Google extends Windows Phone support for Exchange ActiveSync until July 31st

Google originally announced its plans to cutoff Exchange ActiveSync support for new users today, January 30th, but the company has revealed to The Verge that it plans to extend this to July 31st. In a statement issued to us, a spokesperson says the company will “start rolling out this change as planned across all platforms but will continue to support Google Sync for Windows Phone until July 31, 2013.”

The change of heart follows Microsoft’s requests for Google to extend its Exchange ActiveSync support for six months. It appears that Google has honored Microsoft’s requests, allowing Windows Phone users to continue using Google Sync until July 31st. According to our own sources, Microsoft is preparing an update for Windows Phone to support CardDav and CalDAV protocols. We are reaching out to Google to confirm whether the extension will also apply to Windows 8, which is affected by the removal — we’ll update you accordingly.

Update: Google has confirmed this extension is only for Windows Phone. A workaround for Windows 8 and Windows RT users is available, but there is no solution for calendar support just yet.