MC878427: Restricted Content Discoverability for SharePoint Sites

Announcement ID	MC676299		Published Date	09-21-2023
Service	Exchange		Last Updated	09-21-2023
Category	Plan for change		Expiration Date	12-31-2026
Roadmap ID			Action Required by Date
Tags	Major update, Admin impact, Retirement

Summary
MC676299: Retirement of Exchange Web Services in Exchange Online

More Information

In 2018, Microsoft announced that we were no longer making feature updates to Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online, and we advised developers to move to Microsoft Graph. Today, Microsoft is announcing that on October 1, 2026, we will start blocking EWS requests from non-Microsoft apps to Exchange Online. When this will happen: October 1, 2026 How this affects your organization: While the EWS components of the service will continue to receive security updates and certain non-security updates, product design and features will remain unchanged. This change also applies to the EWS SDKs for Java and .NET, as well. Despite this announcement, EWS is still available and supported for use in production environments. But we strongly suggest migrating to Microsoft Graph to access Exchange Online data and gain access to the latest features and functionality. Today's announcement and the retirement of EWS apply only to Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online (all environments); there are no changes to EWS in Exchange Server. Further, the changes in Exchange Online do not affect Outlook for Windows or Mac, Teams, or any other Microsoft product. Migrating Applications to Microsoft Graph We know there are several feature gaps between EWS and Microsoft Graph, and though the list below is not exhaustive, these are the gaps most frequently reported to us by developers: Access to Archive Mailboxes We are working on delivering access to archive mailboxes via Microsoft Graph and will provide an updated timeline in the coming months. Folder Associated Information / User Configuration We are working on these features and will provide an updated timeline in the coming months. Exchange Online Management We are investigating solutions for this and will provide an updated timeline in the coming months. Access to Public Folders We are reviewing the need to provide third-party app access to Exchange Online public folders via the Graph API and are interested in hearing from customers and partners who build solutions that use public folders, other than backup and restore solutions. If you are willing to share details on how you use EWS with public folders, we'd love to hear from you, and you can reach Microsoft at EWSandPFfeedback@microsoft.com.  We know there are other gaps not listed above, and we continue to work on closing them, but it's possible some functionality will not make it to Microsoft Graph.  Next Steps The retirement of these APIs follows our Modern Lifecycle Policy. We understand changes like this may cause some inconvenience, but we are confident it will ensure more secure, reliable, and performant experiences. We will publish regular communications as we progress towards this deadline to aid affected tenants in identifying EWS usage. We encourage all customers to monitor Message Center and this blog for related content.