Tag Archives: Microsoft

Microsoft Phases Out Semi-Annual Update Channel for Some Microsoft 365 Installations

Microsoft is quietly making a notable change to how Microsoft 365 Apps are updated in enterprise environments, specifically affecting the slower “Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.”

According to Office Watch, Microsoft is removing this channel as an option for unmanaged devices in the Microsoft 365 admin center. In practical terms, this means administrators will no longer be able to choose the traditional six-month feature update schedule when setting up Office installations for those devices.

The Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel has long been used by organizations that prefer stability over speed. Instead of receiving new Office features every month, users on this channel typically got updates only twice a year, giving IT teams more time to test changes before rolling them out broadly.
 
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Not Getting Your E-mails : Outlook/Live/Hotmail Isn’t Working, :: You’re not alone!

Just a heads up that, since around 5am this morning, Microsoft has been experiencing MAJOR outages with Outlook.com

Users may experience issues accessing Outlook.com.

User impact: Users may experience intermittent issues signing in to Outlook.com.

More info: Users may experience intermittent sign‑in failures, including “too many requests” errors or unexpected sign‑outs.

Additionally, impacted users may include, but are not limited to, iOS users.

Current status: We’re running tests to reproduce impact in our internal environment to obtain additional logging to isolate the source of the unexpected error messages.Microsoft -- Microsoft consumer products

So it’s not anything you’ve done wrong and there is nothing you can do to fix the issue besides wait on Microsoft to resolve thing on their end.

Microsoft – Service Health Status
Outlook.com Outage Map
 
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The Purge Is Complete!

Following up on my post The Shocking Truth About Microsoft’s Feedback Portal!, I can now confirm that Microsoft has completely scrubbed 🧹 my contributions from the Feedback Portal. Every suggestion I made over the past several years, even those still visible as recently as February 2026, has been erased, along with comments, upvotes, and feedback from other users supporting each of them.

Now that’s a company, a product group, listening to their users. 🙉

I guess that is one way to have ‘no issues with your products’. 🥇 🤦 👏🏻

To say I’m surprised would be inaccurate as this is exactly what I expected. Microsoft, back when they were using uservoice (prior to the Feedback Portal) showed the importance they placed on user feedback, so this is nothing new! However, to say I’m disappointed would be spot on! Instead of using the information to improve the products Microsoft chooses to delete and ignore the feedback, and pretend there are no issues.

A few thoughts on this whole matter:

Some companies collect feedback the way others collect trophies, just for display.
Feedback is often used to validate decisions, not change them.
Plus ça change, plus c’est pareil!
translation => The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Take a moment to consider this: if this is how the Microsoft & the Access Dev Team treats an Access MVP’s contributions, feedback, and suggestions, imagine how they treat everyone else’s.

Another One Bites The Dust

Randomly decided to look at the Feedback Portal today, and something just felt… off. After a bit of investigating, I finally put my finger on it.

Another one’s gone. Vanished without a trace, no notice, no status, no archive. Just that eerie emptiness where an idea used to be.

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Microsoft Answers Is Being Retired

Did you see the new heading banner that appears when you go and access the (Microsoft) Access (Database) forum on Microsoft Answers?

Microsoft 365 and Office forum Moving to Microsoft Q&A

We are excited to announce that soon, the Microsoft 365 and Office forum will be available exclusively Microsoft Q&A. This change will help us provide a more streamlined and efficient experience for all your questions and discussions.

Starting July 16, you will no longer be able to create new questions here in the Microsoft Support Community. However, you can continue to participate in ongoing discussions and create new questions on Microsoft Q&A. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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Microsoft Increases Its Microsoft 365 Consumer Plan Prices

Microsoft Support Logo

Microsoft has announced a significant price increase for its Microsoft 365 consumer (what it commonly refers to as ‘Home’) subscriptions.

This price hike comes as Microsoft integrates its Copilot AI assistant into various applications within the Microsoft 365 suite.

The new pricing structure is as follows:

  • Microsoft 365 Family is now $129.99USD/year, up from $99.99USD/year equating to a 30.00% increase!
  • Microsoft 365 Personal is now $99.99USD/year, up from $69.99USD/year equating to a 42.86% increase!

 
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