Replace old Windows Mail and Calendar with the new Outlook application

Since Windows 8, Microsoft has launched a basic but fully functional Mail application, replacing the old Windows Live Mail. But that will soon change.

The old Mail app is about to disappear

The Mail app has never been the robust email tool that people who spend their days buried in email need, but it's a relatively solid way to link several email accounts together on a Windows PC. It has some issues and users don't get powerful email templates or filters, but those aren't features that casual email users need.

A similarly simple but more limited Calendar application is also built into Windows. With these 2 tools, you have all the most basic email and calendar functionality you need without needing to install any additional apps.

Microsoft initially planned to discontinue the Mail and Calendar applications in 2023, but in the end decided to temporarily discontinue both apps. However, a short time later, the company turned around and announced that both applications would stop working in 2024.

Get ready to welcome the new Outlook!

The good news is that Microsoft will replace the removed applications. The bad news is that this new solution has some annoying problems built in that the old Mail app didn't have.

In place of the old Mail and Calendar applications, Microsoft is now offering a new Outlook application. This is essentially a desktop version of the Outlook online email application with support for more accounts.

Replace old Windows Mail and Calendar with the new Outlook application Picture 1

The problem, at least compared to the old Mail app, is the ads built into the new Outlook. There's no way to disable these features other than subscribing to the Microsoft Office 365 suite of applications (which isn't cheap).

Alternative Mail apps

If you don't want to use the new Outlook, you have options in the form of third-party email clients, but you'll have to install these yourself.

There are many choices. Thunderbird is a popular free, open source email client. However, although it offers a lot of power, it does not operate as smoothly as expected. Mailbird is a more aesthetically pleasing option but is not free. The eM Client app is similar to the free Outlook but some features require payment.

These days, many people don't even use dedicated email apps and instead rely on webmail from services like Gmail. If you're a webmail user or primarily use email on your phone, Microsoft's change probably won't affect you.

However, if you're relying on the built-in Mail app, you might not be happy with Microsoft's alternative.

Lesley Montoya

Update 19 April 2024