i received an email for a new issue in microsoft 365 that i didnt understand

Question

the email received: "Microsoft is committed to improving your Microsoft 365 subscription. We regularly review how our subscribers use features within Microsoft products. This email includes details regarding features going away next year and reminders about current benefits included with your subscription.

• Beginning 1 October 2026, Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported as part of Microsoft 365. Many common Publisher scenarios are available in other Microsoft 365 apps, including Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Action Recommended: Before 1 October 2026, convert your existing Publisher files to PDF or Word format. After this date, you will no longer be able to open or edit these files with Microsoft Publisher. Learn more about plans for Microsoft Publisher.

Thank you for being a Microsoft 365 subscriber. With your Microsoft 365 subscription, you will continue to access expansive cloud storage, advanced security for your data and devices, powerful productivity apps, creativity tools and ongoing customer support.

If you do not wish to continue your Microsoft 365 subscription, you can cancel it by logging into your Microsoft account and turning off recurring billing. If you purchased a Microsoft 365 subscription from Google Play or the Apple app store, contact their customer support for cancellation.

If you have additional questions, please contact our support team.""

"but honestly i didnt understand very much what should i do now! i mostly use microsoft word and excel and powerpoint. So in this case what should i be doing now to continue using them ? and please update me regarding the payment and fees. "

Answer 1

That notification is being sent out to everyone, it is just a notification to tell users that the Publisher app will no longer be available in the Office suite of apps, if you do not use the publisher app to create documents or publications, then there is nothing further you need to do, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are not affected by this upcoming change.

Answer 2

so do i need to convert my word documents into pdf ? or i will be able to continue using word and powerpoint as usual using editing and eveything ?

Answer 3

The email is informing about one specific change: Microsoft Publisher will be retired and no longer supported after October 2026. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are not being removed and will continue to work as part of Microsoft 365.

What this means:

1. About Microsoft Publisher

• Publisher will reach end of life in October 2026.
• After that date, Publisher will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher.
• Until October 2026, Publisher continues to work as it does today.

2. What to do if Publisher is not used

• If only Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are used and there are no important Publisher (.pub) files, no action is required.
• The subscription, payments, and access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are unchanged by this announcement.

3. What to do if Publisher files exist If there are Publisher files that need to be kept:

• Before 1 October 2026, convert them to another format.
• To keep a view-only copy, convert each file to PDF:
  1. Open the Publisher file.
  2. Select File > Save as.
  3. Choose where to save.
  4. Select PDF as the file type and select Save.
• To keep something editable after Publisher is gone, either:
  • Convert Publisher → PDF → Word:
    1. First save the Publisher file as PDF (steps above).
    2. Open Word.
    3. Go to File > Open and open the PDF.
    4. Select OK when Word offers to convert it. The layout may change, especially if there are many graphics.
  • Or use a third‑party conversion tool to convert directly from Publisher to another format (quality varies and is not supported by Microsoft).
• If there are many Publisher files, a PowerShell script can be used to bulk-convert them to PDF as described in the referenced guidance.

4. Payments and fees

• This change to Publisher does not by itself change the Microsoft 365 subscription price or billing.
• To continue using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, simply keep the existing Microsoft 365 subscription active and recurring billing turned on.
• If the subscription is not wanted anymore, it can be cancelled by signing in to the Microsoft account and turning off recurring billing, as the email describes. After cancellation and expiry, access to Microsoft 365 apps and services will end.

In summary: keep the current subscription to continue using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as usual. Only take action on Publisher files if there are any that need to be preserved before October 2026.

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References:

• Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026
• End of support for Office 2021
• I have thousands of Publisher files; I'm not opening each one individually to convert them. What is this BS about retiring publisher and losing access to all those files? This is 20 years of work that my business is going to lose, we won't recover from th - Microsoft Q&A
• Legitimate email address? ******@infomails.microsoft.com - Microsoft Q&A