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TonyRedmond's avatar
TonyRedmond
MVP
Jul 17, 2026

The Demise of the OWA Light Client

On July 8, Microsoft said that they will retire the OWA Light client for Exchange Server in August 2026. But what happened to the OWA Light client for Exchange Online? It seems like Microsoft announced the retirement of OWA Light for Exchange Online in June 2024, but didn’t really make the fact clear in a blog post about consumer accounts. In any case, you can’t run OWA Light for Exchange Online, even if you wanted to.

https://office365itpros.com/2026/07/17/owa-light-retirement/

exchange online
Exchange Server
outlook

1 Reply

  • zbarrerar's avatar
    zbarrerar
    Copper Contributor
    Sep 01, 2026

    OWA Light had an important role when bandwidth, browser compatibility, and limited client capabilities were real constraints.

    Its retirement is another small but meaningful step in the modernization of the Exchange ecosystem.

    For organizations still running Exchange Server, changes like this are also a reminder that modernization is not only about upgrading infrastructure. Legacy client dependencies, accessibility requirements, integrations, and user workflows all need to be part of the assessment.

    Removing legacy technology is easy. Understanding who still depends on it is the real migration work.