Microsoft 365 is changing in June, what you need to do

Microsoft’s June 2026 updates to Microsoft 365 are the kind of thing that’s easy to miss until a deadline passes and something stops working. Most businesses won’t be badly affected, but a few of these changes do need action before the end of the month.

The ones that need your attention

Standalone OneDrive and SharePoint plans are being retired. If your file storage is on a standalone OneDrive or SharePoint plan rather than a bundled Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise subscription, Microsoft stopped selling those plans to new customers from 1st June. If you’re already on one, renewals continue until January 2027, but after that you’ll need to move to a full Microsoft 365 plan. If this is you, now is a good time to start planning rather than scrambling next January.

Teams Live Events, switch to Town Halls before 30th June. If your business uses Teams Live Events for all-hands meetings or company-wide broadcasts, you can’t schedule new ones after 30th June. Events already in the diary will run until February 2027, but the replacement is Teams Town Halls, which do the same job with a slightly different setup. It’s a straightforward switch; don’t leave it to the last minute.

Kiosk and Frontline licences losing email sync access. If your business runs Office 365 F1, F3, or similar Frontline/Kiosk plans, the underlying technology that lets devices and third-party apps sync email (called Exchange Web Services) gets blocked on 30th June. If you need that access, you’ll need to upgrade to Exchange Plan 1 or 2, or a full Microsoft 365 E3/E5 licence. Worth checking now if you’re on those plans.

Empty private Teams channels getting deleted. Microsoft is automatically removing private Teams channels that are empty or only contain external guests, unless an owner is assigned by 5th June. A quick look through your Teams setup now saves the headache of something disappearing unexpectedly.

What’s new and actually useful

Not everything in June is a deadline to worry about. A few additions are worth knowing:

• File Quarantine in SharePoint and OneDrive automatically isolates files that break your data policies, rather than just blocking them silently. Cleaner and more visible.
• Inbox rules for external email tagging let you automatically flag messages coming from outside your organisation, handy for colour-coding or filtering.
• SharePoint is getting a refreshed layout mid-June, along with Copilot integration if you’re using AI features.

A quick checklist for this week

If you use Microsoft 365, it’s worth spending 15 minutes on the following:

• Do you have standalone OneDrive or SharePoint plans? If yes, start planning a move.
• Are you using Teams Live Events? If yes, list any upcoming events and switch them to Town Halls.
• Are any staff on Kiosk or Frontline licences that use email sync? If yes, check whether an upgrade is needed before 30th June.
• Any unused private Teams channels? Assign an owner or tidy them up. It’s worth also taking a look at our article on hidden email forwarding rules and why a Microsoft 365 audit matters, a June tidy-up is a good excuse to check those too.

None of this is catastrophic, and Microsoft does give notice. But the businesses that tend to have problems are the ones that file the email and forget it. Dragon Digital manages Microsoft 365 for businesses across North Wales, covering licence planning, Teams setup, and keeping on top of exactly these kinds of changes, so you don’t have to.