Support for the Microsoft Teams Classic app will come to an end on July 1st, 2024.
Microsoft has now released a detailed view of the timelines relating to the end of support and end of availability for the classic Teams client.
Meanwhile, a new Teams client is currently being rolled out, which they are directing Teams Classic users to switch to. It was made generally available for Windows and Mac users in October last year.
Microsoft has warned that the end of support could lead to service disruptions, with the tech giant advising users to upgrading to the latest version of its software within at least three months of the end-of-life date.
The Teams Classic app was initially due to be shuttered at the end of March 2024, but in February that deadline was pushed back to July 1, 2024.
March 31st: End of Support Reminder
From March 2024, classic Teams users who have not switched to the new Teams will be shown an informational banner at the top of the page within the main Teams client window, which will remind them about the Microsoft end of support and end of availability timeline.
In total, four banners have been queued for release to provide two end of support and two end of availability warnings.
The warnings themselves contain more or less the same information, reminding users that support for Classic Teams will end on July 1st. The messages will also be worded slightly differently depending on whether admins need to update or change their operating systems, amend their organisational policies, or resolve any install and launch issues in order to transition to the new Teams.
July 1st: Teams Classic Support Ends
Although support ends from July 1st, meaning Microsoft will no longer be providing updates or fixes, it will still be possible to use the classic version of Teams until the ‘end of availability’.
Users will no longer be able to access Teams when they reach the end of availability date. To confuse things a little further, this date will vary depending on the operating system you are using.
For Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 users, the end of availability starts on October 23rd, 2024.
Win 10, macOS versions below Big Sur, LTSC users, and users with configuration issues will reach the end of availability on July 1st, 2025.
As with its warning banners, Microsoft encourages users to use this time to update their operating system so that they can move to its new Teams platform : “Classic Teams users who have encountered issues moving to new Teams or who don’t meet the prerequisites to upgrade will still have access to the classic Teams client until July 01, 2025.
“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.”
April 1st: Changes for Admins
For admins that left their policy control in the default settings, a Microsoft-managed rollout of the new Teams client will have begun at the beginning of this month. Microsoft says it will not uninstall classic Teams for 14 days.
Admins that have opted to manage the rollout themselves will be able to control how it is implemented. A toggle option to return to classic Teams will remain available if needed until the middle of May, at which point the toggle switch will be removed and new Teams will become the default client. Two weeks later, Microsoft will attempt to uninstall classic Teams.
