Do you collect your emails using one of our Microsoft 365 products?
If so, then you’ll have recently received an email from us about this upcoming Saturday 1st October 2022. That’s the date that Microsoft will remove support for Basic Authentication and require all connections to use Modern Authentication instead.
In simple non-technical terms, that means that if you’re using an old device or app to access your emails, then you may find yourself unable to do so after Saturday. You may also run into problems if you collect your emails using a POP3 account, rather than an Exchange account.
Outlook users
If you access your emails in your web browser by using Outlook Online at https://login.microsoftonline.com then you’re already using Modern Authentication, and can continue to do so after Saturday.
If you use the Outlook email program installed on your computer, then you need to be aware that the oldest version that supports Modern Authentication is Outlook 2013. If you are using an earlier version than that then you will almost certainly have problems after Saturday.
Even if you are using Outlook 2013 or higher, unless your account is configured as Exchange, then you may also encounter problems.
A simple way to tell whether you’ll be affected is to hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and then right click on the Outlook icon in your system tray (bottom right corner) whilst Outlook is running.
You should see a Connection Status option. Left click on that and, in the pop-up window that appears, look for the Authn column. If it says Clear then you are using Basic Authentication, whereas if it says Bearer then you are using Modern Authentication.
iPhone/Mac users
iOS 11 or later, iPadOS 13.1 or later and macOS 10.14 or later all support Modern Authentication, as long as you are using the Outlook app and are configured as Exchange. If you are using another app to collect your emails, or you have an older version than the ones listed above, then you will likely run into problems accessing your emails from Saturday 1st October 2022.
Need more help?
We have created this support guide which provides more details about how to check whether you’ll be affected by this upcoming change. You can also contact us during working hours by calling 0345 363 3634, or by creating a support ticket in your Online Control Panel.
