Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint all quit unexpectedly

Question

I updated my Microsoft 365 for my Mac last week and now Microsoft 365 products immediately quit unexpectedly after I attempt to open them.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Are you able to see your Microsoft 365 subscription under the Services & subscriptions page here: https://account.microsoft.com/services (make sure you’re signed in with the same Microsoft account you used to activate Office)?

If you can see it there, please follow these steps below.

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If you haven't already, I’d suggest is to uninstall any existing Office apps on your Mac to avoid conflict:

• Here are the steps: https://support.microsoft.com/office/uninstall-office-for-mac-eefa1199-5b58-43af-8a3d-b73dc1a8cae3

Then, to reinstall Microsoft Office:

• Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services again.
• Sign in using the same Microsoft account linked to your license.
• Find your Microsoft 365 subscription and click the "Install".
• That will download the installer for the Office apps, just run it and follow the steps.

If anything’s unclear or the "Install" option still doesn’t show, feel free to let me know. I’ll be happy to walk you through it!

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I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Follow these steps to fix Microsoft 365 apps that quit unexpectedly on Mac after an update:

1. Quit all Office apps

• On the Apple menu, select Force Quit.
• In Force Quit Applications, select each Office app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote) and click Force Quit.
• Repeat until all Office apps are closed.

2. Completely remove Office apps

• Open Finder > Applications.
• Use Command + click to select all Microsoft 365 for Mac apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote).
• Ctrl+click the selection and choose Move to Trash.

3. Remove Office data folders

• In Finder, on the menu bar select Go > Go to Folder… and enter:
  • ~/Library/Containers/
• In Containers, move to Trash the folders that start with:
  • com.microsoft.Word
  • com.microsoft.Excel
  • com.microsoft.Powerpoint
  • com.microsoft.Outlook
  • com.microsoft.OneNote
• Go back to ~/Library and open Group Containers.
• Move these (if present) to Trash:
  • UBF8T346G9.ms
  • UBF8T346G9.Office

4. Reinstall Microsoft 365 for Mac

• Sign in to the Microsoft account used for the subscription at the Services page: https://account.microsoft.com/services.
• Download and reinstall the Microsoft 365 for Mac apps from there.

After reinstalling, start Word/Excel/PowerPoint again and verify they open normally.

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References:

• Microsoft Office apps for Mac quit unexpectedly - Microsoft Q&A
• Excel for Mac error: "The application Microsoft Excel quit unexpectedly"
• PowerPoint for Mac closes or quit unexpectedly when you start it or open a new presentation