Kill Microsoft AutoUpdate

Question

I've followed the instructions to remove AutoUpdate from a Mac that were written 3 years ago. I'm running MacOS 26.3.1 and don't find a Microsoft folder in Application Support (although lots of stuff for Edge!). Has it moved to a new location?

Answer 1

Hi Karen Brown

If you are seeing folders for Microsoft Edge but not Microsoft AutoUpdate, it is very likely you are checking the User Library instead of the System Library. Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is installed at the system (root) level so it can update Microsoft applications for all users on the device.

To locate it, please try the following:

• Open Finder.
• Press Command + Shift + G.
• Enter the following path exactly: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/
• In this location, you should see a subfolder named MAU2.0, which contains the Microsoft AutoUpdate.app.
• 

Note: Removing Microsoft AutoUpdate will prevent your Office applications from receiving critical security updates and feature improvements. If your goal is only to stop update notifications, a safer option is to open any Office app, go to Help > Check for Updates, and uncheck “Automatically keep Microsoft Apps up to date” instead of deleting MAU entirely.

If you do choose to remove it, you can drag the MAU2.0 folder to the Trash and then empty the Trash. Administrator credentials may be required.

I hope this helps clarify this. Please let me know how you get on, as your feedback is valuable to the community.

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Answer 2

Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) for Office is still the component that keeps Office for Mac up to date, and its documented location remains under the system-level Library, not the user Library.

The relevant items are typically under:

• /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/ (system Library)

Note that this is /Library at the root of the disk, not ~/Library in the user profile. If only Edge-related folders appear under Application Support, that is expected for Edge, which now uses EdgeUpdater instead of MAU on macOS. Edge’s updater is configured via the com.microsoft.EdgeUpdater.plist preference domain, for example when managed with Intune or Jamf.

To locate Microsoft components that MAU manages (such as Microsoft Error Reporting), the documented path is also under the system Library, for example:

• /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MERP2.0 (for Microsoft Error Reporting 2.2)

If a Microsoft folder is not visible under ~/Library/Application Support, check the root-level /Library/Application Support instead. MAU itself is not documented as having moved to a different location; the main change in the context is that Edge updates are now handled by EdgeUpdater rather than MAU.

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References:

• Microsoft Edge for macOS switches from Microsoft AutoUpdate to EdgeUpdater
• Get rid of Microsoft Error reporting 2.2 on Mac - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac 3.2.0 - October 13, 2015 update
• Description of Microsoft AutoUpdate 3.1.1