Office for Mac 2021 stopped working

Question

Office for Mac 2021 stopped working

Daniel Horvath 25

Apparently Microsoft Office for Mac 2021 stopped being supported on October 13, 2026. Today - October 23rd, 2026 - it is telling me that it is not supported anymore. But it also isn't functional anymore.

It should continue to work properly. I cannot type, delete, save - nothing.

Any help is appreciated.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

EmilyS_726 34,010 Volunteer Moderator

Please uninstall your Office apps.

Then install this slightly older version 16.114: https://res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/mro1cdnstorage/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.114.26101123_BusinessPro_Installer.pkg?atp=ets

After that, open any Office app, such as Word or Excel. From the top menu, select Help > Check for Updates. When Microsoft AutoUpdate opens, uncheck Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date, then confirm by clicking Turn Off.

That should work.

Daniel Horvath 25 Reputation points

2026-10-24T16:24:36.3166667+00:00

So far so good thank you. I opened, edited, and saved an envelope in Word.
Ian Orford 0 Reputation points

2026-10-24T17:10:26.21+00:00

This worked for me. Had to sign in twice after the initial install. First time failed, second time worked. Thanks.
Pinot Andipa 0 Reputation points

2026-10-24T21:07:13.0466667+00:00

Thanks for posting this Emily. It was a just a matter of dumb luck that I stumbled across your solution. Worked for me after several hours of frustration finding and trying multiple other methods suggested in forums and via AI.

I would only add that, once I'd opened an Office app (in my case, Excel), I had to also click on Excel -> About Microsoft Excel -> More Info... -> Refresh License. Finally, it worked! Magic!
Cameron Hills 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T15:12:00.68+00:00

Brilliant, thank you, this worked first time for me.

I did lose the list of Word 'Recent' documents so am searching for some of those...
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T16:04:56.8133333+00:00
Requiring an end user to uninstall, install an old version, and then turn off updates is a pretty poor way to end-of-life a product. As an end-user, I don't appreciate my software to just stop working, with a passive aggressive upsell in the ribbon. I hope someone at Microsoft fixes this, because for every person here there are 100s who haven't landed at this page and are suffering the same poor UX flow.

Microsoft Office devs (or Production Managers) , what should be happening here:

Don't automatically download an update we aren't licensed for

Present a dialog notifying updates will no longer come for this version and present a user with an option for an upsell or to dismiss.
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T16:27:29.2866667+00:00

@EmilyS_726 this isn't a full solution. While you can prevent auto-updating you cannot turn off the update checks which will continually popup in your dock.

And if you disable it from the "login" preference pane you'll get other nags.
EmilyS_726 34,010 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-27T16:45:15.82+00:00

@Tronster

You can use the instructions below to get rid of the reminders.

Close all Office apps.

Open Finder, then press Command + Shift + G.

Paste this path and press Enter:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/

Find Microsoft AutoUpdate.app and rename it to Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled.

Enter your Mac administrator password if prompted, then restart your Mac.

This should prevent Microsoft AutoUpdate from launching normally and showing update reminders. However, it also disables automatic Office security updates, but with end of support for 2021, you shouldn't be getting those anyway.
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T17:23:30.2533333+00:00
Thanks @EmilyS_726 ; hoping disabled that does the trick to prevent auto-updated from nagging.

Note: Anyone trying this, you'll likely need to use "Terminal" and then rename it there. If you try to preform a rename via the Finder, it will automatically append an .app on the end of whatever you rename it to. (So in trying with the Finder it became "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled.app".

So steps:

Open Terminal

Change to the directory:
cd "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/"

Rename with super user access:
sudo mv "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app" "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled"

Enter password so the operation succeeds

Reboot (unsure if necessary but couldn't hurt)

2 additional answers

Your answer

Daniel Horvath 25 Reputation points

2026-10-24T16:24:36.3166667+00:00

So far so good thank you. I opened, edited, and saved an envelope in Word.
Ian Orford 0 Reputation points

2026-10-24T17:10:26.21+00:00

This worked for me. Had to sign in twice after the initial install. First time failed, second time worked. Thanks.
Pinot Andipa 0 Reputation points

2026-10-24T21:07:13.0466667+00:00

Thanks for posting this Emily. It was a just a matter of dumb luck that I stumbled across your solution. Worked for me after several hours of frustration finding and trying multiple other methods suggested in forums and via AI.

I would only add that, once I'd opened an Office app (in my case, Excel), I had to also click on Excel -> About Microsoft Excel -> More Info... -> Refresh License. Finally, it worked! Magic!
Cameron Hills 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T15:12:00.68+00:00

Brilliant, thank you, this worked first time for me.

