We are making a change to default file open operations that take place on Android and iOS devices when users open Word, Excel, PowerPoint files from Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams.

Customers have let us know that there is uncertainty about how files should be opened considering that the Microsoft 365 mobile app has the built-in ability to open and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.  To address that feedback, we plan to standardize the file open behaviors across the Outlook, OneDrive and Teams mobile app experiences to behave in the following way:

Configuration

Previous/Current Behavior

Planned Behavior

Users have both Microsoft 365 app and standalone Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps installed

Microsoft 365 app would typically handle file opens

Standalone Word, Excel, PowerPoint will handle their respective file open actions

Users have the Microsoft 365 app installed but not the standalone Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps.

Microsoft 365 app handles file open

Microsoft 365 app handles file open

Users don’t have Microsoft 365 app or the standalone Word, Excel, PowerPoint apps installed

Users directed to the App Store / Google Play to download Microsoft 365

Users directed to the App Store / Google Play to download standalone Word, Excel, PowerPoint app

Why This Change?

Our goal is to improve predictability for how files get opened when starting from our key “hub” experiences on mobile devices (OneDrive, Outlook, Teams) – the standalone Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps if installed will essentially be favored to handle file open operations.  For customers who want to open more than one Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file at once, the standalone apps can better handle side by side and windowing scenarios that modern tablet and mobile operating systems support. 

If you are a commercial customer and want your employees to use only the combined Microsoft 365 app – you can implement MDM policy to restrict install of the standalone apps on your managed mobile devices and in this way your users will be launching the Microsoft 365 app for file open actions.

Timelines for this change

As of October, 2024 we are offering this guidance for when you will start to see these changes:

OneDrive iOS and Android – changes are already in place
Outlook iOS and Android – rolling out in October through November
Teams iOS and Android – timing is being finalized

We Value Your Feedback

Your feedback is crucial to us. We are committed to continuously improving your experience with the Microsoft 365 suite of products. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team.

Thank you for being a valued Microsoft customer. We look forward to bringing you more updates and enhancements in the future.

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