Microsoft is retiring Exchange Web Services (EWS): what it means for your SysCloud backup

Applies to: SysCloud Backup for Microsoft 365 (Outlook / Exchange Online) Last updated: 12/08/2026

Summary

Your backups keep running. Mailbox, group mailbox, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams backup already use Microsoft Graph and are not affected.
Three things use EWS today: email restore, In-Place Archive backup, and Public Folder backup.
We recommend one action: Enable EWS on your tenant.

Timeline

Date	What happens
End of August 2026	Recommended deadline to allow EWS API
October 1, 2026	Microsoft starts disabling EWS tenant by tenant
October 1, 2026	EWS blocked for Kiosk, F1, and F3 licensed mailboxes, this cannot be extended
April 1, 2027	EWS permanently disabled, no exceptions

What's affected

Microsoft is retiring Exchange Web Services (EWS), a legacy API that SysCloud uses for part of its Exchange Online protection. Microsoft begins disabling it on October 1, 2026 and shuts it down permanently on April 1, 2027.

This applies to Exchange Online only. On-premises Exchange is not affected.

SysCloud function	Status
Mailbox and group mailbox backup	Not affected, already on Microsoft Graph
OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, other apps	Not affected
Email restore	Uses EWS. Moving to Microsoft Graph, in testing now.
In-Place Archive backup	Uses EWS. Microsoft has not released a Graph replacement.
Public Folder backup	Uses EWS. Microsoft does not plan to release a Graph replacement.

Recommended action

Enable EWS on your tenant

Complete this before the end of August 2026. This keeps email restore, In-Place Archive backup, and Public Folder backup working until April 2027.

Open PowerShell and install the Exchange Online module:
"Install-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement -Scope CurrentUser"
Connect to Exchange Online using the Microsoft 365 admin account:
"Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName <username>"

Complete the Microsoft login and authentication when prompted.
Once we enter the password, following is the expected output.
Check the current EWS configuration:

"Get-OrganizationConfig | Format-List EwsEnabled,EwsAllowedAppIDs,EwsApplicationAccessPolicy,EwsAllowList,EwsBlockList" and press enter.
1. If EwsEnabled is empty - EWS has been enabled. Move to step 6 to verify the same.
2. If EwsEnabled is False - EWS is yet to be enabled. Proceed to step 5.
If EwsEnabled is False, enable EWS:
"Set-OrganizationConfig -EwsEnabled $true"
Verify the change by running:

Get-OrganizationConfig | Format-List EwsEnabled,EwsAllowedAppIDs,EwsApplicationAccessPolicy,EwsAllowList,EwsBlockList

Confirm that EwsEnabled now shows True.

Note: Microsoft will populate your tenant's EWS allow list on September 2026, based on the applications using EWS.

If you use Kiosk, F1, or F3 licenses

Microsoft blocks EWS for these licenses from October 1, 2026, and the allow list will not override it.

No action is needed from you, backup for these mailboxes already uses Microsoft Graph, and we are releasing a Graph-based restore path for them before October 1.

If you do nothing

Data already backed up stays fully retained, searchable, and exportable in all cases.
From the point EWS is disabled in your tenant, email restore will fail, and In-Place Archive and Public Folder backup will pause Other Backup service will continue to work.
You can enable EWS at any time up to April 1, 2027, including after a failure and normal operation resumes.

What SysCloud is doing

Email restore is moving to Microsoft Graph and will be released before October 1, 2026. A Global Administrator will need to reauthorize the SysCloud app when it ships, we will email you with instructions.
In-Place Archive backup will resume as soon as Microsoft provides a Graph API. We are tracking their roadmap.
Public Folders: Microsoft's guidance is to migrate public folder content to Microsoft 365 Groups, which SysCloud already backs up through Graph.

Need help?

Contact our support team.

Microsoft references