How to Switch Back to Classic Outlook from New Outlook

If Outlook opened with a new look this morning and your folders, add-ins or PST files are not where they used to be, Microsoft has moved you to the new Outlook for Windows. You can still switch back to classic Outlook in less than a minute. In this guide, I’ll show how to go back, how to stop Outlook from switching you again, and what IT can set so it sticks for everyone.

Quick Answer: In new Outlook, click the New Outlook toggle at the top right and choose Switch back to classic Outlook. Classic Outlook opens and becomes your default again. If there is no toggle, open Outlook (classic) from the Start menu. To stop the automatic switch, clear Automatically switch me to new Outlook in classic Outlook’s options.

How Long You Can Still Switch Back to Classic Outlook

Microsoft moves people to new Outlook in three stages. First opt-in, where you choose. Then opt-out: new Outlook is the default, but you can still go back. Last is cutover, and the way back is gone.

Where you are depends on your account:

• Home users with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family and only personal accounts (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Gmail) have been switched automatically since October 2024.
• Business plans (Business Standard and Business Premium) started getting the automatic switch from January 2025.
• Enterprise plans get the opt-out stage in March 2027. Microsoft moved it from April 2026 and gave admins 1 March 2027 to act (message center post MC949965).
• No cutover date has been announced. Microsoft promises at least 12 months notice before it.

Classic Outlook itself stays supported until at least 2029, for both Microsoft 365 and perpetual versions like Outlook 2021 and 2024. Microsoft keeps the full timeline on its new Outlook availability page.

So for now, going back is fully supported. Nobody is forcing you to stay on new Outlook yet.

Switch Back from New Outlook with the Toggle

This works on Windows 10 and 11 when classic Outlook is also installed (it usually is on a work PC with Microsoft 365 Apps).

1. Open new Outlook. Look at the top right corner, next to your profile picture, for the New Outlook toggle.
2. Click the toggle. You get two choices: Switch back to classic Outlook and Use classic Outlook this time.
3. Pick Switch back to classic Outlook to stay on classic. Outlook asks for feedback first (fill it in or skip it), then classic opens and stays the default.

Use classic Outlook this time only opens classic once. Next time, new Outlook opens again.

If the toggle is not visible, try the ribbon instead: go to the Help tab and click Go to classic Outlook. Microsoft’s own steps are in Toggle out of the new Outlook for Windows.

Switching does not uninstall anything. Both apps stay on the PC, and your mail stays in the mailbox, so nothing is lost either way.

Stop Outlook Switching You Back to New Outlook

Going back once is not always enough. On some accounts classic Outlook keeps offering the move, or switches you again after a while. Turn it off from classic Outlook:

1. In classic Outlook, go to File > Options > General.
2. Under New Outlook options, clear Automatically switch me to new Outlook.
3. Click OK.

If this option is greyed out or missing, your IT team controls it through policy. More on that below.

Toggle Missing or Classic Outlook Not Installed

The most common complaint in Microsoft’s forums is “there is no toggle, how do I go back?” The usual reasons:

• Classic Outlook is not installed. Many new PCs since 2024 ship with only new Outlook. The toggle has nothing to switch to.
• Perpetual Office (Outlook 2019, 2021, LTSC) or accounts on POP or on-premises Exchange Server. These are not part of the switch, so the toggle may not show at all.
• IT has hidden the toggle with a policy.

First, click Start and type Outlook (classic). If it is there, open it directly and pin it to the taskbar. The classic app has no “New” label on its icon.

If it is not there, install it. Microsoft has a download and steps in You can’t open classic Outlook on a new Windows PC. Not sure which Outlook or Office version you have? Check it first with this version guide.

If classic is installed but Outlook keeps opening the new one, set this registry value and then open classic Outlook:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences" /v UseNewOutlook /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

This is per user and needs no admin rights. 0 means classic, 1 means new.

Remove the New Outlook App

If you never want to see new Outlook again on your own PC, you can remove the app:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Find Outlook (new) and click the three dots next to it.
3. Click Uninstall.

