Exchange Web Services (EWS) Retirement for Exchange Online
Microsoft is retiring Exchange Web Services (EWS) for Exchange Online (Microsoft 365). Organisations using applications that rely on EWS must migrate to Microsoft Graph or another supported integration method before EWS is permanently retired.
If you use Activate Email Approvals with Exchange Online, action may be required depending on your version of Activate.
Microsoft resources
For Microsoft's latest guidance, see:
EWS retirement timeline
Microsoft has announced the following milestones for Exchange Online:
Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
1 October 2026 | Microsoft will begin the phased disablement of Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online. Organisations that have not migrated away from EWS or configured Microsoft's temporary transition options may begin experiencing service interruptions. |
1 April 2027 | Exchange Web Services will be permanently retired in Exchange Online. EWS requests will no longer be accepted, and applications relying on EWS will cease to function with Exchange Online. |
Although Microsoft has provided a transition period, organisations are encouraged to complete their migration before 1 October 2026 to minimise the risk of service disruption.
What this means for Activate
Exchange Web Services is used by Activate V8.3 and earlier when interacting with Exchange Online mailboxes. As Microsoft retires EWS for Exchange Online, any functionality that depends on EWS will need to migrate to Microsoft Graph or another supported API.
For most customers, this primarily affects Email Approvals, where Activate polls one or more Exchange Online mailboxes to process approval requests sent by email.
Some customers may also have custom solutions or integrations that use Activate's mailbox polling capabilities to monitor Exchange Online mailboxes for business-specific workflows. These custom implementations may also rely on EWS and should be reviewed as part of your migration planning.
Activate 8.4 and later
Activate 8.4 introduces support for Microsoft Graph mailbox polling for Exchange Online. Release notes for 8.4 can be found here.
This enables mailbox polling functionality, including Email Approvals, to operate without relying on Exchange Web Services.
Customers using Exchange Online should upgrade to Activate 8.4 or later and migrate any Exchange Online mailbox polling from EWS to Microsoft Graph before 1 October 2026.
Existing EWS mailbox polling configuration in Activate doesn't require any changes to use Microsoft Graph instead of EWS, apart from the enabling of the PR4215_UseGraphApiForMailboxPolling feature flag, please refer to the 8.4.0 release notes. This feature flag will automatically be enabled in future releases and will eventually become enabled without feature flag.
Please refer to the documentation on Email Approval Configuration Guide for more detail on configuration and permissions required.
If you have developed custom solutions that poll Exchange Online mailboxes through Activate, these should also be reviewed and updated to use Microsoft Graph mailbox polling.
Earlier versions of Activate
Versions prior to Activate 8.4 use Exchange Web Services when polling Exchange Online mailboxes.
This includes:
- Email Approvals.
- Any custom solutions built using Activate's Exchange Online mailbox polling capabilities.
These versions may begin experiencing service interruptions from 1 October 2026 as Microsoft starts the phased disablement of EWS. After 1 April 2027, mailbox polling against Exchange Online will no longer function using EWS.
If you are running an earlier version of Activate, please contact your Activate representative to discuss:
- Upgrading to Activate v8.4 or later.
- Migrating mailbox polling from EWS to Microsoft Graph.
- Reviewing any custom mailbox polling implementations.
- Any version-specific upgrade considerations.
- Available options if an immediate upgrade is not possible.
On-premises Exchange Server
Microsoft's EWS retirement applies only to Exchange Online.
At the time of writing, Microsoft has not announced the retirement of Exchange Web Services for on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server. Customers using on-premises Exchange are not affected by this change.
Frequently asked questions
Does this affect all Exchange deployments?
No. This retirement applies only to Exchange Online (Microsoft 365). On-premises Microsoft Exchange Server is not affected.
Do I need to upgrade Activate?
If you use Exchange Online and Email Approvals, yes. Customers should upgrade to Activate v8.4 or later to use Microsoft Graph mailbox polling before Microsoft's EWS retirement.
What if I cannot upgrade before October 2026?
Contact your Activate representative as early as possible. We can help you plan an upgrade path and discuss the options available for your environment.
Recommended actions
If you use Exchange Online with Activate, we recommend that you:
- Confirm your current version of Activate.
- Identify any Exchange Online mailboxes used for Email Approvals.
- Plan an upgrade to Activate v8.4 or later.
- Configure and test Microsoft Graph mailbox polling.
- Complete your migration before 1 October 2026.
- Contact your Activate representative if you require assistance planning your upgrade or migration.