If you are a larger organization, you are probably still running Classic Outlook or just Outlook as we like to call it. Now you need to evaluate New Outlook vs Classic Outlook because Microsoft is mandating that you do….

It is better to go eyes wide open into this. Changing the toggle to evaluate New Outlook is one thing but if you don’t know the changes (translation: features they have changed or taken away) you are in for a big surprise. When it comes default on all M365 installations. At least they left the toggle visible and business customers have support until 2029.

I have compared both versions and here are 4 features I have found that might leave you scrambling after the switch if you are not careful….

New Outlook vs Classic Outlook – Public Folders

I will start with what night be the most detrimental change for some organizations. No, public folders are not dead but they are on life support. In true Microsoft fashion, instead of just saying “This feature will be retired by X Date” they transition functionality from Good to Bad to Worse to Non-existent and that’s precisely what they are doing now.

I would say it is the worse stage now. The only way I could get access to Public folders in New Outlook was to not use it. I had to go to Outlook on the web and then jump through hurdles to configure viewing it. Try getting a normal user to do this. They will tell you to “go pound salt”.

Signatures

I have already posted about this one. This change is also using Microsoft’s “slight of hand”. To get users to transition in newer versions of Classic outlook, they added a dropdown box allowing you to still store signatures locally in the app but also choose to put a signature in the cloud (available to all devices that login to Outlook). I suggested manually copying and pasting you signature from local to cloud. Once you switch to New Outlook the ability to do this will be gone.

PST Files

To discourage users from continuing to use PST files they make it difficult to mount them. What happens is after the switch your PST file get disconnected and you will have to re-mount them. Maybe Microsoft was hoping you would forget about them LOL. You will have to jump through some hoops to get them mounted after you switch.

Shared Tasks

It can be done but is now done through “To-Do”. The behavior is different than the old, shared tasks. I am not sure if old shared tasks are transferred without issue during the switch. My testing so far shows that shared tasks will need to be recreated. This will be a problem for uses who live and die with this feature.

Verdict of New Outlook vs Classic Outlook

It will be like any switch to any newer version of software when comparing New Outlook vs Classic Outlook. There will be a core group of users who will bemoan the change. To them, it is a major disruption of their work flow. But to most it will primarily go unnoticed. They will just notice the shiny new look of the screens and buttons. Ignorance might be bliss for most users but not for IT support!

You have used this command many times before but Set-MgUserLicense Not Working? Why? There could be many reasons why but I am here to tell you of one particular reason in my travels with PowerShell.

Why Use Set-MgUserLicense Not Working

Set-MgUserLicense is very helpful when assigning or un-assigning licenses to several users. The portal does not make it very easy to do this. Sure, if you have a handful of licenses to deal with it is not a problem. But what if you have to work with hundreds or thousands of users at once? PowerShell is the way to go but what if it is not working?

Don’t Use Connect-MsolService to do this

It is now depreciated and you will either get an error message saying so or even worse, it will look like it ran but nothing has happened. If you are trying to re-assign a bunch of licenses from a new provider and you thought it worked but then on Monday your helpdesk lights up like a Christmas Tree, you know it didn’t work and you have a huge problem on your hands.

One big Tip to Prevent Set-MgUserLicense Not Working

Check the version of the Microsoft.Graph Module you are running:

Get-InstalledModule

Version              Name                                Repository           Description                                                                                                                                                                        
-------              ----                                ----------           -----------                                                                                                                                                                              
 Authentication Module.                                                                                                                                  
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.BackupRestore       PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.Bookings            PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.Calendar            PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.ChangeNotifications PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.CloudCommunications PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.Compliance          PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.CrossDeviceExper... PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell Cmdlets                                                                                                                                                 
2.24.0               Microsoft.Graph.DeviceManagement    PSGallery            Microsoft Graph PowerShell 

This is just a snapshot of the many Graph modules but as you can see here, I have version 2.24.0 of the Microsoft.Graph Module installed. The problem occurred when I was at a higher version (name 2.26.0). Downgrading did the trick.

Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -AllVersions

Install-Module Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force -RequiredVersion 2.24.0

Do this and you will solve Set-MgUserLicense Not Working

Teams Meeting Make Sure You’re Signed in (two ways to Fix) 

You see the dreaded “To schedule a Teams meeting, make sure you’re signed in to Teams”, But you are you say!! If you are still using classic teams this is an issue. It shouldn’t be after July 2025 so you better upgrade. 

There are a myriad of ways to fix it but ultimately it is an issue with the add-in needing to be re-loaded. If you must resort to the link above, there is a lot more going on with not just Teams but Outlook too. 

The Good news is the new Outlook does not need the Teams Add-in so eventually it won’t be problem. There are two ways we can tackle this. One if you are a regular user or an admin with only a few users or two or an admin who has a lot of users! 

Fix Teams Meeting Make Sure You’re Signed in for Only a Few Users 

It is very simple, you need to: 

1. Close Outlook. 

2. Sign out of Teams 

3. Sign back into Teams. 

4. Open Outlook 

If that doesn’t work, then: 

1. Close Outlook 

2. To resolve the add-in issue, you can uninstall the Teams add-in completely. Then reinstall it. Go to Add or remove programs in System settings. 