I did lose the list of Word 'Recent' documents so am searching for some of those...
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T16:04:56.8133333+00:00

Requiring an end user to uninstall, install an old version, and then turn off updates is a pretty poor way to end-of-life a product. As an end-user, I don't appreciate my software to just stop working, with a passive aggressive upsell in the ribbon. I hope someone at Microsoft fixes this, because for every person here there are 100s who haven't landed at this page and are suffering the same poor UX flow.

Microsoft Office devs (or Production Managers) , what should be happening here:

Don't automatically download an update we aren't licensed for

Present a dialog notifying updates will no longer come for this version and present a user with an option for an upsell or to dismiss.
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T16:27:29.2866667+00:00

@EmilyS_726 this isn't a full solution. While you can prevent auto-updating you cannot turn off the update checks which will continually popup in your dock.

And if you disable it from the "login" preference pane you'll get other nags.
EmilyS_726 34,010 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-27T16:45:15.82+00:00

@Tronster

You can use the instructions below to get rid of the reminders.

Close all Office apps.

Open Finder, then press Command + Shift + G.

Paste this path and press Enter:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/

Find Microsoft AutoUpdate.app and rename it to Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled.

Enter your Mac administrator password if prompted, then restart your Mac.

This should prevent Microsoft AutoUpdate from launching normally and showing update reminders. However, it also disables automatic Office security updates, but with end of support for 2021, you shouldn't be getting those anyway.
Tronster 0 Reputation points

2026-10-27T17:23:30.2533333+00:00

Thanks @EmilyS_726 ; hoping disabled that does the trick to prevent auto-updated from nagging.

Note: Anyone trying this, you'll likely need to use "Terminal" and then rename it there. If you try to preform a rename via the Finder, it will automatically append an .app on the end of whatever you rename it to. (So in trying with the Finder it became "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled.app".

So steps:

Open Terminal

Change to the directory:
cd "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/"

Rename with super user access:
sudo mv "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app" "Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.disabled"

Enter password so the operation succeeds

Reboot (unsure if necessary but couldn't hurt)

Answer 1

Stefan Blom 356.9K MVP Volunteer Moderator

This problem should be fixed by now. Install version 16.114.3 of Office for Mac. The screen shot below is from the release notes at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/release-notes-office-for-mac.

User's image

0 comments

Answer 2

Update macOS first and then Office, because the inability to type, edit, or save matches Microsoft’s documented reduced functionality mode, whereas Office 2021 reaching end of support does not by itself disable the applications.

1. Update macOS and Office

Microsoft documents macOS 12 Monterey and Office version 16.83 as the minimum versions needed to avoid this reduced-functionality behavior. ^1^

Select Apple menu → System Settings → General → Software Update.
Install the newest macOS version offered for your Mac. It must be at least macOS 12.
Open Word or Excel.
Select Help → Check for Updates.
In Microsoft AutoUpdate, select Update All.
When updating finishes, quit each Office application completely with Command+Q, reopen it, and test editing and saving.

Check the installed Office release under Word → About Word. It should identify Office 2021 and show version 16.83 or later.

Office 2021 support did end on October 13, 2026, but Microsoft states that its applications may continue to function. End of support means no further security updates, bug fixes, software updates, or Microsoft technical support—not an automatic termination of the perpetual licence. ^2^

2. If macOS and Office already meet those minimum versions

Repair the activation:

Quit Word, Excel, and every other Office application with Command+Q.
Reopen Word.
Sign out through the application’s account settings.
Sign back in using the Microsoft account associated with the Office 2021 purchase.
Restart the Mac and test a new blank document.

If Word displays Unlicensed Product, Activate Microsoft 365, or identifies Microsoft 365 instead of Office 2021, the installation may not be using the purchased Office 2021 licence. Activation failure disables most Office features. ^3^

3. If activation still does not return

Clear the cached licences and reactivate Office 2021. This removes all Office licences from the Mac, so first ensure that the account credentials associated with the purchase are available.

Close every Office application.
Use Microsoft’s Office License Removal Tool.
Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the installation prompts.
After it reports that the licences were removed, open an Office application.
Sign in with the account that owns Office 2021 and select the one-time-purchase licence if offered a choice.
Restart the Mac and test editing and saving. ^4^

If the Mac cannot run macOS 12

That Mac cannot install the Office updates required to leave reduced functionality mode. Microsoft’s documented alternatives are:

Use Office on the web temporarily.
Install Office 2021 from the Microsoft account’s Services & subscriptions page on a supported Mac or PC.
Upgrade to a supported device and Office release. ^1^

Continuing with Office 2021 is also a security risk because it no longer receives security fixes. Moving to a currently supported perpetual Office release or Microsoft 365 is the long-term solution. ^2^

References