Apple is working on a fix for Exchange access in its Mac apps as Microsoft retires the connection they rely on.
The disruption concerns work or school accounts hosted through Microsoft’s Exchange Online service. This can disrupt Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Reminders, while Apple prepares an update and administrators retain temporary options.
A reader from Old Dominion University forwarded an IT notice reporting problems accessing university email through Apple’s built-in Mail app. The notice recommends Mac users switch to Outlook and says iPhone and iPad apps are unaffected.
The problem involves Exchange Online, Microsoft’s cloud service for workplace and school email, calendars, and other account information. Apple’s Mac apps access that information through Exchange Web Services (EWS), an older connection method Microsoft began disabling in October 2026.
Any organization using this connection can face similar problems, depending on their settings. Microsoft says administrators can temporarily keep approved apps connected before Microsoft fully shuts down EWS in April 2027.
The change affects the connection used by Apple’s Mac apps. iPhones and iPads use Exchange ActiveSync, a different connection method unaffected by the EWS shutdown.
Apple says a future macOS 27 update will move all five affected Mac apps to Microsoft’s replacement connection method. Apple has not announced when that update will arrive.