3. Uninstall Microsoft Teams Add-in for Outlook.  

4. When you start Outlook, it will reinstall the Add-in 

Admin Fix Teams Meeting Make Sure You’re Signed in for A lot of Users 

I hope you like batch files! If you have never used them before, here is a good tutorial. They are good for a lot of things, even Teams. You can create a batch file that performs the first sub step above and you can put it somewhere on your on-prem file server and get them to run it when they get the error message. 

First create a folder to hold the batch files. Name it something like “ReinstallTeamsAddin” or something. The folder will hold three files. A main file that runs the commands necessary to execute the batch and two sub batch files that are called from the main batch file. 

Main Batch File 

REM ***BATCH FILE BEGINS...*** 

taskkill /im OUTLOOK.exe 

start /min CallTeams.bat 

timeout /t 35 /nobreak 

taskkill /im TEAMS.exe 

start /min CallOutlook.bat 

Exit 

Call Teams Batch File 

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Teams\current\" – You need to make sure this is the right path 

teams.exe 

Exit 

Call Outlook File 

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16" – You need to make sure this is the right path 

start OUTLOOK.EXE 

Exit 

What Teams Meeting Make Sure You’re Signed in Batch Does 

If Outlook is Open, it closes it (since it needs to be closed to reload the add-in). Teams will open. One of three things will happen (one, it will load the main window, two, it will ask you to log in or three, it will tell you there was an error. Click “sign out and sign back in. Do not restart Teams, it does work). 

The batch file gives you 35 seconds to do this. You can set whatever time you want but it must be enough for the user to reload teams. 

Teams will close after the time expires and Outlook will reopen allowing the add-in to reload. 

Easy Peasy…. 

With Microsoft preparing to Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP, you need to make sure your environment is properly prepped. I have learned that if you don’t prep your environment before hand you will have to get a bit manual with your configuration and back track a little.

The article that Microsoft gives is a bit confusing. That’s Why I am here to help you with the configuration!

Step 1 – Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP with new enrollment profiles

To Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP, an enrollment profile must be created.

Prerequisites

To migrate from Android Device Administrator to Android AOSP management, you must have:

• Teams Android Devices deployed which are enrolled using Device Administrator.
• Teams Android Devices that are supported with AOSP Management. Any devices not listed aren’t supported on AOSP Management: Click Here.
• Intune admin permissions in your Microsoft 365 environment.

 Important

If your organization doesn’t Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP or enroll your Teams Android devices in Intune (typically by disabling the Intune license on your resource accounts) then there is no need to set up an enrollment profile or create AOSP Management policies. Just upgrade your devices to AOSP Management capable firmware at release to stay on current firmware but no Intune configuration is required.

Setup AOSP management enrollment profiles

These steps are specific to Teams Android devices. If you have non Teams devices, refer to the Intune guidance for setting up profiles: Set up Android (AOSP) device management in Intune for corporate-owned user-associated devices – Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

When creating an enrollment profile, verify it doesn’t conflict with any enrollment profiles that were created before.

1. Sign in to the Intune Management Console with an account with Intune administrator permissions: https://intune.microsoft.com/.
2. Select Devices > Enrollment > then Android.
3. Under Enrollment Profiles, select Corporate-owned, user-associated device.
4. Select Create policy.
5. Use the following settings for the profile configuration:

• Name Give the profile a name like ‘AOSP – Teams Devices’.
• Description Put in a description so others in the organization know what this enrollment profile is used for. Use something like ‘This AOSP Management enrollment profile is to allow Teams Android Devices to enroll in Intune’.
• Token expiration date This defaults to 65 years into the future and is best left at 65 years to avoid policy expiration which would block enrollment.
• Wi-Fi Select Not configured.
• Microsoft Teams devices Select Enabled.

Important

The enrollment profile defaults to a 65-year token expiration. If you are a customer participating in private preview of AOSP DM, you will need to have a 90 day or shorter expiration configured, customers waiting for general availability of AOSP DM can utilize the 65-year expiration. An expired enrollment token will not impact any existing devices, just new device enrollments and sign-ins.

6. Select Next.

7. Review the profile and then select Create.

The enrollment profile has been created and is now ready to enroll devices.

Step 2 – Set up AOSP Management Configuration & Compliance Policies

These steps aren’t required to Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP, but any Teams Android Devices that are enrolled in AOSP Management support both Intune configuration policies and Intune compliance policies. While they aren’t required for the devices to function properly, it’s likely you want to use them on the Teams devices in your organization because they bring additional features, functionality, and security for your Teams devices.

AOSP management configuration policies

Currently, the only supported configuration policy for Teams Android Devices enrolled with AOSP Management is the Device Restrictions profile and only the “block screen capture” restriction inside of that profile. Support for more configuration policies is planned in the future.

