Microsoft Plans to Remove OWA Light From Exchange Server
Summary
Microsoft plans to disable and remove OWA Light in an Exchange Server update estimated for August 2026. Admins can already block the legacy client using Exchange PowerShell commands.
Key points
- Microsoft says it plans to disable and remove OWA Light in an upcoming on-premises Exchange Server update, estimated for August 2026.
- Microsoft says the change will reduce legacy surface area and simplify engineering; users will use the modern Outlook on the web experience instead.
- OWA Light was designed for older browsers and low-bandwidth connections and has fewer features than the full web client.
- Microsoft deprecated OWA Light on August 19, 2024.
- Admins can block OWA Light with Set-OwaMailboxPolicy -OwaLightEnabled $false and disable its logon-page selection with Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -LogonPageLightSelectionEnabled $false.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Planned retirement of a legacy email client
- Impact
- Microsoft plans to disable and remove OWA Light from an Exchange Server update estimated for August 2026. Users will need to use the modern Outlook on the web experience; administrators can already disable OWA Light through Exchange PowerShell commands.
Vendors
Products
Microsoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft plans to remove Outlook Web Access Light from a future Exchange Server update, shifting users to the full Outlook on the web experience.Outlook on the webMicrosoft plans to remove Outlook Web Access Light from a future Exchange Server update, shifting users to the full Outlook on the web experience.OWA LightMicrosoft will disable OWA Light in a future Exchange Server update.