Why is macOS Internet Accounts broken for Microsoft Exchange Servers?

Sebastian Kuhn wrote:

Why is macOS Internet Accounts broken for Microsoft Exchange Servers?

...

Does anyone have a workaround? Does anyone know when/if Apple is planning to update the deprecated API?

For context, Microsoft deprecated EWS in 2018, in favour of its new Graph API, released in 2015.

Then, Microsoft formally announced the shutdown of EWS in 2023.

Apple has had 11 years to develop a replacement and 3 years warning of this impending shutdown.

Apple's only official statement is this post saying they will support Graph API in a future update to macOS 27.

So Apple's official solution here is for your IT department to re-enable EWS. Microsoft has posted instructions on how to do that, but it seems to require a high level of knowledge and access to the Exchange back end. And even then, Microsoft plans to disable that workaround in April, 2027.

I was using Exchange e-mail through the Microsoft Office 365 product. Apparently my subscription did not include access to the "Power Shell" required to implement the workaround. Either that or Microsoft's insanely complicated system just made it impossible to find.

So I moved my domain's e-mail services to another provider and switched back to IMAP. On a technical level, this was fairly easy. It was disappointing to learn that IMAP/SMTP are just as clunky and amateurish as they were 30 years ago. That was why I wanted something more modern to begin with. I'm certainly not going to miss Microsoft's crazy web admin back end. I can't describe how difficult that system was to use.

But I do want to point out that Apple's inaction and delay are absolutely inexcusable. For years, when people would post questions here about some Apple technology that stopped working out of the blue, I would respond with a timeline of Apple deprecating said technology 9 years earlier, only for the OP's vendor to ignore it. Now Apple's made me the chump.

I received no warning of any kind from either Microsoft or Apple. Both of whom definitely have my e-mail address. Microsoft regularly warns me about other things, like some old compute still using an old version of Office.

And finally, I want to point out that this removes Exchange functionality from all Macs. The fix is only going to be provided in a future update to macOS 27. So anyone still using macOS 26, or macOS 15, like me, is SOL.

Your company exchange admins have options to allow you to access your email in the native mail app on your Mac. They can enable IMAP support on the tenant if they choose.

Don't blame Apple for this. MS announce the protocol was being deprecated long ago. the native mail app supports IMAP, which your mail system is fully capable of supporting as well.

Ask your IT department if they will enable it. I doubt if they will, but you can ask.

This is on your IT department, not Apple, and not on Microsoft for that matter.

Sebastian Kuhn wrote:

What's particularly ironic is that I continuously am getting warnings in "Notifications" that this or that obscure piece of software will no longer work with the next update because it is "deprecated"!

At least you're getting warning. 😄 As already discussed, that doesn't always happen.

Speaking of which: What is the ETA of macOS 27?

macOS 27 was released about 3 weeks ago. I assume that it will be updated with support for Microsoft Exchange at some point before April, 2027, but that's just an assumption.

Until then, you will either have to get your IT department to enable EWS support, if possible. Failing that, you'll either have to switch to different e-mail, contact, calendar, etc. clients or use web-based versions.

Sebastian Kuhn wrote:

they warn me that this solution will definitely no longer work after mid-December.

I don't claim any expertise on the IT admin side. But from what I've heard, the cut-off date for Microsoft is April. I don't know what's happening in December.

IMAP, which is far less safe and convenient for people with multiple internet accounts and multiple devices accessing those

IMAP is my officially recommended solution for this problem. If you're able to switch to IMAP, you can do that today and the problem goes away forever.

Yes, IMAP is definitely old and clunky and it's never going to get better. But it's ubiquitous, so it's always going to be supported.

And finally, it's important to remember than when, and if, Apple ever updates Apple Mail to support Microsoft's new messaging protocol, this will be entirely new functionality for Apple, on an ancient app that Apple has tried to avoid modifying whenever possible for many years. If Apple's previous performance is any indication, the new Mail is going to be horribly slow and horribly buggy for a long, long time.

