A few days ago we received a notification from one of our email hosts about an issue that affects a handful of users on one of our Hosted Exchange email platforms. If you are affected then we will send you an email notification before close of business today.
Microsoft announced they are disabling a less secure versions of TLS on the Exchange email platform. TLS v1.0 and TLS v1.1 are being disabled in favour of TLS v1.2 on some email servers.
Reading between the lines it looks like Outlook will stop collecting email on any devices that are still running Windows 7. Some other devices will also be affected.
THIS CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE FROM JANUARY 12th 2021
If you are still running Windows 7 there may be a registry fix we can apply, though ideally you will have switched to Windows 10 or Linux instead. If you run an Apple device then hopefully an update should fix this, otherwise you may need a later operating system that supports TLS 1.2
What is TLS?
TLS is a protocol that enables users and devices to connect to Hosted Exchange or Office 365 email servers securely. Following this change, users must use version 1.2 or above to connect.
Will all devices be able to be upgraded?
No, some devices will not be able to be upgraded and will no longer be compatible with Hosted Exchange or Office365/Microsoft 365.
What are the most common operating systems that are unlikely to be able to be upgraded to TLS 1.2?
- Windows Vista and below
- Google Chrome 21 and below
- Android 4.3 and earlier versions
- iPhone OS 4 and below
- Mozilla Firefox 22 and below
- Internet Explorer 8-10 on Windows 7 and earlier versions
- Internet Explorer 10 on Windows Phone 8
- Safari 6.0.4/OS X10.8.4 and earlier versions
If you have any questions about this please don’t hesitate to contact us.