This article provides steps that may allow users running the Outlook 2013 client on Windows 7 to connect to Microsoft 365. This is officially an unsupported configuration as Windows 7 reached End-of-Life status in January, 2020. While our support team has tested this configuration and were able to successfully connect to Microsoft 365 mailboxes, we cannot guarantee that this configuration will work for all users. We also cannot predict when Microsoft may make changes to their platform and render this configuration completely invalid.
Windows and Office Updates
First, all Important Updates for both Windows and Office must be installed on the computer. The following required updates may need to be downloaded and installed manually from the Microsoft Download Center:
KB4490628 - Servicing Stack Update to correct issues with Windows Update
KB3140245 - Required to enable TLS 1.1/1.2 support
Enable TLS 1.2 Support in Windows 7
Microsoft 365 now only support TLS 1.2 and higher encryption. Windows 7 is able to support TLS 1.2 when fully updated, however TLS 1.2 is not enabled by default even when the proper updates are applied. A series of Registry changes are needed to enable that support. We have packaged the needed registry changes into .reg files that can be downloaded from this article.
Windows7-TLS-x86.reg - Registry changes for x86-based systems
Windows7-TLS-x64.reg - Registry changes for x64-based systems
To install the registry changes on your computer, you will need to download the appropriate file for your system and then double-click the file to run it.
To determine whether your system is x84 or x64 based, use the following steps:
- Click on your Windows Start Menu button.
- Right click on Computer in the right-hand portion of the menu.
- Click on Properties
- In the System section of the Information page, note the System type:
- If the System type is 32-bit Operating System, use the file for x86-based systems
- If the System type is 64-bit Operating System, use the file for x64-based systems
Enable Modern Authentication for Outlook 2013
By default, Outlook 2013 will use Basic Authentication to connect to Exchange. Microsoft has deprecated Basic Authentication and has been gradually disabling it for Microsoft 365 accounts with a goal of fully disabling Basic Authentication by October 2022. Outlook 2013 requires changes to the Registry to support Modern Authentication. We have packaged the needed registry changes into a .reg file that can be downloaded from this article.
Outlook2013-ModernAuth.reg
To install the registry changes on your computer, you will need to download the file for your system and then double-click the file to run it.