Microsoft has set Nov. 30, 2026 as the shutdown date for the backend services behind its UWP Map Control and the Windows Maps platform APIs. After that date, Windows applications built on them will no longer be able to display maps, search for addresses, or calculate routes. If the Microsoft UWP Map Control retirement will affect your business & operations, OnTerra Systems has a solution – including options for the Streetside and Bird’s Eye imagery that Azure Maps doesn’t provide.
Assess My Situation – Contact OnTerra Systems → Last updated: September 25, 2026Microsoft has announced that after November 30, 2026, Windows applications built with the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) Map control and the Windows Maps platform APIs will no longer work, because they won’t be able to reach the backend services they depend on.
What’s changingMicrosoft announced the discontinuation of the Windows UWP Map Control and the Windows Maps platform APIs as part of its broader move, first announced in May 2024, to retire Bing Maps for Enterprise and transition customers to Azure Maps.
Since that announcement, the Windows UWP Map Control and the Windows Maps platform APIs have continued to function. However, neither the control nor its map data is being updated. Following Microsoft’s announcement in April 2025, the backend services behind the Microsoft UWP Map Control will be retired on November 30, 2026. After that date, applications using the Windows Maps platform APIs or the UWP Map control will no longer be able to connect to them.
This applies to any application calling the MapControl class and related Windows Maps platform APIs — the same APIs documented in Microsoft’s Getting started with Windows map APIs and controls developer guide: road, aerial, Aerial3D, and terrain map styles, Streetside street-level imagery, 3D camera control, and the geocoding and routing calls built on top of them.
Microsoft’s recommended path is an Azure Maps–based replacement, typically built with the Azure Maps Web SDK and hosted in a WebView2 control inside the native Windows application. This approach covers most of what the UWP Map control does, including map display, address search (geocoding), and routing.
However, Azure Maps does not include Streetside street-level imagery or Bird’s Eye (angled aerial) imagery.
Your Windows application is likely affected if it:
MapControl class (the Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Maps namespace) in a UWP applicationWindows.Services.Maps namespace, such as MapLocationFinder (geocoding and reverse geocoding) or MapRouteFinder (routing and directions)MapService.ServiceToken) using a Bing Maps keyThese applications are common in field service, fleet and logistics, utilities, public safety, real estate, and other line-of-business tools where maps were built directly into a Windows desktop or tablet application.
Microsoft announces the retirement of Bing Maps for Enterprise and its unification with Azure Maps.
Microsoft deprecates the Windows UWP Map Control and the Windows Maps platform APIs. The control keeps working but no longer receives updates.
Free and basic Bing Maps for Enterprise accounts are shut down.
Backend services for the Bing Maps UWP Map control and Windows Maps platform APIs are retired. Applications that still use them stop working.
Bing Maps for Enterprise, including the Bing Maps WPF Control, is retired for enterprise customers.
OnTerra Systems has been a trusted partner of Microsoft since 2005 — 20+ years of web mapping and geospatial development, including proof-of-concept work, pilot programs, and migration implementation done directly with Microsoft customers. For the Windows UWP Map Control and Windows Maps platform APIs retirement specifically, OnTerra Systems works through three phases of support:
We inventory what your UWP application actually uses — map styles, imagery modes, routing calls, custom overlays — so we know exactly what needs to move and what needs a workaround before November 30, 2026.
API mapping, WebView2 implementation for your native UWP application, data and layer conversion, and testing. This is the same approach OnTerra Systems has used to successfully move other customers onto Azure Maps–based solutions, and it lets the parts of your application that transfer cleanly do so without a rebuild from scratch. OnTerra Systems also can provide a replacement package for your UWP solution that swaps out the Bing Maps UWP Control for the Azure Maps–based alternative with minimal application changes required.
For functionality not covered in an Azure Maps transition – including Bird’s Eye and Streetside imagery – OnTerra Systems can design and build alternative solutions using other imagery providers or custom geospatial services. This allows your application to keep the functionality on which your users depend.
November 30, 2026 is the date Microsoft has set for the backend services behind the Bing Maps UWP Map control and the Windows Maps platform APIs to be retired.
With that date approaching, starting the assessment and migration planning now leaves time to evaluate options, test the new implementation, and address any feature gaps before the backend services shut down.
