Microsoft is retiring the free model of its video conferencing app and introducing a brand new free app, however you received’t be capable to switch your knowledge over until you improve to a paid plan.
The corporate has confirmed that from April 12 2023, ‘Microsoft Groups Free (traditional)’ will now not be out there, suggesting that customers as an alternative improve to ‘Groups Necessities’ for $4/£3 per consumer monthly.
As a replacement, prospects will probably be confusingly ready to enroll in the legacy free app’s alternative, ‘Groups (free)’.
Microsoft Groups free
With a view to keep entry to your chats, recordsdata, and conferences, Microsoft suggests paying for considered one of its Groups plans, which fully defeats the aim of providing its prospects a free possibility.
With a paid plan, after all, comes different instruments like cloud storage and the Workplace suite, however many small companies might already be utilizing free workplace software program so as to maintain their month-to-month spending underneath management.
Should you’re adamant that you just wish to stay on a free plan, it’s potential to manually switch recordsdata from the legacy model to its alternative, nevertheless there doesn’t appear to be a solution to switch assembly and name knowledge if that is essential.
To make issues worse, Microsoft explains on its announcement web page (opens in new tab) that from April 12, knowledge belonging to the retired free app will probably be deleted and misplaced.
TechRadar Professional has reached out to Microsoft to get a greater understanding of its determination. We additionally requested the corporate whether or not customers will be capable to improve to a paid plan, then downgrade to the most recent free model, so as to maintain their knowledge. The corporate didn’t instantly reply; any updates will probably be posted right here.