Microsoft announced that as of Oct 31, 2017, RPC over HTTP will no longer be a supported protocol for accessing mail data from Exchange Online. Microsoft will no longer provide support or updates for Outlook clients that connect through RPC over HTTP, and the quality of the mail experience will decrease over time.  RPC over HTTP is being replaced by MAPI over HTTP, a modern protocol that was launched in May 2014. RPC over HTTP, also known as Outlook Anywhere, is a legacy method of connectivity and transport between Outlook for Windows and Exchange.

This change affects you if you’re running Outlook 2007 because Outlook 2007 won’t work with MAPI over HTTP. To avoid being in an unsupported state, Outlook 2007 customers have to update to a newer version of Outlook or use Outlook on the web. This change may also affect you if you’re running Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, or Outlook 2010 because you must regularly check that the latest cumulative update for the version of Office that you have is installed. Microsoft will not issue any code fixes or updates to resolve problems that are unrelated to security as of next month.  Additionally, for Office versions that support MAPI over HTTP, Microsoft may elect to override existing registry keys that customer are using in order to force RPC over HTTP use.
If you are using Office 365 with with Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2010, you need to be sure that you use Outlook for Windows clients that are updated to work with MAPI over HTTP. Additionally, you may have to make sure that Outlook clients aren’t using a registry key to disable MAPI over HTTP. If you are using Office 365 with Outlook 2007 or an earlier version, you will be in an unsupported state on October 31, 2017.   If you want to continue to access Exchange Online mailboxes through the Office 365 portal, you will need to upgrade to a current version of Outlook, or begin using Outlook on the web. Additionally, make sure that you don’t have any Outlook add-ins or third-party apps that rely on the RPC over HTTP protocol to connect to Office 365 data.
October 31st is approaching soon and your business needs to take steps quickly to ensure you are not affected by this change. The first step you need to take as a business is to uncover what version of Outlook you are running. The next step is to determine which of the above actions you need to take. If you need help with any of the above steps, 2W Tech is here to help. We are a Microsoft Certified Partner and can help ensure your business doesn’t experience any hiccups with your transition.
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