Microsoft announced that they will turn off Basic Authentication on Microsoft 365 Exchange Online services in favour of more secure authentication mechanism called Modern Authentication. Check out the full article, "Depreciation of Basic authentication in Exchange Online" here.
Over the months, Microsoft has temporary disabled basic authentication on certain customers accounts for a period of 48 hours. This is a mechanism to alert the IT teams that their users may be impacted. If you have experienced not being able to login, then you may be affected with this.
It's important to know that basic authentication will be turned off permanently on 1st October 2022. This is permanent and cannot be changed in your account. In order to continue using Microsoft 365, your software must support Modern Authentication method.
We have compiled a few frequently asked questions below:
1. I am using web / online versions. Will it stop working?
No. The web / online versions is not impacted with this change.
2. I am using Outlook software. Will this stop working?
It depends on your version. This can get tricky really fast because there are various versions and editions of Office. The versions supported as of this writing are;
- Microsoft 365 Apps - supported as long as you're using a supported version
- Office LTSC 2021 - up-to October 2026
- Office 2019 - up-to October 2023
- Office 2016 - up-to October 2023 (exception)
The exception note is provided in this article, "Office versions and connectivity to Microsoft 365 services" which highlights that Office 2016 will be supported as an exception up to October 2023.
3. Do I have to keep upgrading Office?
Essentially, yes. Your computer software should be kept up-to date as much as possible. If you have really old versions of Office, such as 2007, 2010, 2013 - they are definitely no longer supported. Those are over 10-15 years old, pretty much the pre-historic cloud era. To be truly on the cloud, your devices and software should be upgraded to support it. This means ensuring you're always on the latest track - and with the changes above, it means that from October 2023 onwards - the only supported version will be Office LTSC and Microsoft 365 Apps.
4. What is Microsoft 365 Apps?
Microsoft 365 Apps is a license for office software included in your subscription. It includes Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and other software along with OneDrive. This license can be added onto any existing user individually - or part of Microsoft 365 Business Standard. You can check the plans offered by zesha - Microsoft 365 here.
5. I am already using Microsoft 365 Business Standard. Do I have to upgrade?
No. If your license is Microsoft 365 Business Standard - then you already have Microsoft 365 Apps included. This means you are always on the very latest track of Microsoft Office. You should not be impacted by this change.
6. Is there an alternative to Microsoft Outlook email client?
Yes, there are always alternatives. If you no longer wish to use Outlook email client, you can switch to any other email client that supports modern authentication. If this is something you'd like to do, then please reach out to us for a consultation. We'll share with you a cost comparison of switching to Microsoft 365 Apps versus other email clients for your decision making.
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As always, we hope you find this useful. If you need any further information or have a specific challenge - please feel free to reach out to us and one of our customer champions will be happy to assist you.
