Microsoft has issued an update for supported versions of Outlook for Windows that can connect to Microsoft 365 services. 

As of the 1st November 2021, the following versions of Outlook for Windows (starting with Outlook 2007, in a phased rollout) will not connect with Office 365 and Microsoft 365 services. 

Office and Microsoft 365 apps that are being retired

• Office 2007 – All versions
• Also, Office 2010 – All versions
• Office 2013 – Versions before 15.0.4971.1000 of Office 2013 (Service Pack 1 with the October 2017 Update)
• Office 2016 MSI – Versions before 16.0.4600.1000 of Office 2016 (With the November 2017 Update, KB 4051890)
• Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise; (formerly Office 365 ProPlus) – 1705 and older
• Microsoft 365 Apps for business (formerly Office 365 Business) – 1705 and older

Why is Microsoft issuing an update for supported versions of Outlook for Windows?

Microsoft regularly creates new versions of their applications to enhance the services, increase security measures and fix bugs. As a result, this ensures that they meet the performance and expectations of users. However, running old versions leaves your device open to cyber-attacks because eventually, Microsoft stops supporting those old versions.

How will this affect your organisation?

Versions that are newer than the minimum version requirements listed above, but are not the currently supported version, may experience connectivity issues.

Furthermore, if your organisation continue to use unsupported apps, you could leave your device and data open to cyber-attack. 

To see a list of the currently supported versions, visit Update history for Microsoft 365 Apps (listed by date) (for Microsoft 365 Apps) or Latest updates for versions of Office that use Windows Installer (MSI) (see “Latest Public Update” for Office 2013 and 2016).

Lastly, supported versions of Outlook for Windows in Office and Microsoft 365 will continue to connect to Microsoft 365 services as expected.

What do you need to do to prepare?

We recommend that all users upgrade to the supported versions of Office and Microsoft 365 Apps. Furthermore, ensure Outlook for Windows clients is updated accordingly. For example, use either online apps or those that come with Office 365. Northstar can do this quickly and easily for any organisation with 1 to 1000 staff. Moreover, we can manage your existing or new Office 365 accounts and make sure they keep updated with the latest version.

For more information about how to keep your Microsoft and Office 365 apps up to date, contact Northstar today.