If a full migration can’t be completed before November 30, OnTerra Systems can prioritize the map features your users depend on most, so critical functions are restored first, and the remaining work follows in phases.
Contact OnTerra Systems & Start Planning Your Transition Off Of The Microsoft UWP Map Control Product
Contact OnTerra Systems →The UWP Map Control retirement is Microsoft’s shutdown of the backend services behind the Windows UWP (Universal Windows Platform) Map control and the Windows Maps platform APIs. After November 30, 2026, Windows applications that use these components will no longer be able to connect to the services that supply their maps, imagery, address search, and routing. Microsoft deprecated the UWP Map control in April 2025 as part of its move to retire Bing Maps for Enterprise and transition customers to Azure Maps.
The backend services for the Bing Maps UWP Map control and the Windows Maps platform APIs will be retired on November 30, 2026. Applications that have not migrated by that date should expect the map features that depend on those services to stop working.
Unless it has been updated, any feature in your application that relies on the retired services – map display and imagery, address search (geocoding), and routing through the Windows Maps platform APIs – will no longer be able to reach those services. For applications where the map is central to the workflow, such as dispatch, field service, or asset tracking, that can mean the core function of the application stops working.
Your application likely uses it if its code references the Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Maps namespace (the MapControl class) or the Windows.Services.Maps namespace (classes such as MapLocationFinder, MapRouteFinder, or MapService). WPF and Windows Forms applications that host the UWP Map control through XAML Islands are also affected. If you’re unsure, OnTerra Systems can review your application and identify every dependency on the retiring services.
No. The two are related but have different deadlines. The UWP Map Control and Windows Maps platform APIs retire on November 30, 2026. Bing Maps for Enterprise as a whole – including the Bing Maps Web Control, REST services, and WPF Control – remains available to enterprise customers until June 30, 2028. Free and basic Bing Maps for Enterprise accounts were already shut down on June 30, 2025.
Microsoft recommends moving to Azure Maps, its unified enterprise mapping platform. For native Windows applications, the typical approach is to host the Azure Maps Web SDK inside a WebView2 control within the application. This covers most of the map display, address search, and routing capabilities the UWP Map control provided.
No. Azure Maps does not offer Streetside street-level imagery or Bird’s Eye (angled aerial) imagery. So, organizations that depend on those views need another source. OnTerra Systems designs and builds replacements using other imagery providers or custom geospatial services, so users can keep the functionality on which they, their applications and their customers rely.
Usually not. In most migrations, only the mapping layer needs to change. OnTerra Systems maps your existing UWP Map Control calls to Azure Maps equivalents and hosts the new map inside your existing application with WebView2, so the rest of the application can stay as it is. OnTerra Systems also can provide a replacement package designed to minimize changes to your application code.
It depends on how much of the map control your application uses. A basic map with pins can move quickly, while applications with custom overlays, routing, 3D views, or Streetside and Bird’s Eye imagery take longer. OnTerra Systems starts every project with an assessment that inventories your map features and produces a realistic plan and timeline.
Azure Maps uses pay-as-you-go, transaction-based pricing billed through an Azure subscription, with a free monthly allotment of transactions and no annual commitment required. That is a different model from Bing Maps for Enterprise licensing, so costs can shift depending on how your application loads maps and calls services. OnTerra Systems can estimate your expected Azure Maps usage and costs as part of the assessment.
No. The Bing Maps WPF Control is not part of the November 30, 2026 UWP retirement. It is being retired along with Bing Maps for Enterprise, which ends for enterprise customers on June 30, 2028. WPF applications using the control will need an Azure Maps–based or alternative solution before then, and OnTerra Systems builds replacements for WPF applications as well.
Contact OnTerra Systems as soon as possible. OnTerra Systems can prioritize the map features your users depend on most, so critical functions are restored first, and then complete the remaining migration and feature-gap work in phases.
OnTerra Systems is a web mapping and geospatial development firm that has been a Microsoft partner since 2005. For more than 20 years, OnTerra Systems has supported Microsoft customers with maps licensing, proof-of-concept work, pilot programs, and migration implementations, including moves from Bing Maps to Azure Maps.
Contact OnTerra Systems to request an assessment. OnTerra Systems will review how your application uses the UWP Map control and Windows Maps platform APIs, identify what moves directly to Azure Maps and what needs an alternative, and build a transition plan around your timeline.