Microsoft to stop Groove apps for Android and iOS

Microsoft has announced that it will retire the Groove apps for Android and iOS at the end of the year. The company has previously stopped the streaming service and the app can only play local files or from OneDrive.

On its support page, Microsoft indicates that after December 1, 2018, the Groove Music apps for the platforms will no longer work and are best removed. Personal music files that users have uploaded to OneDrive will still remain there.

The Groove apps for Windows 10, Xbox and Windows Mobile will continue to exist and function, presumably because they serve as the default program for playing music files. From then on, however, these apps can only play local files. Users can still access their online music files via the OneDrive app, but it cannot stream the music from it.

Last year, Microsoft announced that the company will stop offering Groove Music’s music streaming service. Users were encouraged to switch to Spotify and were given help transferring their music collection and playlists.

Groove Music Android app notification