Microsoft to phase out key Classic Teams feature as app’s discontinuation approaches

Microsoft Phasing Out Classic Teams: Key Changes on the Horizon

In March 2024, Microsoft initiated a significant transition by automatically updating users from the classic version of Teams to the New Teams app. Subsequently, in May, the company elaborated on the distinctions between these two applications in a comprehensive blog post, which you can access through our dedicated article.

End of Support for Classic Teams Approaches

As part of this strategic move, Microsoft officially ended support for Classic Teams in October 2024. It has also announced that the application will be fully retired on July 1, 2025. In light of this transition, Microsoft recently communicated a notable modification within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This alteration has been categorized as a “Major change, ”namely the removal of the option to open files directly within Classic Teams. While the reason for this decision was not disclosed, it is clear that the company is progressing toward a more streamlined user experience.

Assurances for New Teams Users

Despite the removal of this feature from Classic Teams, Microsoft assures users that file-opening capabilities will still be available in the New Teams application. The company stated:

We will retire the option to open a file in classic Microsoft Teams starting April 15, 2025, and ending April 30, 2025. Instead, we recommend opening the file in the appropriate app (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft PowerPoint) in the desktop or web, where we will continue to invest our development resources. This retirement is to address certain security vulnerabilities that surfaced recently with classic Teams. NOTE: This retirement will not affect file open options for the new version of Microsoft Teams.

This message applies to classic Teams for Windows desktop, classic Teams for Mac desktop, and classic Teams for the web.

Timeline and Recommendations for Administrators

As of April 15, 2025, this change began rolling out and will continue until April 30, 2025. The deployment will occur automatically, requiring no action from administrators. However, Microsoft recommends that admins proactively inform their users about this upcoming change. If you’re an administrator with access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, you can find more information under message ID MC1058266.

For those interested in more details about this phase-out and its implications, feel free to explore our comprehensive source linked below.

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