New Outlook Unable to Close Since build 26220.8754 Update
Since build 26220.8754, I (and others) have been unable to close New Outlook using the X. I went into Windows Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > Outlook > click the 3 dots to the far right, select Advanced Options. Then select Reset. It worked for 1 time, but then the issue just showed right back up. I am not the only one with this issue, it has been reported here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5933524/new-outlook-doesnt-close-with-x-any-longer?source=docs"Add to Calendar" functionality in the New Outlook
When a user receives an email with a Calendar meeting attached to it, they are able to click on the dropdown in the attachment and select "Add to Calendar". This functionality is supposed to add the meeting to the calendar without opening the attachment/invite itself. However, when the user clicks on "Add to Calendar", the meeting is displayed temporarily on the Calendar and then disappears. If another calendar meeting is being "Added to Calendar", it doesn't show up at all, even temporarily. Occasionally, the second meeting is added successfully, however, the first meeting then disappears. This behaviour is reproducible using different, independent accounts and devices - personal devices, corporate devices, personal Live accounts, corp email accounts, etc. The only thing that does work is to open the attachment and use "+Add to Calendar" feature from the invite. Any ideas on what is causing this or how to address this?
Drag and drop email-to-task (To Do) from favourites bug
It's been driving me crazy but I finally seemed to figure out why I could no longer drag emails into the ToDo pane to create tasks. Firstly, it seems that you can only drag emails to create tasks for business, or non-Microsoft accounts, I'm not sure which, or both. Secondly, you need to select an email from within the actual account in the left pane, NOT favourites. See this image: https://imgur.com/a/ZdyAvYb This bug may have been introduced in the last few months, as I don't recall encountering any issues until somewhat recently. Anyway, I hope this helps prevent someone from ripping out their hair like I was.
New Outlook: Shadow contacts not stored in Outlook.com, no sync/export and missing Birthday calendar
I’m reporting a reproducible data‑integrity issue in the New Outlook for Windows that affects Outlook.com contact storage and synchronization. 🔍 Summary When a contact is created in the New Outlook, the client appears to save it successfully. However, the resulting contact is not stored in the user’s Outlook.com account as a normal cloud contact. Instead, it becomes what I would describe as a local “shadow contact” in the New Outlook cache. ⚠️ Observable Behavior • The contact appears in Outlook.com → People, but does not show “Stored in: Outlook” • The contact does not appear in Outlook.com CSV exports • The contact does not sync to mobile devices connected to the same account • The contact does not populate the Outlook.com Birthday calendar • The contact is lost if the New Outlook app is reinstalled or its local store is cleared 🧪 Steps to Reproduce 1. Open the New Outlook for Windows 2. Create a new contact and add a birthday 3. Save the contact 4. Open Outlook.com → People 5. Locate the contact — it will appear, but the “Stored in: Outlook” field is missing 6. Export contacts from Outlook.com (CSV) — the contact will not be present 7. Check a mobile device configured with the same Microsoft account — the contact will not be present 8. Check the Outlook.com Birthday calendar — the birthday will not appear 9. Reinstall the New Outlook app — the contact will be gone ✅ Expected Behavior • Contacts created in the New Outlook should be stored as first‑class Outlook.com contacts • They should appear with a proper “Stored in: Outlook” location • They should sync across devices, export via Outlook.com, and populate the Birthday calendar ❌ Actual Behavior • Contacts created in the New Outlook are effectively “shadow contacts” stored in a local cache • They look normal in the New Outlook UI, but they are incomplete, non‑synchronizing objects from the service’s perspective 📉 Impact • Silent data loss risk for users who assume contacts are in Outlook.com when they are not • Inconsistent contact and birthday data across devices and services • Split contact store model: • Real Outlook.com contacts • Local shadow contacts created by New Outlook 📎 What I’ve Already Done • Submitted feedback through the New Outlook (Help → Feedback → Report a Problem) • Submitted a detailed report via the Windows Feedback Hub • Contacted Microsoft Support, who advised that escalation must occur via Feedback 📣 Request I’m posting this here to document the issue publicly and to ask: • Can anyone from the Outlook / Exchange / Outlook.com team confirm this behavior? • Can other users reproduce this with the steps above? Given the data‑integrity implications, I’m hoping this can be brought to the attention of the relevant engineering team. Any confirmation, additional data points, or official guidance would be appreciated.Significant changes to the New Outlook Calendar Event User Interface
