail clients on the market at this moment.
Tell us what do you think about all of this? Will you upgrade to Windows 10 once Microsoft shuts down Windows Live Mail 2012? Are all these actions actually Microsoft’s attempts to push people to upgrade? Speak your mind in the comments below!
