Still using Windows Mail and Calendar apps instead of new Outlook? Microsoft is making it hard to switch back

Microsoft said that all Mail and Calendar app users will have to migrate either to the new Outlook app or a third-party mail client by the end of 2024.

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Microsoft says the Mail and Calendar apps will no longer work after 2024. (Express Photo)

Last year, Microsoft started notifying Windows 1o and Windows 11 users that they would soon start phasing out the Mail and Calendar app, and that users would have to switch to another application by the end of 2024. Now, it looks like the tech giant is making it hard to switch back to these soon to be discontinued apps.

According to a recent report by Windows Latest, Microsoft has moved the toggle to revert to the Mail and Calendar apps. While Outlook Classic will remain for now, Microsoft will soon replace the old Mail and Calendar apps with the new web-based Outlook app.

Microsoft has confirmed that the Mail and Calendar apps for Windows no longer remember user preferences. Instead, they redirect users to the new Outlook. This means that if you close the app, it will automatically revert to the new Outlook the next time you launch it.

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The toggle to switch back has now been moved. (Image Source: Windows Latest)

Users who turn off the new Outlook toggle reportedly see a new pop-up message notifying them that their preference will be reversed. Microsoft says the toggle to switch back to the older apps can now be found under Settings> General > About.

The report suggests that the company is currently in the first phase of the change and that the second and third phases will occur sometime in the third quarter of the year.

In case you don’t like the new Outlook, the company recommends users switch to a different application. As of now, Microsoft hasn’t specified the date on which the Mail and Calendar apps will stop working. The company says “more information on specific end of support dates will be made available in accordance with the Modern Policy for product lifecycles.”