Posted inMicrosoft Purview

MC1469565: Microsoft Purview Adds Microsoft Graph API Support for Archive Mailboxes as EWS Retirement Nears

5 minutesPosted inMicrosoft Purview
MWPRO IMPACT SCORE
OPERATIONAL IMPACT
69
0 25 50 75 100
HIGH IMPACT • REVIEW RECOMMENDED
Recommended Action:
Review the update and plan any required actions before rollout.
▶ What is MWPro Impact Score? Watch our 60‑second explainer

Primary Audience

Tenant AdminsMicrosoft 365 AdminsExchange AdminsSecurity TeamsCompliance TeamsDevelopersIT ManagersService Owners
Why this score?
AI Confidence
HIGH
Enough detail is available to trust this assessment.
Assessment Reasoning
EWS-based archive mailbox access will stop functioning once EWS is disabled starting October 2026, making migration to Microsoft Graph APIs mandatory. This affects compliance, eDiscovery, retention, and backup workflows, requiring significant developer and admin work plus vendor coordination. Urgency is high due to the imminent EWS retirement timeline and the need for planning and code changes well in advance. End users are unlikely to notice direct changes, but back-end failures could indirectly affect compliance-related tasks.
88
🛡️ Admin Impact
CRITICAL
24
👥 User Impact
LOW
72
⚡ Urgency
HIGH
78
🔧 Effort
CRITICAL
ℹ️ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
📌

AT A GLANCE

Graph API now supports archive mailboxes as EWS retires. Update apps and scripts to avoid archive access failures when EWS is disabled.
👥

END USERS

No major end-user change expected.
🛡️

IT ADMINS

Identify EWS-dependent solutions and migrate archive mailbox operations to Microsoft Graph before October 2026.
📅

ROLLOUT TIMELINE

Upcoming:
Late October 2026

📢 Official Microsoft Message Center Announcement

Microsoft Purview | Data Lifecycle Management – Graph API Support for archive mailboxes
Message ID: MC1469565

[What and why]

As part of the retirement of Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online, Microsoft is expanding support for archive mailbox scenarios through Microsoft Graph APIs.

Organizations that currently use EWS to access archive mailbox data should begin migrating to Microsoft Graph APIs before EWS is disabled. Microsoft Graph now provides API support for importing and exporting mailbox data and for managing archive mailbox folders, including support for auto-expanding archives.

This change helps ensure continued access to archive mailbox data after EWS is retired and provides a supported path forward for compliance, data lifecycle management, eDiscovery, backup, and related archive mailbox solutions.

[Rollout schedule]

  • General Availability (Worldwide): Beginning in late October 2026 and expected to complete by early November 2026
  • Important: Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online will begin to be disabled globally in October 2026 and is expected to be fully disabled by April 2027

[Impact on your organization]

Who is affected

Organizations that use applications, scripts, or third-party solutions that rely on EWS to access archive mailbox content.

Examples include:

  • eDiscovery solutions
  • Compliance and records management workflows
  • Data lifecycle management solutions
  • Backup and export tools
  • Custom applications that access archive mailboxes

Platforms and services

  • Microsoft Purview
  • Exchange Online
  • Microsoft Graph

What will happen

  • Applications and scripts that continue to use EWS for archive mailbox operations will stop functioning after EWS is disabled.
  • Organizations using auto-expanding archive mailboxes must update applications to support Microsoft Graph archive mailbox behaviors.
  • Microsoft Graph APIs support archive mailbox scenarios through:
    • Mailbox import and export APIs
    • MailboxFolder APIs for folder management operations
  • Applications may need to handle redirect responses when archive content resides in auxiliary archive mailboxes.

[Action required and recommendations]

Action required: Yes

Before October 2026, we recommend that administrators and developers:

Learn more

[Compliance considerations]

QuestionAnswer
Does this change modify, interrupt, or disable Purview-related capabilities, including retention, eDiscovery, export, or data lifecycle management workflows?Yes. Organizations using EWS-based integrations for eDiscovery, compliance exports, retention-related processes, or data lifecycle management that access archive mailboxes must migrate to Microsoft Graph APIs before EWS is disabled.
Does this change alter how users or applications access, export, or manage Microsoft 365 data?Yes. Applications that access or export archive mailbox data through EWS must be updated to use Microsoft Graph APIs to maintain functionality after EWS retirement.
Does this change add or affect third-party integrations?Yes. Third-party applications and services that use EWS to access archive mailbox content may require vendor-provided updates or migration to Microsoft Graph APIs.
Does this change affect how organizations demonstrate or maintain compliance processes?Yes. Organizations that rely on EWS-based compliance, auditing, export, or records management workflows for archive mailbox data should review and update their integrations to ensure continuity of compliance operations.

Source: Microsoft Message Center • Analysed by MWPro

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