Microsoft has officially shared the full timeline for retiring Exchange Web Services (EWS) after nearly two decades of use. The tech giant plans to phase out the service for Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online, giving users just over two years to prepare for the final shutdown.
The process officially begins in October 2026. At that stage, Microsoft will disable EWS by default for all Exchange Online accounts. If you aren’t ready to let go, you can avoid this initial cutoff by setting your “EWSEnabled” status to true before the end of August 2026. However, this only offers a short delay. Microsoft will permanently kill the service on April 1, 2027. The company made it clear that it will grant no exceptions to this final deadline.
Why is Microsoft making this move? The company explained that EWS is a 20-year-old tool that no longer fits the modern world. It struggles to meet current security, scale, and reliability standards. By removing this legacy tech, Microsoft hopes to shrink the “attack surface” that hackers use to break into systems. It is important to remember that this update only affects cloud users. If you still run your own on-premise Exchange Servers, EWS will continue to function for now.
To ensure nobody gets caught off guard, Microsoft will send monthly reminders through its Message Center. They also plan to conduct “scream tests.” During these tests, Microsoft will temporarily shut down EWS to see which apps or services stop working. These brief outages serve as a loud wake-up call for IT teams, helping them find hidden dependencies before the company pulls the plug for good.
If your business still relies on EWS, you should start moving to newer tools like Microsoft Graph immediately. While 2027 seems far away, the complexity of moving large systems means you should start your migration sooner rather than later to avoid a last-minute crisis.