Forum users report new Outlook coming back after Windows feature updates when it was removed this way. Microsoft only promises it stays away when an admin removes the provisioned package for the whole machine:

Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -AllUsers -Online -PackageName (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.OutlookForWindows).PackageFullName

Run it in PowerShell as administrator. On Windows 11 new Outlook is preinstalled and there is no setting to block that, so removal after setup is the only option. Details are in Microsoft’s control-install guide.

What IT Can Set (the Admin Side)

If you look after more than a few users, set this centrally before the March 2027 opt-out date reaches your tenant. In our company we block the move with Group Policy instead of leaving it to each user. So far we have not seen new Outlook come back on anyone.

The settings that matter, with the registry values the policies write:

• Block the automatic migration. Policy “Manage user setting for new Outlook automatic migration”. Registry HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\preferences, DWORD NewOutlookMigrationUserSetting = 0. This is the one to set before March 2027.
• Hide the “Try the new Outlook” toggle in classic Outlook. Registry HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\options\general, DWORD HideNewOutlookToggle = 1 (0 shows it again). Useful when users keep trying new Outlook and then call the helpdesk because an add-in is missing.
• Block mailboxes from new Outlook completely (Exchange Online). Set-CASMailbox -Identity user@domain.com -OneWinNativeOutlookEnabled $false for one user, or Set-OwaMailboxPolicy with the same parameter for a policy. This stops the mailbox working in new Outlook but does not hide the toggle.

Existing block policies stay in force when the opt-out stage starts, according to MC949965. The full list is on Microsoft’s page about enabling or disabling access to new Outlook.

The usual reason to hold users on classic is not the look. It is COM and VSTO add-ins, VBA macros and heavy PST use, which new Outlook still does not fully support. PST support in new Outlook needs classic Outlook installed with the same bitness. If your users depend on local archives, read where the Outlook PST file is stored before you plan anything.

Make Classic Outlook Look the Way You Want

Some people searching for “classic view” are already on classic Outlook and just want the older layout back. These settings get you most of the way.

Change the message list view. Go to View > Change View and pick Compact (the default), Single (one line per email, closest to old Outlook) or Preview.

Move the reading pane. Go to View > Reading Pane and choose Bottom or Off. Older Outlook versions showed it at the bottom by default.

Get the full ribbon back. If you see a single short row of buttons, you are on the Simplified ribbon. Click the small arrow at the lower right corner of the ribbon to switch to the classic ribbon. This is not under Customize Ribbon, which many old guides say.

Put mail, calendar and contacts back at the bottom. Recent builds moved them to a bar on the left. Go to File > Options > Advanced, under Outlook panes clear Show Apps in Outlook, and restart Outlook. Microsoft says the left position will become permanent later, so this option will not last forever.

Change the theme. File > Options > General > Office Theme.

Immersive Reader turning on by itself is another layout change people often mistake for a new view. That one has its own fix: why Immersive Reader keeps turning on in Outlook.

Stuck on New Outlook? Try the Classic Outlook Theme

If you cannot go back (classic is blocked, or you are on a PC without it), Microsoft started rolling out a Classic Outlook theme inside new Outlook in August 2026 (MC1458476). It makes new Outlook look closer to classic.

In new Outlook, go to Settings > General > Appearance and pick the Classic Outlook theme. It changes the look only. Add-ins and features stay the same.

Is There a Classic View in Outlook on the Web or Outlook.com?

No. Outlook on the web and Outlook.com have one interface for everyone, and there is no switch back. You can change density, the reading pane position and the theme from Settings, but the old layout is gone. New Outlook for Windows is built on the same web code, which is why the two look almost the same. The Outlook PWA is also the web version in an app window.

Will Classic Outlook Stop Working?

Not soon. Microsoft supports existing classic Outlook installs until at least 2029 and has promised 12 months notice before the cutover stage. Until that notice comes, the toggle and the policies above keep working.

Before March 2027, check two things: that classic Outlook is installed on every PC that needs it, and that the migration policy is set. Then the opt-out date passes without any helpdesk calls.