Microsoft brings back a Classic Outlook look for people stuck on the new app

Key points

• Microsoft is rolling out a Classic Outlook theme for Outlook on the web and the New Outlook for Windows, starting mid-August 2025.
• The targeted rollout is expected to finish by the end of September, with general availability between late September and late October 2025.
• The theme changes visual styling, layout, typography, icons and some interactions, but does not move users back to the old Outlook app.
• The setting is off by default for most people and can be toggled under Settings, General, Appearance.
• In February, Microsoft pushed the business opt-out deadline for the new Outlook from April 2026 to March 2027.

Microsoft is trying to soften one of the more unpopular changes in its email software. The company has started rolling out a Classic Outlook theme, a visual setting that makes the new Outlook app look more like the older version many office workers still prefer.

The theme is available in Outlook on the web (the version you open in a browser) and in the New Outlook for Windows, the desktop app Microsoft has been pushing as the replacement for the older client.

As first reported by BleepingComputer, the rollout began in mid-August and should reach all targeted users by the end of September. Worldwide general availability is expected between late September and late October.

What actually changes when you turn it on?

The look, not the guts. Microsoft says the setting "applies coordinated changes across the Outlook experience, including visual styling, layout, typography, icons, and selected interactions." Your mailbox, rules and add-ins stay where they are.

Crucially, turning the theme on does not move you back to the old Outlook program. It also will not override settings your IT administrator has already put in place. Think of it as a skin over the new app, not a rollback.

Most users will find the toggle switched off by default. To try it, go to Settings, then General, then Appearance. Some people being moved from classic Outlook to the new one will have it switched on for them automatically, and they can turn it off the same way.

Why is Microsoft doing this now?

Because the migration has been bumpy. The New Outlook, sometimes called Outlook for Windows, still lacks features long-time users of the classic desktop app rely on. It replaced the built-in Windows Mail app on Windows 11 in October 2023 and on Windows 10 in January 2025.

Microsoft first previewed the new client in May 2022. It became generally available for personal accounts in September 2023 and for business customers in August 2024.

In February, the company quietly delayed the point at which businesses lose the option to stay on classic Outlook. That opt-out phase moved from April 2026 to March 2027, giving company IT teams an extra year to plan. Microsoft said this was despite "strong and accelerating adoption of new Outlook."

Should ordinary users do anything?

No, not really. If you like the new look, ignore the toggle. If the new Outlook has been jarring, the theme is worth a try once it reaches your account.

A short reference to the dates and what changes:

One related change worth noting for anyone still on older webmail: in July, Microsoft said it will disable Outlook Web Access Light, a stripped-down browser version of Outlook that has been around for roughly two decades, in a future Exchange Server update. If your organisation still uses it, that is a conversation for your IT team.

For most people, the practical takeaway is small and welcome. The email app you were told to get used to will, if you want, look a little more like the one you already knew.