Update: My IT people were willing and able to temporarily reinstate the deprecated Exchange Web Services (EWS) API which fixed my immediate problem. However, they warn me that this solution will definitely no longer work after mid-December. So, here's hoping that Apple will finally get their act together and upgrade to the newest industry standard - sometime in OS 27.1 or .2? And yes, it is TOTALLY on Apple - end users and IT support staff shouldn't have to waste enormous amounts of time to find work-arounds (like IMAP, which is far less safe and convenient for people with multiple internet accounts and multiple devices accessing those) just because Apple has this "my way or the highway" attitude. Just another example: I can't count the times I had to start alternative browsers because Apple refuses to make Safari compatible with today's web standards...

Gamick wrote:

The Apple MacOS team is fully to blame for this situation.

This is objectively true.

In my case I still handle my accounts in Apple Mail and Apple Calendar. For my Microsoft accounts, I only check my mail twice a day.

You should be able to use web mail with Microsoft accounts. Everyone seems to love doing that with gmail. Now they have to do it with Exchange.

So for better or for worse, if things go bad, I refer them to our IT department.

In theory, there's a hack that IT departments can apply to keep Exchange running until April. Either that option wasn't available with my consumer-grade Office 365 subscription or it was just well-hidden in the Microsoft admin web labyrinth.

Additionally, Microsoft also seems to have an IMAP option available on the Exchange back-end. I don't know anything about that.

And finally, disregard my previous optimistic hope for Mailbird. It couldn't even log in to my IMAP server. I'm still interested in distancing myself from Apple, but it will take time.

Update on my Update: I will definitely have to give up on having all my email and calendar entries in one place - our admins insist that the present "temporary solution" will go away mid-December and then Microsoft Exchange will just not work any longer with Apple Mail and Calendar. Actually, it's getting already progressively worse: Now even Safari balks at opening certain web pages, including those generated by Microsoft 365 (e.g., "Forms"). They open just fine in Firefox (also on my Mac), so this is just another instant where Apples "Core Productivity" software is not being updated or deliberately flouts standard internet protocols that other sites rely on. If I have to run more and more of my daily work on non-Apple applications, I might as well ditch my Mac and get a PC.

KiltedTim wrote:

I hear what you're saying, but I have to disagree.

Disagree in what respect? Are you saying that Apple should ignore deprecations and replacements for protocols that it supports? And just let users figure it out on their own when their products stop working one day?

I suppose that is one approach. That's definitely the one that Apple took in this case.

I can only find one mail client other than Outlook that supports Graph API. Thunderbird 154+

There's definitely more than that. I just did a quick search and found Mailbird, with this really nice overview of modern mail problems. I've experienced many of these issues firsthand.

But otherwise, client support is generally irrelevant. Outlook does support it and that's a Microsoft product. Therefore, Microsoft is free to cut off the old protocols. It's the responsibility of client developers to update their products, unless they choose the path of irresponsibility.

And the Graph API isn't anything special. It's just a REST web api. Those are really easy to use. Remember all the cool things I used to be able to do here in the forums, when they used the old Jive software? That software had a REST api. Microsoft's adoption of this new API, with this new design, is, objectively, a Good Thing.

And this really goes to show why we can't have nice things. After 30 years, somebody with leverage finally decides to fix e-mail. They design and publish a new protocol based on well-understood, industry-standard technologies. They give people over a decade to support it. Crickets.

Honestly, being in IT and managing Exchange, I really don't want users using any 3rd party clients. That includes macOS. We're a Microsoft Shop for better or worse. Our users can use Outlook. If they don't like that, that's too bad. It's our standard. We have a significant amount of control over it than we do over any 3rd party mail clients. It's available for the platforms we support. That's the end of it.

I have no such limitations. I'm really annoyed with Apple here. Apple's actions were objectively incompetent, irresponsible, and user-hostile. Can't spin this.

That being said, aside from Graph API, which looks nice, the Microsoft back end is a nightmare. I don't get paid to manage Exchange full time. I just don't care about the server side. It felt really good to be able to take advantage of a smart decision to have my own e-mail domain. Moving the MX record was far and away the easiest part of the transition.

But I appreciate your push back. That made me look and I found Mailbird. I think I'll try that. I'm not sentimental at all about moving away from Microsoft email. I wouldn't mind dumping Office apps either. But Apple is no longer the viable option that it once was. Maybe if Mailbird works out, I'll try some Office/iWorks replacements. It's pretty bad when the thing that starts to make me feel hopeful again is moving away from Apple.

