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Microsoft Office 2021 won't update beyond 16.78--says "end of support for Office 2019

Anonymous
2024-01-20T04:41:56+00:00

I have Microsoft Office 2021--the home and office version. It says it's currently on version 16.78. When I run the auto-updater, it says that I have to upgrade and when I click the learn more button, it takes me to a page that says end of support for Office 2019.

Why would it not be finding the updates for my 2021 version but telling me that 2019 is at the end of its support? How do I resolve this so that the Auto-updater will continue to find updates for my 2021 version. I checked the Word>About menu so that I could verify that I do indeed have the license for 2021.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-28T18:04:23+00:00

    So this is how Microsoft forces you to buy a subscription. SAD. I have so had it with subscription, everywhere you turn. I thought when I bought 2019 it would be good for at least 10 years. Now I need to upgrade or see the Update required. Shame on you Microsoft.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-23T15:05:54+00:00

    How do I resolve this so that the Auto-updater will continue to find updates for my 2021 version.

    From this link, you can manually download and install the update package for one of the apps, eg Excel. After that, AutoUpdate seems to start working again.

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

    Regards

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-02-20T16:27:28+00:00

    (a little late to the party, but wanted to post the solution in case anyone else has this issue)

    The main issue is not the license, but the Microsoft AutoUpdater (MUA) version 4.67 on macOS Sonoma. I ran into this issue when I was working on our Macs here. The message to upgrade is for the macOS, not Office... the poor updater is confused because it doesn't recognize that Sonoma is the latest OS...

    Image

    To fix it:

    Open Microsoft AutoUpdater and disable the Auto Update option.

    Uninstall Microsoft AutoUpdater by going to Go to Folder... and then type /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/ and press enter/OK to go to the folder.

    Move the MUA or MUA 2.0 folder to the trash then empty it, then restart.

    Download the MUA version 4.60 from Microsoft, then install it. 

    Once the install is finished, it will open up.  Make sure that the Automatically download and install updates is unchecked. If it is still checked, it will update the MUA first then you will be stuck again and repeat the procedure.

    From there, none of the apps should be showing a checkbox to autoupdate. Update all the Office apps but NOT THE AUTOUPDATER! :)

    Once you have updated office to version 16.80 (or whatever it is now) then you can update the Autoupdater.

    Note: I have only seen this issue with only the MUA version 4.67 with Office version 16.78 on macOS Sonoma. The Office download for new installs should already be updated, but I guess it will depend on the Channel?

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-02-06T03:37:23+00:00

    So I manually downloaded and ran the updater files for the other 3 apps. We'll see what happens with Microsoft Updater next time there is an update. We'll see if it shows them and allows me to run them or if it gives me the "need to upgrade" button again.

    I'm still not fully convinced that it recognizes that I have the license for the 2021 version. It only had me sign in. . . it never actually asked for the license key string of numbers/letters. Maybe the only way that would have happened is if I'd completely deleted all apps and associated files and redownloaded starting everything from scratch.

    I guess we'll see how it goes. . .

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  5. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-01-20T17:21:33+00:00

    Hi

    16.78 is the final version of Office 2019, which is the license you are currently signed into.

    To sign out of your 2019 license, use the Menu Bar and choose Word > Sign Out.

    Restart your Mac.

    When you open Word (or any Microsoft Office application), sign in using your 2021 license credentials instead of your 2019 license credentials.

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