Microsoft warns that transitioning Excel workbooks to new Exchange connectors might not be smooth sailing

SOFTWARE

Current Exchange connector is retiring - and new ones won't work if you don't upgrade

Microsoft has issued a warning to Excel users. Want to keep using the Exchange Connector? You'll have to migrate your workbook connections and switch to Microsoft 365 or Office 2024.

The software giant just published a timeline for the switchover in its Message Center. The roadmap puts customer validation of the new Exchange Mail and Calendar connectors as starting in August (along with access for early adopters), sets the final phase of the Exchange Web Services (EWS) retirement enforcement in Exchange Online to begin in October, and a plans retirement of the current Exchange connector in Excel Power Query for April 2027.

Microsoft did not share its plans for Contacts and Tasks, saying only that "Guidance for Contacts and Tasks scenarios will be shared separately."

The challenge users face is that existing workbooks won't automatically transition to the new connectors. Instead, workbooks requiring Exchange Mail and Calendar data will need to be reconnected.

A further potential problem is that users might also need an Office update – they will require Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 to use the new connectors.

And then there is determining which users and workbooks use the existing Exchange connector for Mail or Calendar data. While the new connector experience has yet to be made available, preparation will be key (along with developing migration and validation plans well ahead of the transition).

The countdown for the end of Exchange Web Services (EWS) is ticking, and the Exchange connector is just another service that will be retired alongside the veteran platform. However, although plenty of notice has been given for EWS, it is less than a year until the Exchange connector in Excel Power Query is due to be pulled, potentially taking non-migrated workbooks down with it.

Although Microsoft has given users notice, it has not provided a timeline for rolling out the new connectors. Only a request that administrators "identify users who actively use Exchange-connected workbooks and may be interested in participating in validation of the new Exchange Mail and Exchange Calendar connectors." ®