Switch from 'new' Outlook (2023) to 'classic' outlook

Anonymous
2023-04-18T20:26:13+00:00

I need to go back to the Classic version because the 'new' Outlook lacks some features that I need for work.

This webpage https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/getting-started-with-the-new-outlook-for-windows-656bb8d9-5a60-49b2-a98b-ba7822bc7627 states "You can switch back whenever you want, just switch the toggle off in the new Outlook and it will automatically open the classic version."

There is no toggle. Is there any other way I can undo this update and go back to the previous version?

EDIT: Moved FROM Microsoft 365 Insider / Outlook / Windows TO Outlook / Outlook for Windows / For business.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home

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Anonymous
2023-04-19T15:15:49+00:00

Once flipped on, the toggle is irrelevant since the "old" version still exists. Just run it. You should still be able to find its shortcut in Start (and wherever else you might have had it before), but if not you will see outlook.exe in one of these places (may vary slightly depending on edition), so if necessary make a new shortcut:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

or here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

The nice thing about the New Outlook is that it's not an either/or proposition (like New Teams is). You have both old and new. You can even run them concurrently.

But if running that actually runs New Outlook for you (some have reported that's the case), then either:

  1. Uninstall Outlook

or

  1. run Regedit.exe and go here (or the same with 15.0, if you don't have 16.0):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences

And in that you will see UseNewOutlook

Set it to 0, which means that running old Outlook actually runs it.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-10T19:11:00+00:00

    Slide toggle to off to return to old Outlook:

    I need to customize the new Outlook as I had other items in the top toolbar.

    Or go to Start, All Apps, locate Outlook-Pre, right click and choose uninstall.

    I prefer the old Outlook but will take some time to customize and get used to placement of the commands on the new version.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-05-10T18:48:24+00:00

    Yes I see it in my apps. I still prefer old Outlook. Minimal issues like the new Outlook shows a folder icon beside the folder name which I don't really like. (this was how email showed if I chose the Folder option in the side bar of the old Outlook.) Plus, the new sidebar is missing Notes and Shortcuts. The top menu bar stays white, old Outlook was grey. I have the toggle in the top right of Outlook if I want to open it so I don't need to go into apps for the new Outlook or create a shortcut to the desktop. I guess like everything else, it will take time to get used to the changes.

    OLD OUTLOOK: Email tab on side bar - Folders have no icon beside folder name. Folders can be re-ordered

    Image

    OLD OUTLOOK: Folder tab on sidebar - shows all email and icon beside folder name

    Image

    NEW OUTLOOK: Email tab on sidebar - shows icon beside folder name, Folder tab from previous version removed. Email folders cannot be reordered. OneNote cannot be pinned. Sidebar is missing Notes, Shortcuts

    Image

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-05-10T17:52:40+00:00

    Its frustrating to see so many people keep saying "oh its so easy to switch back just click a button" which is completely untrue for some depending on god knows what factors.

    I made the mistake of trying the new look version, which i was originally able to turn off, but after a week or two it suddenly became the default option, to the point old outlook would open and instantly close to boot the new one (even trying some of the previous methods of finding the old launch etc).

    Im not necessarily recommending this but for me I removed the "Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime" in the Apps & features within settings, Outlook does need this to open so you intially will get an error but will be prompted to download it again, I didnt actually agree to the download and it just appeared again about 10minutes later and Outlook was back to the old look with the "Try new outlook" prompt back in the corner as if it hadnt ever been activated.

    No idea if its replicatable, but just my steps since everyone seems to be having different experiences.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-05-10T17:31:30+00:00

    If you go to your start menu, you should see two versions of Outlook. I have two. One is the old version and the other one is the new one. Hopefully this helps you get back to the old one. There are alot of missing features in the new version that is needed for my job.

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