# Microsoft gives admins Exchange Online breathing room

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/microsoft-gives-admins-exchange-online-breathing-room/
- Published: 2026-07-17T13:20:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-23T04:14:13+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/saas/2026/07/17/microsoft-gives-admins-exchange-online-breathing-room/5274346
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- Microsoft delays Exchange Online PowerShell -Credential parameter retirement to December 2026
- Change follows customer feedback; gives admins more time to fix scripts
- Server-side retirement will follow later, fully disabling the parameter

## Summary

Microsoft has delayed the removal of the -Credential parameter from Exchange Online PowerShell, pushing the retirement back to December 2026 to give system administrators more time to update scripts and automation that rely on it. The parameter allows admins to supply stored username and password credentials when connecting to Exchange Online PowerShell, but it is now discouraged in favour of more secure authentication methods as part of Microsoft's broader shift away from password-based access.

The parameter had originally been slated for removal in July 2026 from the Connect-ExchangeOnline and Connect-IppsSession cmdlets, but Microsoft cited customer feedback in granting the reprieve. Once an updated module version is installed from December 2026 onwards, scripts still using the parameter will break, though the underlying server-side authentication flow will only be retired at a later, unspecified date, after which the parameter will stop working entirely, even on older module versions. Microsoft has urged organisations not to wait until the deadline and to migrate away from the parameter as soon as possible.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.