In October 2025, the New Outlook Calendar Event was redesigned to incorporate Copilot, leading to a complete user interface makeover. Many icons were rearranged. This blog post includes a screenshot, icon placement, and descriptions. New Outlook Scheduling Gets a Makeover - Copilot Chat Joins #traccreations4e-p25 10/29/2025A major step backwards: Classic Outlook vs. New Outlook on changing the "From" sending account
The Issue: In New Outlook, changing the "From" address after you have already started composing an email message opens a new, blank message window, forcing you to copy and paste your original message subject, contents, and attachments. This is an irritating change from Classic Outlook, where you could simply switch the sending account from a dropdown menu while keeping your drafted message fully intact. Expected behavior: When changing the "From" address while composing a mail message, it should simply be updated to the newly selected account, and the body, subject line, and any attachments of the message you are writing at that time should be preserved within the same composition window. The Classic Outlook Way (The Right Way) to Switch the "From" address: For years, my workflow in Classic Outlook has been simple. I click "New Email." The new message window opens, and the "From" field shows the currently selected account. I start writing my message. Then I realize I wanted to send it from another mail account. I click the "From" button, and a dropdown menu appears with all my accounts. I pick the one I want, and I'm good to go. The message content is untouched, it's all still there. Changing the From-address is a two-second action that is intuitive and efficient. The "New Outlook" Way (The Baffling Way) to Switch the "From" address: Now, I try to do the exact same thing in the "New Outlook." I click "New Email." The new message window opens, and the "From" field shows the currently selected account. I start writing my message. Then I realize I wanted to send it from another mail account. I click the "From" button, and a dropdown menu appears with all my accounts. I pick the one I want. But then, after choosing a different From-address, a completely blank new message is opened. And I have to copy/paste everything from the message window I was writing in before to the newly opened message window. So annoying! This feels like a classic case of simplifying the UI to the point where it loses critical functionality. What used to be a simple dropdown selection in Classic Outlook is now an irritating multi-step process in New Outlook. It seems to be an intentional design choice, but it's one that ignores the reality of how users with multiple mail accounts actually work.
The New Outlook seems to have lost a feature
Does anyone know how to get a default set (like we used to have) to automatically get a BCC of all email sent and replied to? I am using the client on my laptop and the IOS App on my iPhone. I am interested in knowing how to get this feature back. It used to be a setting - which is no longer available. I've tried creating rules and quick steps - neither has worked.
Messages hidden when using Conversation view and Date sorting
I'm using New Outlook and I discovered that I'm not seeing both read and unread messages. I'm using conversation view, sort by is using 'Date', and sort order by is using 'newest on top'. Here is how my inbox appears (with messages blurred out for privacy). If I disable conversation view, then I immediately see a lot of unread messages that came in last week. Re-enabling conversation view then hides the unread messages again. However, if I filter the inbox to only show unread messages, Outlook says there aren't any unread messages. I also found that I can see the unread messages if I change the sort by to 'oldest at top'. What's also concerning about this is that I found there are some read messages that are also not appearing when using conversation view set to date and newest on top.New Outlook: Users Say It's Broken—Microsoft response.
I had the opportunity to interview Caitlin Hart, the Principal Product Manager for New Outlook, where I asked the challenging questions of frustrated New Outlook users, IT Consultants, and IT developers. We talked about: Is the New Outlook just a wrapper for the web version? Why didn’t Microsoft recreate Classic Outlook from scratch? Why are users forced to switch to the New Outlook app? Why are some users still resistant to adopting the New Outlook? When will New Outlook meet the needs of power users? How is Microsoft encouraging VBA developers to stay ahead? And more Watch the video for Caitlin's responses. Video: https://youtu.be/5WYjmzrOZI8 #traccreations4e-p25 4/26/2025
