End of support for desktop Outlook?
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I use Outlook desktop (MS Office Home & Business 2019) on a Windows 11 laptop. I just stumbled across a story about the end of support for Outlook on December 31. This is literally the first I have heard of it.
I have been using Outlook desktop for like 20 years, I have an incomprehensible amount of information filed in saved emails. I use it for clients records, financial record-keeping, correspondence, notes and instructions and on and on. and on.
If I am only able to access this read-only starting next week, my world is going to get much much more difficult.
Can someone please illuminate me on this about options, opt-outs, and how to create a usable archive?
Thanks
I’m trying to get hold of a specific version and build of what looks like a native windows Outlook Enterprise desktop app, version 2402, any build starting with 16 or later (for example, 16.0.17928.20392). The only information I can find anywhere about these builds are sites like this one, describing different kinds of channel releases:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-microsoft365-apps-by-date
…and absolutely no sites providing download or subscription links for those builds.
The download links on this site, for example, are for a completely different client, one I’m not looking for and already have access to:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/outlook/outlook-for-windows
Does anybody know how to get hold of an installer for one of these other native desktop Outlook clients?
Outlook has become a bloated, overcomplicated tool that I neither want nor need. There was a time when Windows Mail existed—a simple, lightweight, and efficient mail client that perfectly met the needs of users like me. But Microsoft decided to shut it down, forcing Outlook upon us instead.
Starting today, I’m done with Outlook. By 2025, I will turn my back on it completely. I’m tired of unnecessary features and clutter that only slow me down.
Why did Microsoft take away the option for those of us who prefer simplicity? They could have kept Windows Mail alive if they cared about user choice, but they do what they want—simply because they can.
I’d love to hear from others:
Does anyone else miss Windows Mail?
What lightweight alternatives are you using to escape Outlook’s bloat?
I’m sure I’m not alone in this. Searching the alternative now!