Microsoft Will Disable OWA Light in Exchange Server Update

Microsoft is retiring OWA Light, the original lightweight version of Outlook on the web for Exchange Server.

The company confirmed that OWA Light will be disabled by default with the next planned Exchange Server Cumulative Update, currently scheduled for August 2026.

OWA Light to Be Disabled by Default in 2026

OWA Light was created as a faster, simpler alternative to OWA Premium nearly 20 years ago. It helped users sign in faster, especially on slow connections, older operating systems, and older browsers.

Microsoft says the web has changed significantly since then. Modern browsers can now handle the full Outlook on the web experience with better performance and compatibility, making a separate lightweight mode less necessary.

What This Means for Organizations

Once organizations install the August 2026 Exchange Server Cumulative Update, OWA Light will be turned off automatically. Users who try to access the lightweight interface will get redirected to the standard Outlook on the web experience.

Admins whose organizations still depend on OWA Light should prepare users before the update arrives. This could include warning affected users, checking browser compatibility, and making sure the standard Outlook web experience works properly in their environment.

The change follows another Outlook-related retirement, as Microsoft is also shutting down Outlook Lite. However, OWA Light affects Exchange Server environments rather than the mobile Outlook Lite app.

In other Outlook news, Microsoft recently fixed a crash that affected Copilot email drafts in classic Outlook. The company is also working on a rule-based auto-reply feature for the new Outlook.

Via Neowin