Microsoft to Retire Classic Teams on July 1, 2024

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Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft has announced the retirement of the classic Teams desktop app, with end of support scheduled for July 1, 2024.
  • Microsoft says access to classic Teams will be blocked on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Mac OS Sierra in October.
  • Microsoft recommends IT admins to transition users to the new Teams to receive new features and improvements.

Microsoft will soon officially retire the classic version of Microsoft Teams. The company has announced on the Microsoft 365 admin center that the classic Teams desktop app will reach end of support in July this year.

Starting July 1, 2024, Microsoft will begin informing its commercial customers through periodic in-app dialog messages that classic Teams is no longer supported. The classic Microsoft Teams desktop client will stop getting any new features and improvements. Microsoft says the informational messages will urge users to switch to the new Teams desktop client.

When will classic Teams reach end of availability?

Microsoft plans to block customers from accessing classic Teams on October 23, 2024. This change will impact Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Mac OS Sierra (10.12). However, the app will continue to work for users with configuration issues on Windows 10, macOS versions Big Sur(11) or lower until July 1, 2025. After that date, the new Teams web app will be available on supported browsers as an alternative.

“This gives admins more time to address any issues encountered during this process. We do ask that users update their OS and address any other issues to continue using the Teams client after this time, as new features are only being added to the new Teams client,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft to Retire Classic Teams on July 1, 2024
Non-dismissible in-app dialogs (Image Credits: Microsoft)

Why should you switch to the new Microsoft Teams app?

Microsoft announced the general availability of its new Teams desktop client in October 2023. The new app is based on the React framework and Edge WebView 2 rather than the resource-intensive Electron framework. Microsoft says that the new Teams is now two times faster and consumes 50 percent less memory compared to the previous app.

The new version of Microsoft Teams offers various features such as 7×7 video, contextual search in chat, call queues, and breakout rooms. It also supports custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, Copilot for Microsoft 365, and multi-tenant organization capabilities.

Microsoft recommends administrators to transition their end users to the new Teams app as soon as possible. The company advises them to mitigate issues (such as IT policy/firewall blocking app installation and missing WebView2) within their organizations. You can find the prerequisites for new Teams on this support page.