SOAP web services in Business Central v29: retirement October 2026 — what to do now

Key takeaways

• From Business Central v29 (October 2026), SOAP web services for Microsoft standard UI pages are permanently removed.
• Check via the RT0053 telemetry signal in Application Insights which SOAP endpoints are still active in your environment.
• Migrate directly to Native Business Central APIs — not to OData, which will also be retired for Microsoft pages from v30 (2027).
• Custom pages from your own extensions continue to work for now but should also be migrated promptly.
• The v29 preview has been available since September 2026 — test your integrations in the sandbox now.

What exactly is being retired in v29?

From version 29, publishing Microsoft-authored UI pages as SOAP endpoints is permanently removed. The feature key that previously allowed administrators to re-enable SOAP for these pages is also removed.

In concrete terms: every existing integration that accesses a Microsoft standard page via a SOAP endpoint — for example the customer list, item overview or sales order card — will stop working after upgrading to v29.

Important: only Microsoft-authored UI pages are affected. Custom pages from your own extensions published as SOAP web services continue to work technically for now. However, Microsoft recommends migrating these too, as OData for Microsoft pages will also be retired from version 30 (2027).

How do you check if your environment is affected?

If you have Application Insights set up for your Business Central environment, you can check via the RT0053 telemetry signal which deprecated SOAP endpoints are still actively used. This signal logs every call to a Microsoft UI page published as SOAP.

Without Application Insights we recommend these steps: open the 'Web Services' page in Business Central and filter by SOAP protocol. Note all entries pointing to Microsoft standard objects (recognisable by object type 'Page' with object IDs in the Microsoft range). Cross-reference this list with your active integrations — EDI, banking, BI reporting, middleware.

The right migration path: Native APIs instead of OData

A common misconception is to simply replace SOAP endpoints with OData endpoints. This works short-term but is not a sustainable solution: Microsoft will also retire publishing Microsoft standard UI pages via OData from version 30 (expected 2027).

The recommended migration path leads directly to native Business Central APIs — so-called API pages and API queries. These are specifically designed for machine-to-machine communication, versioned and offer significantly better performance and stability than UI pages.

For integrations that previously used Codeunits as SOAP services, OData Unbound Actions provide an equivalent mechanism for executing Codeunit logic via OData endpoints.

Timeline: what is retired when

The timeline at a glance: SOAP for Microsoft UI pages is removed in version 29 (October 2026) — this is the current, imminent step. OData for Microsoft UI pages will be removed in version 30 (expected 2027). Native Business Central APIs remain the long-term recommended and supported path.

The message is clear: anyone who migrates to Native APIs now only has to make the switch once. Anyone who switches to OData as an interim step will face another migration in a year.

What to do now — concrete steps

First: take stock. Identify all integrations that use SOAP web services on Microsoft standard pages. Use the RT0053 telemetry signal or manual review via the Web Services page for this.

Second: prioritise. Not all integrations have the same criticality. EDI connections and banking interfaces that carry daily operations must be migrated before the October update. Reporting connections can potentially be switched to OData short-term and brought to Native APIs in a second step.

Third: test in a sandbox. The v29 preview has been available since September 2026. Create a sandbox with the preview version and test which of your integrations still work after the upgrade — and which don't.

Fourth: plan the migration. Switching to Native APIs typically requires development effort — whether on the integrator's side, the interface provider's side or in your own AL development. Plan this effort now, not after the update.

Frequently asked questions

Will my SOAP web services still work after updating to v29?

If your integrations use SOAP endpoints on Microsoft standard UI pages, these will stop working after updating to version 29. Custom pages from your own extensions continue to work for now but should also be migrated.

Is it enough to switch from SOAP to OData?

As a short-term measure yes, but OData for Microsoft UI pages will also be retired in version 30 (expected 2027). The sustainable path leads directly to native Business Central APIs.

How do I identify which integrations are affected?

Via the RT0053 telemetry signal in Application Insights or by manual review of the 'Web Services' page in Business Central. Filter for SOAP entries pointing to Microsoft standard objects.

Are custom extensions with SOAP web services also affected?

Not technically in version 29 — the removal only affects Microsoft-authored UI pages. However, Microsoft recommends converting your own extensions to API pages promptly to be prepared for future changes.

How long does migrating a SOAP interface to Native APIs take?

That depends on complexity. Simple read operations can often be switched in a few days. Complex bidirectional integrations with custom logic require several weeks of development time. We recommend an early inventory to estimate the effort realistically.