Microsoft to switch off Outlook Web Access Light next August
The stripped-down webmail client, aimed at old browsers and slow connections, will be removed from Exchange Server in an update expected around August 2026.
Key points
- Microsoft plans to disable and remove Outlook Web Access Light (OWA Light) from on-premises Exchange Server in an update expected in August 2026.
- OWA Light was already marked deprecated (meaning: officially on the way out) on August 19, 2024.
- Administrators can turn OWA Light off today using two PowerShell commands published by Microsoft.
- After the update ships, users who currently pick the Light option will be sent to the standard Outlook on the web instead.
Microsoft is retiring the slimmed-down version of its webmail client for corporate email servers.
The product is called Outlook Web Access Light, or OWA Light. It is the basic-looking version of the browser email page that staff at companies running their own Microsoft Exchange Server see when they log in to check mail. Think of it as the no-frills alternative to the full webmail site.
Microsoft's Exchange Team confirmed the plan on Wednesday. The switch-off is expected in an Exchange Server update around August 2026. After it lands, the Light option disappears and everyone lands on the modern Outlook on the web page.
Why is Microsoft killing it off?
Because almost nobody needs it anymore. Microsoft built OWA Light roughly twenty years ago for people stuck on old browsers like Internet Explorer 5, on slow dial-up connections, or on locked-down kiosk computers. It loaded faster, looked plainer, and worked where the fancy version did not.
That world has largely gone. "Modern browsers are more capable and more consistent, network conditions have improved for many customers, and security landscape has changed significantly," the Exchange Team wrote. Retiring the Light client, Microsoft says, cuts down old code the company still has to maintain and secure.
The change was first reported by BleepingComputer.
What does OWA Light actually do (and not do)?
It shows you your inbox in a simple layout. It lets you read and send mail. That is roughly where the good news ends.
OWA Light cannot show your calendar in weekly or monthly view. It cannot open shared mailboxes or shared calendars. It will not import or export messages and contacts. It cannot create or edit tasks and notes. Anyone who has been living in the Light client for years has been living without a lot of the standard office toolkit.
Who is affected?
Only organisations running Exchange Server on their own hardware, the on-premises product, need to act. Businesses on Microsoft 365 in the cloud are not the target of this announcement.
In practice the people who will notice are staff at companies where IT still routes some users, often on older machines, to the Light login. Those users will be sent to the full webmail page after the August 2026 update. The full page is heavier but supports every feature.
What should IT admins do now?
Microsoft is giving administrators a head start. Two PowerShell commands (PowerShell is the scripting tool Windows admins use to run bulk changes) turn OWA Light off ahead of time.
Set-OwaMailboxPolicy -OwaLightEnabled $false blocks the Light client for users covered by that policy. Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -LogonPageLightSelectionEnabled $false removes the Light option from the login page so nobody can pick it.
Admins who run those commands now can test how staff cope with the modern client before Microsoft forces the change. That matters for anyone still using older PCs or unusual browsers that might struggle with the full Outlook on the web.
Ordinary end users have nothing to do. If the Light interface has been your daily email view, expect it to look different one morning, with more buttons, a proper calendar, and the same mail underneath.
