Outlook keep resetting ribbon back to default after changes

That ain't a rumor, that's a fact. Microsoft doesn't want to hand out software anymore, they want to produce software that they run on their servers and that they manage and you pay to use it. They want pretty much everything web based under their control. That's the goal. This desktop software/portal.office.com software straddle they're doing right now is just the beginning. At some point, there will be no more straddle and the way you'll operate is out of a web portal to do all of your computing. Welcome to the new world order. :|

I have the same frustrating experience. I customize the ribbon to my liking and maximum productivity. It's disappointing that the reset is a product design, presumably, at least in part, to encourage users to utilize Microsoft products like Meet. As the director of our K-12 school, I'm still a strong advocate for Microsoft products (versus the growing wave of Google and Apple fans) with my go-to argument that Microsoft has always been more customizable to the individual user even if a bit more complex. This built-in reset of customized ribbons back to default doesn't support my argument.

I hope the product development team weighs carefully the cost/benefit of resetting customizations. Pro - maybe more likely that a user will finally click Meet and use it (doubtful). Con - the common preference for Microsoft (over Google and Apple) is their commitment to a customized experience which, in this case of automatic reset to default, is not realized.

I rely on Quick Steps for productivity. With the additional ribbon items, I can't just click on my Quick Steps! This is a MAJOR productivity issue. Outlook365 is ancient, and hasn't had any significant UI improvement in years. It can't even remember my calendar view. Outlook365 doesn't have email reminders or duplicate reminders, but the web version does. It also can't manage a Google calendar very well (no reminders.)

Unfortunately, there are no competing desktop calendar products. So we're stuck with it until you get VERY comfortable with the web version, but that doesn't have as useful reminders and snooze options. As it is, I have to use three apps on my Android phone to get the functionality I need from email and calendars.

For a while I thought that setting the customization file as read-only was the solution. But, no, the invasive and unwanted icons found a way to sneak back onto my ribbon.

That solution won't work for those with multiple mailboxes.

I'm not sure what you are meaning by 'multiple mailboxes under the same Outlook profile'.

It will work for 1 mailbox per profile. Mine has 8 mailboxes in 1 profile. It's a pain to switch profiles as I am constantly using 3 mailboxes at the same time, with occasional lookup in 5 other mailboxes. See screenshot:

Ah, I gotcha. I wasn't following, but I actually do the same thing, multiple mailboxes (3 of them) in my main Outlook profile, available from the left Navigation pane. Anyway, to be honest, I haven't noticed that the ribbon tries to reset because I've had them locked down (read only) for so long.

QuickSteps was the only thing still causing me problems. Once I got rid of that and with my setting *.officeUI files to read only, my ribbons don't change at all.

I think it's absurd that Microsoft gives Outlook (and other office programs) the ability to customize ribbons, but hasn't fixed the issue of them reverting back. I have a feeling it's because the folks who actually customize their ribbons are the minority.