Microsoft retiring Windows Mail and Calendar, auto-migrating users to new Outlook app

As reported by BleepingComputer, Microsoft has announced the retirement of Windows Mail and Calendar applications on Windows 10 and Windows 11 by the end of the year. Users will be automatically migrated to the new Outlook for Windows app starting in August. Initially developed for Windows 10, Windows Mail and Calendar were built-in applications for email retrieval and event scheduling.

Though bundled with Windows 11, the Mail and Calendar apps were not considered modern email applications. To address this, Microsoft has decided to retire both apps and transition users to the new Outlook for Windows app, which is already available for testing.

Microsoft has informed consumers and enterprise customers about the retirement plan, recommending they start testing the new Outlook app. Users can activate a toggle in the upper right-hand corner of Windows Mail to automatically install the new Outlook app and import their settings.

Initially scheduled for September 2024, the automatic replacement of Mail and Calendar with the Outlook app received some backlash from users, prompting Microsoft to reevaluate the timing of the change. However, in a new advisory, Microsoft has confirmed that they are moving forward with the migration.

According to the updated advisory, Microsoft will begin auto-migrating Mail and Calendar app users to the new Outlook for Windows in August 2023. Users can revert to the current Mail and Calendar apps by using a toggle in the new Outlook for Windows.

Regardless of when users decide to test the new Outlook app, everyone will be automatically migrated to it by the end of the year. After that, Windows Mail and Calendar will no longer be supported or downloadable. New Windows 11 devices will come with Outlook for Windows as the default mailbox application.

These changes will not affect regular Outlook desktop application users; the retirement applies only to Windows Mail and Calendar users. The new Outlook app offers additional features, including improved integration with other email providers, a personalized interface, new calendar features, and automatic package delivery and airplane reservation tracking support.