[REQUEST] Free Version of Outlook Keeps Reinstalling

[Appletax]

A local auto body shop had me upgrade their 4 desktop computers, which are nearly identical. I upgraded the hardware and took them from Win 10 to 11. One user is having issues with sending emails directly from his CCC One program. It says something about it can't do it because there's two instances of his email being open. I have not seen the error. I think the issue is that he uses Outlook (Classic) and Outlook (New) is also installed. I tried uninstalling Outlook (New), but it keeps reinstalling itself. I tried nuking it with Revo Uninstaller. I turned off auto updates in Microsoft Store.

To be clear, I'm not talking about the new look for Outlook (Classic). He has no need for the free Outlook (New) when he has the paid version.

What might the solution be to this? Perhaps when the free Outlook is reinstalled it messes with the default email app settings. It seems that both version of Outlook should be able to coexist. I should check the email defaults. Is this a Windows 11 bug? I bet a fresh installation of Win 11 would fix the issue.

One person online said:

Just delete any .JSON files here:

C:\Users\

C:\Users\Corey\AppData\Local\Packages\microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Migration

Another person said:

Instead of deleting the json files in that folder

C:\Users\

I just edited all those files' values from whatever codes there are to "F_ck" (of course the real word, not a masked one). Then I edited those files to be "read-only". Now it has stopped auto installing.

 

[frase]

What do you mean by "Free Outlook"? Is that the Windows Mail Client as this will goto new by default anyway.
I would go against using that and have the user sub to 365 and use that Outlook as the default client and set that to "old Outlook". Delete the icon anywhere it is - taskbar etc to minimise the user clicking on it. No matter what you do, new outlook will always be there like a shadow.

 

[Appletax]

What do you mean by "Free Outlook"? Is that the Windows Mail Client as this will goto new by default anyway.
I would go against using that and have the user sub to 365 and use that Outlook as the default client and set that to "old Outlook". Delete the icon anywhere it is - taskbar etc to minimise the user clicking on it. No matter what you do, new outlook will always be there like a shadow.

I mean the Outlook MS Store app that replaced Mail and Calendar.

Now I am confused. I thought there was a free version of Outlook that replaced Mail and Calendar, and a paid version bundled with Office/MS365. I learned that MS is forcing people to switch from Outlook (Classic) to a new Outlook with a very different look. Perhaps both versions of Outlook that are installed are the paid version - the classic and the new?

Maybe the fix is to toggle on the new Outlook. Outlook currently has new Outlook toggled off. The user does have Microsoft 365. This guy does not like change and gets pretty irritated when things don't work as they should so it will be "fun" getting him to switch to the new Outlook.

The auto body shop owner also uses CCC One - his PC is the server and the estimator accesses the data over the local network. He has Office 2019, so perhaps he doesn't even have this issue at all when he goes to email an estimate from CCC One because he has stuck on the old Outlook? I wonder if people with older paid Office suites will be getting the new Outlook too.

 

[britechguy]

BTW, and I can say this with authority for M365 Personal and Home, the Outlook (classic) and Outlook (new) icons are BOTH supposed to be available because Outlook 365 can be invoked with either UI (or, both, actually) looking at the same accounts. It's not "free" outlook, it's the New Outlook 365 on machines that have M365 Family or Home.

Very recently, and I have no idea why, my two switched to Outlook with no qualifier and Outlook (classic) and the one with no qualifier invokes New Outlook 365. I used to be able to force free Outlook for Windows (using the new UI) to go back to the Mail app, but not only is that not the case anymore, but I don't seem to have access to it at all. I've only got access to the two UIs for Outlook 365, and I know that this is the case because the account I had set up in Mail and later in Outlook for Windows is not the same as the ones I set up in Outlook 365.

 

[britechguy]

Perhaps both versions of Outlook that are installed are the paid version - the classic and the new?

You beat my prior reply by seconds. That's exactly what you're seeing.

