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SharePoint Online Add-Ins Retire April 2, 2026 — VirtoSoftware Apps Remain Unaffected

by Sergi Sinyugin Published: Mar 11, 2026 Latest update: Mar 11, 2026

Reading Time: 4 mins

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Microsoft has officially set April 2, 2026 as the retirement date for SharePoint Online Add-Ins, marking the end of an entire generation of SharePoint extensions that once powered custom forms, workflows, dashboards, and more. That date is less than a month away — and if you haven’t already migrated, you’re on the clock.

When Azure Access Control Services (ACS) shuts down, any SharePoint Add-Ins that depend on ACS authentication will immediately stop working. There will be no grace period, no phased rollout, and no “fix later” option.

Let’s break down what’s happening, how to check if you’re affected, and how to act fast before your organization’s critical SharePoint tools go dark.

What’s Happening and Why

SharePoint Add-Ins were introduced in the SharePoint 2013 era to extend SharePoint functionality securely without running custom code on Microsoft’s servers. They allowed developers to create “plug-in” applications (Add-Ins) that ran separately, often hosted on Azure or external servers.

However, this model relies on Azure ACS tokens for authentication. Microsoft began deprecating ACS several years ago, replacing it with more secure, modern frameworks such as SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and Microsoft Entra ID app registrations (formerly Azure AD).

In short:

ACS authentication ends April 2, 2026
SharePoint Online Add-Ins will no longer function
SharePoint Server (on-premises) is not affected

This change impacts both custom-developed Add-Ins and third-party marketplace apps that still depend on ACS.

How to Know If You’re Affected

If your team built or installed custom apps for SharePoint Online before 2024, chances are you have Add-Ins running right now — even if you’ve long forgotten about them.

Look for these warning signs:

You see “Add-Ins” listed under Site contents → Site apps/Add-ins
You use classic SharePoint web parts for forms, dashboards, or trackers
You rely on provider-hosted apps or integrations hosted outside M365
You installed products from the SharePoint marketplace before 2024

Even if these tools still work perfectly today, they’ll fail overnight after April 2.

Your 20-Day Emergency Plan

You still have time — but you’ll need to act quickly and systematically.

Day 1–2: Inventory Everything

Start with a full inventory of your Add-Ins and app dependencies.

For users:

Visit Site contents → Site apps/Add-ins
Take screenshots of everything that appears

For administrators:

Run the M365 Assessment Tool for Add-Ins ACS to detect active Add-Ins across your tenant
Export the App Catalog list
Run PowerShell:

Get-SPOTenantAppInfo | Export-Csv AddInsInventory.csv

Then classify what you find:

❌ Critical — used daily (for operations, forms, document routing, etc.)
⚠️ Important — used weekly or monthly
✅ Unused — remove immediately

Day 3–6: Map Replacements

Once you’ve identified dependencies, start mapping replacements for each Add-In category (example):

Add-In Type	Virto/Microsoft Replacement	Marketplace
Forms	Virto Forms Designer	Microsoft AppSource
Operations / Bulk Edits	Virto Multiple Operations	Microsoft AppSource
Dashboards	Power BI web part	Microsoft AppSource
Workflows / Automation	Power Automate	Native in Microsoft 365

If you’re unsure whether your current app has an SPFx version, contact VirtoSoftware support now. All VirtoSoftware apps have updated SPFx releases ready for SharePoint Online.

Day 7–10: Deploy and Test

Add SPFx apps to your App Catalog
Deploy to a test site and recreate your top 3 use cases
Update site links and quick launch items
Have at least 5 power users test and confirm that everything works as expected

Day 11–14: Roll Out to Production

Once testing is complete, start deployment to production sites — prioritizing high-impact ones first. Notify teams clearly:

🚨 “The old Add-In is retired — use the new SPFx version.”
📍 [Provide the new web part location]
✅ [List three key functions verified]
🧑‍💻 Support contact: [IT or admin name]

Keep communication consistent to avoid support confusion during the transition.

Day 15–20: Final Sweep Before Shutdown

Run one last check to ensure no Add-Ins remain active:

Connect-SPOService
Set-SPOTenant -DenyAddIns $true
Set-SPOTenant -IsSharePointAddInsDisabled $true

Then, clean up your environment:

Purge old entries from the App Catalog
Verify there are no open tickets or broken links
Save a migration log for compliance and audit purposes

By April 1, you should be 100% SPFx-based — and ready to survive the shutdown.

Virto Emergency Migration Kit

VirtoSoftware offers ready-to-deploy modern replacements for nearly all legacy Add-In functions:

Virto M365 Productivity Kit bundle — secure, all-in-one solution for SharePoint Online and Teams integrations.
Virto M365 Apps — updated SPFx web parts available directly through Microsoft AppSource.

If your organization depends on Add-Ins for daily workflows, don’t wait another day — the migration path is clear, and the clock is ticking.

Sergi Sinyugin