The Apple MacOS team is fully to blame for this situation. As said before, the iOS team have their affairs in order. Although I really dislike Microsoft and Outlook in particular, this is not something Microsoft are to blame for.

In my situation I have IMAP, gmail, exchange mail on different servers and Apple icloud all running in both my Apple Mail as my Calender app. Having different Microsoft accounts active from different organisations, and gmail and other mail is not doable in Outlook.

In my case I still handle my accounts in Apple Mail and Apple Calendar. For my Microsoft accounts, I only check my mail twice a day. When planning, I use my Apple Calender, if there is a conflict with appointments than I never go for the appointment in Outlook. Although I know that the error is with Apple and not with Microsoft, I just can't prioritise Microsoft in any way. Outlook just doesn't work well with other accounts. So for better or for worse, if things go bad, I refer them to our IT department.

Thank you for confirming what I have been told. This is a typical example of "if 2 elephants fight, the mice get trampled". I'm sure there is plenty of blame to go around, but this seems a blatant case of negligence on Apple's side. Apparently they focus their work on new and shiny "design improvements" as opposed to prioritizing that Apple products "just work" (to quote an old ad campaign). What's particularly ironic is that I continuously am getting warnings in "Notifications" that this or that obscure piece of software will no longer work with the next update because it is "deprecated"! Speaking of which: What is the ETA of macOS 27?

KiltedTim wrote:

Don't blame Apple for this. MS announce the protocol was being deprecated long ago. the native mail app supports IMAP, which your mail system is fully capable of supporting as well.

This is most definitely on Apple. I paid money for Exchange support and Apple took that away. Apple had over a decade to develop support for the Graph API. They made a business decision to not provide that support to force more people to upgrade to the latest bug-filled OS version.

I hear you. What about putting some of the billions that Apple is amassing into hiring some top-notch engineers (or bringing them in from the iOS side where THIS problem has been fixed) that figure out how to make the next iteration of Mail BETTER, not even more clunky? Maybe even create a new, 21st century version from scratch? There are MANY things that could be fixed - e.g., the fact that Mail doesn't work well with Google Gmail (only the most ubiquitous privately used email service - The chances that email headers and emails body stay together as they are copied within Mail are 50/50 at best right now... ).

Well, one can dream...

Sebastian Kuhn wrote:

I hear you. What about putting some of the billions that Apple is amassing into hiring some top-notch engineers

All recent reports say that Apple has recently been laying off personnel.

(or bringing them in from the iOS side where THIS problem has been fixed)

The iOS version uses a different protocol - the ActiveSync protocol that is designed only for mobile devices.

That being said, I agree that I don't see any reason why that should be a barrier. A MacBook Pro is a mobile device, is it not? But perhaps Apple has some kind of licensing agreement with Microsoft that prevents this. And perhaps that is the solution that Apple is hoping for. Maybe when enough people like me cancel their Office 365 subscriptions, Microsoft will allow use of ActiveSync on the desktop. But this is pure conspiracy-style speculation on my part. It's pretty bad when that kind of tinfoil speculation is a more reasonable explanation than the alternative.

Well, one can dream...

You got that right!

I hear what you're saying, but I have to disagree.

I can only find one mail client other than Outlook that supports Graph API. Thunderbird 154+

Honestly, being in IT and managing Exchange, I really don't want users using any 3rd party clients. That includes macOS. We're a Microsoft Shop for better or worse. Our users can use Outlook. If they don't like that, that's too bad. It's our standard. We have a significant amount of control over it than we do over any 3rd party mail clients. It's available for the platforms we support. That's the end of it.

iOS uses Exchange ActiveSync.

Desktop mail clients do not. EAS is designed exclusively for mobile client applications.

If you hate Outlook so much, then jump ship from your Exchange mail server and move to something else.

If it's mandated by your IT department, go complain to them.

Whether you're happy with it or not is completely irrelevant. We deal in facts, not emotions.

I never claimed to be a "Microsoft only" admin. Far from it.

Your continual complaining here is NOT going to alter reality at all. No one here can alter reality. Apple won't see your complaints here.

You have your answer. If you don't like it, take it up with your IT department.

All good

Whining about it here isn't going to change anything.

Please move on.

Putting other people down isn't going to change anything, either. Since you are a self-professed "Microsoft Only" admin, why don't YOU move on?