The clock is ticking for the old Windows Mail, Calendar and Contacts apps. Microsoft recently updated official documentation to announce that these programs will stop working completely on December 31, 2024, as support ends. In other words, even if you manage to keep the new Outlook app on your computer, the old Mail app will lose the ability to send and receive mail in less than two months.

Microsoft says in an updated support document:

Support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and Contacts will end on December 31, 2024. We are currently migrating existing users to the new Outlook for Windows. After December 31, 2024, users will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar. All local emails, calendar events, and contacts stored in Mail, Calendar, and Contacts will remain available for export by following the instructions in Export emails and contacts from Windows Mail or Contacts and import them into the new Outlook.

Until recently, the document only mentioned the end of support without a clear explanation of how it would affect the main features of the applications. We now know that Microsoft will be discontinuing the old UWP mail and calendar clients since Windows 10, forcing everyone to use the new Outlook for Windows.

Microsoft says in its support document that with the new app, everyone will “be able to enjoy the best features of Outlook for free.” In fact, everyone hates the new Outlook due to its slow web app, lack of features, and overall poor user experience. Unfortunately, Microsoft is not listening to users’ voices and is shoving an unpopular program down their throats. For many, switching to another mail client will be a much better option than the new Outlook for Windows, with all its shortcomings.