Microsoft will allow Office 2016 users to connect to services till 2023

Microsoft recently announced that it will be blocking all the services for Office 2016 users after Oct 13, 2020. This was Microsoft’s way of making sure users move from Office 2016 to Office 365.

However, Microsoft went back on their decision and extended support for Office 2016 from 2020 to 2023.

To give you more time to transition fully to the cloud, we are now modifying that policy and will continue to support Office 2016 connections with the Office 365 services through October 2023.

– Jared Spataro, Head marketing executive for Office and Windows

Jared didn’t share the reason why Microsoft changed their decision but it might be made after the feedback Microsoft received from its customers. Last year, Microsoft said if users are working on Legacy versions then they are not enjoying everything Microsoft has to offer.

Jared also said that Office ProPlus would be supported on Windows 8.1 until the end-of-support for Windows 8.1 which is in January 2023.

Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be supported on Windows 8.1 through January 2023, which is the end-of-support date for Windows 8.1.

– Jared Spataro, Head marketing executive for Office and Windows

Along the lines of this decision, Microsoft has also relaxed the system requirements of Office 365 ProPlus so users can easily make a switch from Office 2016 to Office 365.

Source: Microsoft; Via: Computer World