Microsoft 365 June 2026: the Changes Admins Need to Know

The Microsoft 365 June 2026 updates are among the most significant of the year for small business administrators: 5 feature retirements with deadlines to respect, 12 new features including the Copilot Planner agent reaching general availability, and one urgent action required for Kiosk and Frontline mailboxes. If you manage a Microsoft 365 environment in Quebec, here is everything you need to know and do this month.

This information comes from the Microsoft 365 message centre (admin.microsoft.com), updated for the Microsoft 365 June 2026 changes. And if you do not have time to follow these updates every month, that is exactly what our proactive IT management service covers.

June 2026 at a glance: 5 retirements of features or plans | 12 new features | 7 improvements | 6 changes to existing features | 1 urgent action required | 1 feature already available.

1. Microsoft 365 June 2026: the retirements and end of support dates

Microsoft is officially retiring five features or plans this month. Here are the five retirements to handle before the deadlines:

End of standalone SharePoint and OneDrive plans: Microsoft 365 June 2026

Microsoft stops selling standalone SharePoint Online and OneDrive plans to new customers as of June 1, 2026. If your organization still uses those separate plans, the existing licences stay active. Any new subscription, on the other hand, will have to go through the Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise suites. So this is a good moment to review your licensing structure if you have mixed plans.

Sway app for Windows retired (June 1, 2026)

Microsoft is retiring the Sway app for Windows on June 1, 2026. The web version, however, stays available at sway.cloud.microsoft. If some of your employees were using the desktop app, point them to the web version before the retirement date.

Outlook for Windows report in the EAC (June 2026)

Microsoft is retiring the Outlook for Windows report in the Exchange admin centre (EAC). Administrators who relied on that report will now have to work from the other reports in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.

Teams Live Events retired in Microsoft 365 June 2026

Microsoft is officially retiring Teams Live Events on June 30, 2026. See the Teams Live Events migration guide on Microsoft Learn. Organizations still running Live Events have to move to Teams town halls and the Virtual Event APIs before that date. Integrations that call the Graph API with the isBroadcast property also have to be updated.

ACE Assignments/Courses components and Viva Connections web parts (June 30, 2026)

Support for the ACE Assignments and Courses components, along with the SharePoint Dashboard web parts for Viva Connections, ends on June 30. Microsoft automatically removes these redundant elements from Viva Connections environments.

2. Action required: Exchange Web Services for Kiosk and Frontline accounts

Urgent action, Microsoft 365 June 2026: Microsoft will block access to Exchange Web Services (EWS) for Kiosk and Frontline Worker mailboxes. If your integrations use EWS with those accounts, you have to upgrade to an Exchange Plan 1/2 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5 licence. That is the only way to keep the connection alive. Doing nothing could cause service interruptions.

In your Microsoft 365 admin centre, look for mailboxes carrying Kiosk (F1/F3) or Frontline Worker licences. Then identify the ones tied to EWS integrations. This is the kind of item that, when it slips through, causes silent outages that are hard to diagnose.

3. New Microsoft 365 features in June 2026

Twelve new features land in Microsoft 365 this month. Here are the ones that matter most to small businesses:

Copilot Planner agent reaches general availability in Microsoft 365 June 2026

The Copilot Planner agent is now available to every Microsoft 365 Copilot tenant. It handles tasks and plans right from the Copilot interface, without leaving your conversation. For small businesses that run projects in Microsoft Planner, this integration genuinely speeds up creating and tracking tasks. If your organization is not on Copilot yet, read our guide to the benefits of Microsoft Copilot for small businesses.

Teams automatically detects external AI bots in meetings

Teams can now automatically detect external AI assistant bots (third-party AI notetakers, for instance) trying to join a meeting, and hold them in the lobby until the organizer explicitly approves. A meaningful feature for small businesses that care about keeping their meetings private.

SharePoint and OneDrive: new file quarantine (DLP)

A new data loss prevention (DLP) action called "File Quarantine" automatically isolates files that break compliance policies and replaces them with a custom message. Handy for organizations that handle sensitive data covered by regulations (Quebec’s Law 25, GDPR, HIPAA).