And as far as the UI goes, as I still have clients who are using Outlook for Windows (the official name of the free version that replaced Mail, People, and Calendar Apps) it is visually indistinguishable from New Outlook (or was as of a few weeks ago).

Microsoft's intent with Project Monarch, which became both New Outlook (available in 365 and standalone 2024) and Outlook for Windows was to have a single, unified, basic UI for both. It's certain that New Outlook will continue having features currently only available in Outlook Classic rolled into it between now and 2029 when Outlook Classic leaves support.

 

[fincoder]

I think the issue is that he uses Outlook (Classic) and Outlook (New) is also installed. I tried uninstalling Outlook (New), but it keeps reinstalling itself.

I think you're going down a rabbit hole there. Virtually every computer has both of those installed, so it likely isn't the issue.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Outlook New will never be removed for long, the next Office update cycle will put it back.

Your user has control over which version he uses with a switch in the top right corner. Teach him to leave it alone.

Office 2019 has left support, it's dead Jim... update that because he's at risk.

Ok, you have some time... it dies in October, on the 14th, right alongside Windows 10.

 

[callthatgirl]

As you mentioned, both Classic and New can run parallel and don't talk to each other in the computer.

Did you see if there were other versions of Office installed in the control panel and the apps in Windows 11? I have seen this before, multiple versions, it's a mess. I remove all the apps installs and control panel and install fresh.

 

[britechguy]

Office 2019 has left support

No, it has not. But it's mighty close. October 14, 2025.

End of support for Office 2016 and Office 2019

 

[Sky-Knight]

As you mentioned, both Classic and New can run parallel and don't talk to each other in the computer.

Did you see if there were other versions of Office installed in the control panel and the apps in Windows 11? I have seen this before, multiple versions, it's a mess. I remove all the apps installs and control panel and install fresh.

Best process! No better way!

 

[Appletax]

As you mentioned, both Classic and New can run parallel and don't talk to each other in the computer.

Did you see if there were other versions of Office installed in the control panel and the apps in Windows 11? I have seen this before, multiple versions, it's a mess. I remove all the apps installs and control panel and install fresh.

I tried toggling on the new Outlook. I tried setting the new Outlook as the default email app. I tried uninstalling Office - Microsoft-365-en-us click-to-run, and Microsoft 365 Apps for Business. I tried creating a new user profile. I tried System File Checker. I watched the list of processes in Task Manager to make sure that Outlook wasn't running in the background.

This error is so odd because it comes and goes. I gave up on this on-site after a while because it just would not work, but then at the end it did work. CCC One was able to open Outlook and attach the estimate to the email. If they keep having issues then they will contact CCC One tech support and see if they can help. Worst case scenario they will try a new computer with a fresh install of Windows 11 and use the old computer as a backup.

Here's the error:



"Unable to perform selected action while the email application is open. Please close your email application and try again."

They have Microsoft 365 and their email uses Microsoft Exchange.

 

[callthatgirl]

@Appletax

Did you try 32 bit? I have seen this in the past with some oddball programs.

 

[fincoder]

CCC One was able to open Outlook and attach the estimate to the email.

Third party applications sending email via Outlook uses something called MAPI. I doubt the New Outlook supports MAPI, which is a legacy API that's been around for over 25 years. You'd need to make Classic Outlook the default mail client.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@callthatgirl is walking the same path I'd walk, that window is positively screaming ancient application that can only integrate with 32bit Outlook.

Which... is not going to be a great tool to lean on. I'm pretty sure 32bit Office applications are dead in October too.

 

[Appletax]

Third party applications sending email via Outlook uses something called MAPI. I doubt the New Outlook supports MAPI, which is a legacy API that's been around for over 25 years. You'd need to make Classic Outlook the default mail client.

The new Outlook was the default when it was able to open Outlook to send an email. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

@callthatgirl is walking the same path I'd walk, that window is positively screaming ancient application that can only integrate with 32bit Outlook.

Which... is not going to be a great tool to lean on. I'm pretty sure 32bit Office applications are dead in October too.