Creating an AOSP Management Configuration Policy

These steps are specific to Teams Android devices. For non-Teams devices or for more information, please refer to the Intune guidance for setting up profiles: Device restriction settings for Android (AOSP) in Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

1. Sign in to the Intune Management Console with an account with Intune administrator permissions: https://intune.microsoft.com/.
2. Select Devices > Configuration.
3. Select Create > New Policy.
4. For Platform select Android (AOSP).
5. Under Profile type select Device Restrictions, then select Create.
6. Provide a name and description for the policy, then select Next.
7. Under General set Block screen capture to Yes, then select Next.
8. Assign this profile to all devices or an Entra ID group of devices, select Next, then select Create.

AOSP Management Compliance Policies

There’s currently a limited set of supported compliance policies for Teams Android Devices enrolled with AOSP Management but more are planned for in future releases:

• Device Health Rooted devices (Block).
• Device Properties Minimum OS version.
• Device Properties Maximum OS version.
• System Security Require encryption of data storage on device.

Creating a AOSP Management Compliance Policy

These steps are specific to Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP. For non-Teams devices or for more information, please refer to the Intune guidance for setting up profiles:  Android (AOSP) compliance settings in Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

1. Sign in to the Intune Management Console with an account with Intune administrator permissions: https://intune.microsoft.com/.
2. Select Devices > Compliance, then Create policy.
3. Under Platform > Android (AOSP), then select Create.
4. Provide a name and description for the policy.
5. Select Next.
6. Enable the desired compliance settings from the supported list.
7. Select Next, then select Next.
8. Assign this profile to all devices or an Entra ID group of devices. I would suggest an
   Entra Group of your team’s Android devices.
9. Select Next, then select Create.

Step 3 – Deploy AOSP Management capable device firmware

Important

You might not be able to complete these steps because they depend on if the AOSP Management firmware is available for your devices or not. However, you’ll still need to complete the enrollment profile creation prior to following these steps.

During the second half of 2024, a new Team Android Device firmware version will be released that supports the migration to AOSP Management both for currently deployed devices and any new Teams devices. This firmware update will be available in the Teams Admin Center as a manual update to allow admins the time needed to slowly migrate their devices over to AOSP.

Updating devices

These steps provide guidance for how to update your devices through Teams Admin Center:

1. Sign in to Microsoft Teams admin center with an account with Teams device administrator permissions: https://admin.teams.microsoft.com/.
2. Select Teams then Devices.
3. Select the desired device type.
4. Select the display name of the device you wish to update.
5. Select Update software.
6. Open Manual updates.
7. Select the new firmware update, then you can choose to update immediately or during a maintenance window.
8. Select Update.
9. Allow time for your device to update.

Once the device updates, it should automatically sign back in to Teams and function as normal.

Confirming the AOSP Management update is installed

1. Log in to Microsoft Teams admin center with an account with Teams device administrator permissions: https://admin.teams.microsoft.com/.
2. Select Teams, then select Devices.
3. Select the desired device type.
4. Select the display name of the device you wish to update.
5. Select History.
6. Look for a recent Software update action and confirm the status is Successful.
7. When it’s successful, select the health tab.

A ‘Microsoft Intune App’ and ‘Authenticator App’ should be listed under software type and up to date this message confirms that the device is now running AOSP Management capable firmware.

Unfortunately, you may have to wait for this last step to be completed to Move Teams Android Devices to AOSP for a while because most users teams Android teams devices update on a schedule from Microsoft. Updates begin in the third week of March 2025 so I would start checking then.

Have you just tried to do this? Samsung S25 and Intune Enrollment Fails. It fails and for the stupidest reason. Read Below.

What is Supposed to Happen 

With Intune enrollment, once you have created an enrollment profile all you need to do is take an Android phone, tap the screen five time and then scan the QR code to begin the process. Easy, right? 

Why Samsung S25 and Intune Enrollment Fails 

Well, all is fine and dandy in the process until you get to the screen where you must pick a Category for your devices. This is something you have set up beforehand to separate your devices (i.e. Office Mobiles, Office Computers, etc.…). 

Samsung has done something with their UI where you can’t tap OK to get to the next screen. There is a grey bar or something that covers the OK button preventing you from tapping it. 

How To Fix Samsung S25 and Intune Enrollment Fails 

It is not a fix but a workaround. This is something Samsung needs to fix quickly. There is going to be a lot of fuss over this. In the meantime, you can work around it by doing the following. 

Once you get to the screen above, you can go no further, Shut the phone off. It is already registered in Intune. You can finish the set up there. 

Go to https://intune.microsoft.com/?ref=AdminCenter#view/Microsoft_Intune_DeviceSettings/DevicesAndroidMenu/~/androidDevices 

And search for the device you were settings up. It starts with the username of whom your were enrolling in Intune. 

Then click on the device, which brings it to its screen. Click Properties and give it a device category: 

Save the entry and restart the Android Phone. You will then continue with the enrollment process as if nothing was wrong (But there was a lot wrong LOL). 

Hopefully you haven’t got a huge batch of S25’s to enroll in your organization. Until Samsung fixes this (or Microsoft), it’s gonna be a long night!