If you currently use Windows Live Mail you may want to read the following. I don’t plan on using it and will try to wean my clients away from the program.
The Microsoft Essentials pack, consisting of Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Live Writer (which is now available as an open source project) and Live Mail, has been in a state of limbo for quite a while now. The latest major update for the pack dates back to 2012 and still uses the Live branding that Microsoft abandoned in the same year.
All of these apps are still available for download, but one of these apps, Live Mail, will soon stop working without the installation of a new required update.
Because of underlying updates on the Microsoft mail platforms (Outlook/Hotmail), Live Mail will lose the ability to receive emails. However, since the application still has quite a few users, Microsoft has provided an update that will prolong the life of the mail application and allow it to receive mails once again.
Microsoft does recommend that any users of the Live Mail application switch over to the new Mail application that has been built-in to Windows 8 and Windows 10. These applications are still actively being developed, so it might be a smart choice to move over, since the support for Live Mail will probably end soon.
This free update is now available here and is dubbed “Update for Windows Live Essentials Mail 2012” (KB 3093594).
Here’s an email that Microsoft is sending out.
In a few weeks, we will be making some changes to our email services that might impact your @outlook.com, @hotmail, @live or @msn email account. These changes will prevent your email from being delivered to the Windows Live Mail 2012 application that you use.
In order to continue using Windows Live Mail 2012 to send and receive email for your account, you need to install the latest update published here.
If you use Windows Live Mail 2012 on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, we recommend that you switch to the built-in Mail app in Windows to stay connected and get the latest feature updates on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Windows Live Essentials 2009 and 2011 are not supported any more, and you will need to update to Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10 and use the Mail app, or use www.outlook.com. To learn more about the Mail app, please click here.
We also recommend all Windows Live Mail users on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10 and use the built-in Mail application to stay connected and get the latest feature updates.
We suggest saving this email so you can refer to it later.
Thank you for your understanding and continued use.