It worked perfectly before upgrading to Windows 11. I can't imagine it taking him from a 32-bit MS365 to 64-bit just by upgrading Windows.

Gonna have to see what CCC One tech support has to say.

 

[britechguy]

Gonna have to see what CCC One tech support has to say.

It really is "their problem."

And I'd say that the writing is on the wall, too, no matter what happens here if they are doing what it seems they're doing. Updates are long overdue. I don't understand this kind of foot dragging until something irretrievably breaks, and I see it all the time in the world of accessibility.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@Appletax, Office is... strange in this regard.

It has its own update configuration, and update channels, and technically its own upgrade process.

But, that process is manipulated by and absorbed into the Windows update process.

So technically speaking, any given Windows Update can break Office, and associated integrations because it will force a general upgrade to Office itself. This is important because Office on its own has an annoying habit of getting stuck, and not updating itself. So a huge upgrade like a feature release clears that block, Office updates for the first time in 3 years, and BOOOM, busted integration.

You can configure the behavior of M365 updated apps via the Org Settings section of the M365 admin panel: https://admin.microsoft.com

I HIGHLY recommend the Enterprise Monthly channel, in cases like this you may have to lean on the Semi Annual channel.

The problem with Semi-Annual, is once you flip over, you're STUCK. So the issues are constrained to twice a year, but they're also a hard wall. Monthly means the issues can crop up once a month, but you can still roll back usually, buying you time to work with the vendor with the busted integration.

 

[Appletax]

@Appletax, Office is... strange in this regard.

It has its own update configuration, and update channels, and technically its own upgrade process.

But, that process is manipulated by and absorbed into the Windows update process.

So technically speaking, any given Windows Update can break Office, and associated integrations because it will force a general upgrade to Office itself. This is important because Office on its own has an annoying habit of getting stuck, and not updating itself. So a huge upgrade like a feature release clears that block, Office updates for the first time in 3 years, and BOOOM, busted integration.

Windows and Office both had updates turned off. I turned them on. So who knows how old Office was before updating it. A large IT company in another city manages their computers, so they may have turned it off themselves.

The owner's PC is the CCC One server. He sends emails with it with no problem. I did the same upgrades to his PC. I can't recall if he's on Office 2019 or MS365.

 

[britechguy]

Just as an FYI here for anyone who may be supporting a M365 Personal or Family user, I can state with absolute assurance that auto-update for M365 does NOT occur in anything like a timely manner, and I have it turned on.

I support a lot of folks with this, and for both them and myself, I can hit the keystroke sequence to force update the Office suite programs in M365 practically weekly and it will find an update that has not auto applied. BTW, that sequence is ALT, F, D, R, U.

Any time I have not done this for "a while" I can almost guarantee it's going to find an update. The auto-update mechanism for Windows Update handles things in a much, much more timely manner than M365 does or the standalone versions of Office do. Even the autoupdate mechanism in Edge is faster and more reliable than M365.

It mystifies me why such a "leisurely and lackadaisical" approach to auto-update exists in M365, but it does for the versions I routinely deal with.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Windows and Office both had updates turned off. I turned them on. So who knows how old Office was before updating it. A large IT company in another city manages their computers, so they may have turned it off themselves.

The owner's PC is the CCC One server. He sends emails with it with no problem. I did the same upgrades to his PC. I can't recall if he's on Office 2019 or MS365.

If it's Office 2019 perpetual, and it's not hooked to an M365 tenant, it should be locked into the semi-annual update channel by default. You'll only get security updates monthly, and feature updates twice a year. That's more stable in this regard, but again that also dies in October since both Office 2016 and 2019 lose support on October 14th.

If you triggered an update cycle, all you did was pull him to the current stable release. Which annoyingly enough landed on the 8th! Version 2408 went live on that semi-annual track 4-4-2025.

Patch notes are here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/semi-annual-enterprise-channel

I'm going to pretend I didn't notice that a corporate IT department anywhere is intentionally disabling updates. Them are fighin' words!