Recently, Microsoft has made a bunch of new feature additions to the New Outlook for Windows to make it more useful offline without an internet connection. It announced a much-improved email sync after confirming the app would be able to launch offline.
Offline mode improvements aren't the only thing the New Outlook is getting. Microsoft clearly seems to understand that users are probably still not as happy with its shiny, new app as they are with Classic Outlook.
Hence, the company is bringing another major change to New Outlook. The app will soon gain support for personal non-Microsoft accounts. This will allow users to access any Microsoft 365 (Office 365) and Copilot Pro subscriptions, that they have linked to their personal email, on the New Outlook for Windows app.
Microsoft says the rollout of the feature should start next month, mid-November, with general availability and rollout completion planned for mid-December 2024 and mid-January 2025 respectively.
In a Microsoft 365 Message Center post, the company has described the upcoming change. It explains:
Coming soon: Support for users to add a new personal Microsoft account type in new Microsoft Outlook for Windows.
Adding a personal Microsoft account to Outlook is useful if that personal Microsoft account is linked to Microsoft subscriptions such as Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot Pro. For instance, a user might purchase a subscription for Microsoft 365 Personal with a Microsoft account such as you@gmail.com.
Before this rollout, new Outlook for Windows would not support adding this personal Microsoft account to Outlook and the user could not access any subscriptions linked to those accounts. After this rollout, users will be able to enjoy the benefits of their personal Microsoft 365 or Copilot Pro subscription in Outlook.ary 2025. This feature is on by default.
When setting up an account, a new "Additional Microsoft accounts" option is being added under the "Your accounts" section in the New Outlook app.
The Your accounts section essentially helps manage the various email accounts that have been added to the app:
Before this rollout: Outlook supports connecting to personal email accounts like Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo and more, so users can access email from those accounts in Outlook.
After this rollout, users will be able to add a new personal Microsoft account that does not use a Microsoft email address (such as outlook.com, hotmail.com, or live.com) at Settings > Accounts > Your accounts > Additional Microsoft accounts for the purpose of accessing any subscriptions linked to that personal Microsoft account.
You can find this post in Microsoft 365 Admin Center dashboard with message ID MC915492.
Via: Joao Ferreira
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