MICROSOFT FOR OS

Question

Hello my name is Peg and I need someones help. I bought a used MAC from a colleage to use at home to help me learn how to use one. I purchased Microsoft Office for the computer and was told that the computer was okay to use the software. Unfortunetly that was not the case. The man at Office Max was wrong and messed me up. I downloaded the software only to find out that the Mac is running Ventura 13.7.8 and is unable to run the Office. I spent $192.00 dollars only to find out that I can not get a refund from the store. This is so upsetting to a 78 year old who trusted somebody to lead me down the wrong path. I am at the mercy of Microsoft and I am asking for someone to help me please.

Thanks for reading my delema.

Sincerely,

Peg

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Microsoft 365 for Mac, Office 2024 for Mac, and Office 2021 for Mac support the three most recent major versions of Apple’s macOS.

As of September 2025, those versions are macOS Tahoe, macOS Sequoia, and macOS Sonoma.

In this situation, you can download an older version of the Office packages from the Update History page, which will work on your device.

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

If you're running Ventura MAC OS 13, you can run Office 16.100. At the History page, look for the Office Suite Installer,

Download the full installer, not the separate package. If you have an Office 365 Subscription, download the Office suite (With Teams Package) - if you have an perpetual license like Office Home 2024, download the Office Suite (Without Teams) installer.

Install the Office packages and sign in with your Microsoft account to use Office.

*** Ensure you remove all previous Office apps from the Applications folder before installing older versions.*

Let me know if you still need more help.

Answer 2

The Mac running macOS Ventura 13.7.8 can still run a compatible version of Office; it just cannot run the very latest releases that require newer macOS versions.

From the provided information, the supported approach is:

1. Install an earlier Office version that still supports Ventura.
2. Activate that earlier Office using the license that was already purchased.

This is explicitly called out for a similar case where Office Home & Student 2019 could not be installed on Ventura because the account page only offered a newer build that required macOS 14 or later. The resolution there was to install an older Office build compatible with Ventura and then activate it with the existing license.

Because the exact download and activation steps are not detailed in the context, the next step is to contact Microsoft Support so they can:

1. Confirm the license and product that was purchased.
2. Provide or guide to an installer for the most recent Office version that can run on Ventura.
3. Help with activation on that Mac.

If a refund is needed instead of using an older Office version, Microsoft Support is also the correct escalation path, especially since the store has refused a refund.

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References:

• Unsupported operating system error when installing Office
• How to download Microsoft office (not 365) to MacOS Venture 13.7.8 - Microsoft Q&A
• Help! I can't get 365 to work. Can I use it on my MacOS or do I need Office? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to I contact someone to process a refund on a purchase that is incompatible with my computer? - Microsoft Q&A