Dear colleagues, 

Microsoft has announced a major update to Microsoft Planner that will begin rolling out in early 2026. This update will introduce new capabilities and retire several existing features and integrations, including some options that connect Planner with other Microsoft 365 apps. 

What is changing 

• • Microsoft will roll out a new Planner experience in the Planner app in Microsoft Teams (desktop and web) and Planner on the web between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026. 

• • New capabilities will include: 

• • • Task chats for basic plans, which let you discuss tasks with rich text and @mentions. 

• • • Custom templates for creating reusable plan layouts. 

• • • Project Manager agent available in all plans for users licensed for Microsoft 365 Copilot.  

• • As part of this update, Microsoft will: 

• • • Replace the existing task comments interface in basic plans with a new task chat experience.  

• • • Older comments will no longer appear directly in the task, but can be opened from a link in the task details that takes you to Outlook.  

• • • On iOS, Android, and Teams mobile, you will still see the existing comments view, but new task chat messages will not show there yet.  

• • • Email notifications for the existing comments experience will continue to go to all plan members when someone adds a comment. 

• • • Retire the Whiteboard tab that automatically attaches a Microsoft Whiteboard to premium plans in Planner. Existing whiteboards will remain available in the standalone Whiteboard app. 

• • • Retire the iCalendar feed integration used to view Planner tasks in external calendars such as Outlook.  

• • • Retire Planner components in Microsoft Loop pages. Existing components will change to show a link to the Planner plan instead of an embedded board. 

• • • Temporarily remove the ability to convert a basic plan to a premium plan. Users will need to create a new premium plan and copy tasks if they need premium capabilities during this period.  

Learn more: The new Microsoft Planner  

If you have any further questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at (https://uoft.me/m365help). 

Kind regards, 

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto 

Dear users,

Microsoft has announced an update to Microsoft 365 on Windows 11 that introduces new companion apps designed to simplify everyday work. 

What is changing 

Starting in late 2025, Microsoft began automatically installing new Microsoft 365 companion apps on Windows 11 devices that have Microsoft 365 desktop applications installed. The companion apps include: 

• • People 

• • Files 

• • Calendar 

These apps are integrated with the Windows taskbar and are designed to help users quickly access contacts, documents, and meetings without switching between multiple applications. 

What to expect 

• • The Microsoft 365 companion apps will be installed automatically. 

• • No user action is required for installation. 

• • The apps will appear in the Start menu and may be pinned to the taskbar, depending on local device settings. 

• • On devices where these apps are already installed, there will be no visible change. 

Users can choose to pin or unpin these apps from their taskbar. 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at (https://uoft.me/m365help). 

Kind regards, 

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto

As part of our annual process, we will be updating all UTmail+ Calendars to include the 2026-2027 official U of T Holiday and Religious Observances dates. This update will occur in mid-January and will take at least three days to complete. Individuals will see the following in their calendars:

• Holidays will be marked as: all-day event, out of office, no reminder and the location set to “U of T Holidays.”
• Observances will be marked as: all-day event, free, no reminder and the location set to “Non-Statutory Religious Observance.”

View the full holiday schedule and the full religious observances schedule.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

Dear colleagues,

As previously communicated on July 8, 2025, Microsoft is retiring Basic authentication for Client Submission using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Authentication (SMTP AUTH) in Exchange Online starting March 1, 2026. Microsoft will require modern authentication using OAuth. This retirement is part of Microsoft’s security improvements across all Microsoft 365 services. 

What is changing 

Basic authentication is a legacy authentication method that sends usernames and passwords in plain text over the network, making it vulnerable to credential theft, phishing and brute-force attacks. To improve the protection of users and institutional data, Microsoft is retiring Basic authentication for Client Submission (SMTP AUTH) and encouraging the use of modern, more secure authentication methods such as OAuth. 

After the retirement, connection attempts using Basic authentication will fail with the following error: 

550 5.7.30 Basic authentication is not supported for Client Submission. 

Who is affected
Any user, device or application that sends email through Exchange Online using Basic authentication with SMTP AUTH.
Microsoft has confirmed that Basic authentication activity was detected in our tenant between October 20 and October 24, 2025. Targeted emails will be sent to mailbox owners identified with Basic Auth activity.  

Action required 

• • If you manage applications, devices, or scripts that send email using SMTP AUTH, confirm whether they use Basic authentication. 

• • If the application supports OAuth, update the configuration to use OAuth. 

• • If the application does not support OAuth, you must transition to an alternative method of sending email, such as: 

• • Using Microsoft 365 High Volume Email for internal-tenant email. 

• • Using an on-premises Exchange relay if you operate in a hybrid configuration. 

• • Using a supported third-party solution if neither option is suitable. 

• • Please review the official Microsoft announcement for detailed recommendations and available resources related to this change.    

Timeline 

• • March 1, 2026 – Microsoft begins gradually rejecting a percentage of Basic authentication SMTP AUTH connections. 

• • April 30, 2026 – Microsoft completes retirement. All Basic authentication SMTP AUTH connections will be rejected. 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at (https://uoft.me/m365help). 

Kind regards, 

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto
 

Microsoft has completed the rollout of several Teams collaboration and meeting enhancements. All features below are now broadly available across Microsoft Teams for the University of Toronto community.

1. Organizer Controls for in-meeting management (Now Available)

Microsoft Teams has introduced Organizer Controls, a consolidated fly-out menu in the meeting toolbar.
This update reorganizes existing meeting management tools to improve usability and security. 

Key capabilities 

• • Centralized access to: 

• • Lock Meeting 

• • Lobby bypass 

• • Participant moderation (mute, screen sharing restrictions) 

• • Replaces the previous “Meeting Options” entry point 

• • No admin configuration required 

2. Collaborative Notes in group chats (Now Available)

Collaborative Notes (powered by Microsoft Loop) are now available in group chats.
Users can co-create meeting notes, agendas, and action items directly in the chat interface without switching contexts. 

Key capabilities 

• • New Notes tab automatically available in group chats 

• • Real-time co-editing of Loop components 

3. Loop Pages in Teams channels (Now Available)

Teams channels now support Loop Pages as tabs, offering a flexible canvas for documentation, planning, and collaboration. 

Key capabilities 

• • Create, edit, and share Loop Pages directly within a Teams channel tab 

• • Mobile viewing supported 

• • Users receive activity notifications when mentioned 

• • Pages inherit channel permissions, but can be shared externally if allowed 

• • Useful for team documentation, project planning, and shared workspaces 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at https://uoft.me/m365help.

Kind regards,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto