Microsoft to switch off OWA Light after nearly two decades

Microsoft has warned admins that Outlook Web Access (OWA) Light is set to be disabled and removed with the August 2026 Exchange Server update. The announcement applies to the on-premises version of Exchange Server. The feature was deprecated on August 19, 2024, but some users might still be caught off guard when the plug is pulled once and for all. OWA Light - not to be confused with the stripped-down Android app Outlook Lite, which was retired earlier this year - is a simple web client for Exchange. Shorn of the fripperies of its heftier sibling, it was introduced with Exchange Server 2007 as a fallback for users of unsupported browsers (initially, anything that wasn't Internet Explorer 6 or 7). At the time, the product manager for Exchange referred to it as "The Product Formerly Known as OWA Basic." Basic it was, but it had enough for most people - there were inbox and calendar views. Users couldn't get weekly or monthly calendar views, access shared mailboxes or calendars, or create or modify tasks, but it worked pretty much everywhere. Microsoft noted this in its latest announcement: "OWA Light served customers well for many years. It was designed for older browsers, slower connections, and scenarios where a simplified web interface helped users access mail in environments that could not support the full Outlook Web App experience." Things have moved on during the last couple of decades. The full-fat Outlook on the web experience supports Edge, Firefox, and Chrome, as well as Safari on Apple devices. Even Firefox and Chrome on Linux have been given a nod, although Microsoft noted "some features may not be available." OWA Light is looking a little long in the tooth these days, and with OWA requiring frequent updates to stave off attackers, keeping the service running for a dwindling number of users is difficult to justify. "Maintaining a separate legacy OWA Light experience increases complexity," Microsoft wrote. "Each additional content rendering path, control surface, and compatibility layer must be evaluated as we strengthen defenses against modern web threats." And so, as soon as next month, a service that first saw the light of day at the time of Windows Vista (and whose predecessor goes back to the days of XP) will be disabled and removed. (R)