End of an era: Microsoft is planning to phase out Windows 11’s Mail and Calendar apps by the end of this year

November 11

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 11’s built-in Mail and Calendar apps after December 31, 2024, and users will need to switch to the web-based Outlook app
Users can still access emails and calendar events in view-only mode in the Mail and Calendar apps, but won’t be able to send or receive emails
Microsoft aims to unify email and calendar management in Outlook, though users are concerned about the web app’s lack of offline access and inconsistent design when compared to the rest of Windows 11

Microsoft is shutting down the built-in Mail and Calendar apps in Windows 11, which means you’ll no longer be able to send or receive emails or manage your calendar using those apps after December 31, 2024. This has been a long time coming, with Microsoft showing pop-up notifications about this in both apps for months – and now the end is officially nigh.

Users are being urged to switch to the new web-based Outlook app for Windows 11, as explained in a support document that outlines how Microsoft is planning to end support for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps on December 31. It appears that Microsoft wants to streamline all of its email and calendar features and services into this one app that will be accessible on every Windows device.

If you want to use those apps after December 31, it appears you can still do that by switching off the ‘New Outlook’ setting (by unchecking it) found in the new Outlook app’s settings, specifically Outlook > Settings > General > About Outlook.

Windows Latest reports that this will likely be a ‘view-only’ mode, allowing you to view your emails, drafts, contacts, and other details in the Mail and Calendar apps, but you won’t be able to send or receive emails, and will be redirected to the web-based Outlook. It apparently doesn’t work offline yet, and Microsoft is working on adding support for this in the next few weeks, which is good news as most people would expect a desktop email client to let you see and compose emails even if you briefly lose your internet connection.

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(Image credit: Shutterstock/Drazen Zigic)

What this means for Mail and Calendar app users

What this means for you is that starting January 1, 2025, you’ll have to switch to the new Outlook or use a third-party app. In the meantime, you can choose to follow Microsoft’s advice or close the reminder pop-up, clicking the ‘Not now’ option, although this will reappear the next time you use these apps.

One other workaround that you can try is to downgrade your Mail and Calendar apps to the previous versions, which seemingly gets rid of the pop-ups altogether, but this loophole will also stop working on December 31, 2024.

If you have emails, calendar events, and contacts in the Mail and Calendar apps that are saved only on your device, and you want to be able to access them in the web Outlook app, you’ll be able to export this information by using the ‘Export’ feature in both apps to add those emails or events to either a suitable third-party app of your choosing or to Outlook.

It looks like the reception of the new web Outlook app isn’t so hot, with some people complaining that it doesn’t ‘feel’ like the rest of the operating system. There seems to be a disconnect with the rest of Windows 11, and along with the lack of offline access, it still feels more like a website than a convenient app for many.

Along with Microsoft’s recent mishaps and problems brought on by the new Windows 11 24H2 update, I don’t see this move winning many people over. I think being able to see all of your admin information in one place is useful, but users of the Mail and Calendar apps may have come to rely on using these built-in applications which have been tightly integrated into Windows 11.

If the replacement Outlook web app lacks features and polish, I think Windows 11 users will feel let down at a time when Microsoft needs more people to switch to its latest operating system.