Connecting IMAP4 Clients to Exchange Online with OAuth 2.0

The imminent deprecation of basic authentication for 7 Exchange Online connectivity protocols mean that client updates need to be considered. If you use IMAP4, the Thunderbird client does a good job, but will other clients be able to cope? It’s a good question to ask.

Microsoft Launches IMAP4 and POP3 Application Access to Exchange Online Mailboxes

Microsoft has launched application access to Exchange Online via IMAP4 and POP3 using modern authentication. The approach Microsoft takes is reasonable and pragmatic and should be simple enough for app developers to implement. However, with an eye on the future, maybe this isn’t the best strategic choice to make. Moving to the Graph APIs will take more work, but it’s a better long-term solution.