update doesn't open.

Question

I receive a notification that updates for Office are ready. When I click in the link, nothing happens. Why?

Answer 1

The most likely cause is that the Office update mechanism or the updater app is not working correctly, so clicking the notification link does nothing. Instead of relying on the notification, run the update process directly from within an Office app.

On Windows:

1. Open any Office app (for example, Word) and create a new document.
2. Select File > Account (or Office Account in Outlook).
3. Under Product Information, select Update Options > Update Now.
4. If Update Now is not visible, select Enable Updates first, then select Update Now.
5. Let Office check for and install updates, then close the You're up to date! window.

If updates still do not run, use the same Update Options menu to check whether updates are disabled, or follow the guidance under “Office for Windows update not working?” in the referenced article (for example, using Microsoft Update or repairing Office).

On Mac (Office 2016 for Mac with older Microsoft AutoUpdate):

• There was a known issue where Microsoft AutoUpdate 3.9.0 stopped delivering updates and the update process appeared to hang. In that case, manually install Microsoft AutoUpdate 3.9.1 from the update history page so that Office updates work again.

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References:

• How to update Microsoft 365 or Office for Windows
• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• Microsoft AutoUpdate 3.9.0 for Office for Mac is broken