SharePoint: new report on "Everyone" permissions

SharePoint Online adds a report that lists every file and folder whose permissions were granted to the "Everyone" or "Everyone except external users" groups. It is a valuable tool for security audits. Plenty of small businesses have files shared far too widely without knowing it.

Teams lets users report suspicious external contacts

Teams users can now report suspicious external contacts (possible phishing or social engineering) directly from the Teams interface. The security team receives those reports and can respond faster to phishing attempts that come through Teams.

Consumption billing for High Volume Email (June 1, 2026)

Consumption billing for High Volume Email (HVE) starts on June 1, 2026, at US$42 per million recipients. If your organization sends large volumes of email through Microsoft 365 (newsletters, automated notifications), review your setup to avoid unexpected charges.

Copilot licence request management page

Microsoft 365 adds a dedicated page for Copilot licence requests in the admin centre, gathering user requests for Copilot access in one place. Already available.

4. Improvements and feature changes in Microsoft 365 June 2026

Zero-hour Auto Purge: the Microsoft 365 June 2026 security update

ZAP (Zero-hour Auto Purge) is the Microsoft Defender technology that retroactively removes malicious email detected after delivery. It now extends its coverage to messages sitting in the Deleted Items folder. An extra safety net for threats that were deleted by hand without ever being neutralized.

Entra: App Instance Lock on by default for new applications

Microsoft Entra now turns App Instance Lock on by default for newly created applications, protecting sensitive service principal properties against unauthorized changes. As a result, no action is required: new applications get that stronger protection automatically.

Outlook improves mail merge

The new Outlook for Windows and the web version improve mail merge with dynamic field insertion for personalized communication at scale. Useful for small businesses that send targeted messages from Outlook.

Changes worth noting

• Teams: profanity filter off by default in captions for users who have not configured it, which improves transcription accuracy.
• SharePoint and OneDrive DLP: administrators can now configure policy tips and email notifications independently of each other.
• Entra Connect: Microsoft is tightening security by blocking hard matching, to prevent account takeover vulnerabilities on users who hold assigned roles.
• Clipchamp licence names updated in Microsoft 365 billing and reports starting in mid-June 2026.
• Teams: private channel migration: Microsoft will automatically delete private channels that are empty, or made up of guests only, and that block the migration, unless an internal owner is assigned manually before June 5, 2026.

5. Frequently asked questions about the June 2026 Microsoft 365 updates

How do I know if my organization is affected by the Exchange Web Services retirement for Kiosk accounts?

Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin centre (admin.microsoft.com) and review your active licences. Identify the users with F1, F3 or Frontline Worker licences, then check whether any application or integration in your organization uses EWS with those accounts. If you are not sure, talk to your IT provider, because mishandling this change can cause silent interruptions that are hard to diagnose.

What should we do if we still use Teams Live Events?

First, migrate to Teams town halls before June 30, 2026. Town halls offer comparable features. Microsoft officially recommends them as the replacement for Live Events. If you have custom integrations built on the isBroadcast API, update them to use the Virtual Event APIs.

Does the new SharePoint file quarantine feature turn itself on automatically?

No. An administrator has to configure file quarantine (File Quarantine DLP) in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. You define the policies that trigger the quarantine. You also choose the message shown to users who try to open an isolated file.

Is the Copilot Planner agent included in my current Microsoft 365 licence?

Users with an active Microsoft 365 Copilot licence can reach the Copilot Planner agent. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium licences do not include it. If your team does not have Copilot licences yet, talk to your Microsoft partner. They can then assess whether the investment is justified for the way you work.

OKTO Solutions watches the Microsoft 365 June 2026 changes for your small business

Keeping up with the monthly Microsoft 365 updates takes time and technical know-how that most small businesses do not have in house. At OKTO Solutions, it is a built-in part of our proactive IT management for small businesses in Quebec. In practice, we watch the changes, assess how they affect your environment and act before the deadlines.

Questions about the June 2026 Microsoft 365 changes? About the EWS retirement, the Live Events migration or your licences in particular? Contact us for a quick review of your environment.

Sources: Microsoft 365 Message Centre: June 2026 (admin.microsoft.com) | Microsoft: Microsoft 365 Roadmap (microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap) | Microsoft: Teams Live Events retirement guide (learn.microsoft.com)