Activate Microsoft AutoUpdate Remotely

Question

I have Mac users running OS X 10.8 - 10.15 but they are all running MS Office 2016. If it makes a difference we are not using Office 365. I need to send a command to all of then to turn on Microsoft AutoUpdate. I could do this using ARD or Symantec Altiris so it could be a Terminal command or a script. Is there a way to do this? Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Hi MadDog,

We appreciate that you posted back and shared your feedback here.

Per your description, it seems that you have found the commands to use defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck Manual turns Microsoft AutoUpdate off****and defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck AutomaticDownload turns it on. 

However, you don’t know how to let it works for the precious version of Microsoft Auto Update.

If my understanding is right, as we mentioned above, per our search, if you want to use the commands above to turn on or turn off Auto Update, you may need to install Microsoft AutoUpdate version 3.8 and later, as shown below:

 

So you may need to ensure those users have installed the latest version of Microsoft Auto Update 4.27 or the versions later 3.8.

For more details, you can refer to this article: Office for Mac Preference Keys

At the same time, for the version before 3.8, we have also searched a lot, and we may not find any commands apply to the precious version, so we’d suggest you refer to the suggestion above to update Microsoft Auto Update, then use those commands.

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.

Best Regards,

Sukie

Answer 2

Sukie,

Thanks so much for your quick reply. I recognized the reply as spam immediately and did not respond. The miss-spelling of simple words is always a huge indication.

I came up with some commands that are similar to yours. defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck Manual turns Microsoft AutoUpdate off****and defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck AutomaticDownload turns it on. This works for version 4.27 but I don't know how it works with previous versions.

Answer 3

Hi MadDog1314,

Thank you for querying in this forum.

There was tech support spam posted to this thread. The post at Microsoft Community was deleted, but you may have received a copy of the spam in a Notification Email. Do not call whatever phone number was posted. It does not belong to Microsoft.

According to your description, it seems that you want to know how to use Terminal command to turn on Microsoft AutoUpdate remotely.

If my understanding is right, generally, we can use this command to automatically check the updates in Terminal: defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck AutomaticCheck

And we can use this command to download updates package automatically in Terminal: defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck AutomaticDownload

For more details, you can refer to this article: Deploy preferences for Office for Mac Office for Mac Preference Keys

(Note: You may need to install MAU 3.8 and later)

At the same time, if you want to deploy Office remotely, as far as we know, you may need to use some third-party tools, for example, Jamf Pro, Munki, and AutoPkg. Or you can also use Apple Remote Desktop and AppleScript.

As shown below:

 

For more details, you can refer to this article: Deployment options for admins for Office for Mac.

If you want to learn more about Apple Remote Desktop and AppleScript, since our category focus on Microsoft Office products, to make sure you get professional help, we’d suggest you go to Apple Support to get help. That’s specific channel to handle related questions.

Your understanding and patience will be highly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Sukie