Microsoft word stops working

Question

Microsoft word stops working, freezes. This has occurred multiple times today

Answer 1

Hi,

What changes were made to your computer or subscription before this issue started?

If you can still open any Office app, please sign out of your account and then sign back in using the correct Microsoft account to refresh the license.

Next, go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now to ensure your Office apps are fully updated.

If that is not possible, type Control Panel in the search bar, then go to Programs and Features. Locate Microsoft 365/Office, right-click it, select Change, and then run Online Repair.

---

If the issue still persists, I suggest uninstalling all existing Office versions first and then reinstalling Office directly from your Microsoft account to avoid conflicts.

You may use the Office Uninstall Support Tool (Uninstall Troubleshooter) to completely remove all Microsoft Office applications from your device before reinstalling Office:

https://aka.ms/SaRA-officeUninstallFromPC

Once you open the link, click Get Help. When the tool launches, select Yes, then click Next. Choose the option to uninstall Microsoft 365 and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

To reinstall Office:

Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services

Sign in using the Microsoft account associated with your license.

Locate Microsoft Office and click Install.

This will download the Office installer.

Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Once installed, open any Office app such as Word or Excel, then sign in using the Microsoft account associated with the purchase to activate Office.

Answer 2

Try these steps in order until Word stops freezing:

1. Check for excessive tracked changes/comments
   • Close all Word windows.
   • Open Word, create a new blank document.
   • Go to Review > in the Tracking group set All Markup.
   • Select Show Markup and set Balloons to Show only comments and formatting in balloons.
   • Use File > Open to open the document that freezes.
   • If it opens and is responsive, go through and accept/reject tracked changes and remove comments, especially in tables, which affect performance the most.
2. Start Word in Safe Mode and disable add-ins
   • Press Windows key + R to open Run.
   • Type winword /safe and press Enter.
   • If Word runs in Safe Mode, go to File > Options > Add‑Ins.
   • In the Manage box, choose COM Add‑ins (or Word Add‑ins) and select Go.
   • Clear the check box for one add‑in, select OK, then restart Word normally.
   • If Word works, that add‑in is problematic. Update it from the vendor’s site or leave it disabled.
   • Repeat, disabling other add‑ins one by one until the freezing stops.
3. Repair Office
   • Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
   • Find Microsoft Office (or Microsoft 365 Apps), select it, choose Modify.
   • Select Online Repair, then Repair to fix corrupted Office files.
4. If Word still freezes after repair
   • If all add‑ins are disabled and an Online Repair is completed but Word continues to freeze, completely uninstall Office, restart the PC, and reinstall Office from the Microsoft account page.

If the issue started after a recent Office update (for example, Office 2016 with KB5002700), install the latest cumulative update for Office 2016 (such as KB5002623) to pick up fixes for known “stops responding” issues.

---

References:

• Word slows or stops responding if there are excessive tracked changes or comments
• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• How to fix MS Word has run into an error that is preventing from working properly. Word will need to be closed as a result. - Microsoft Q&A
• we are sorry, but word has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Word will need to be closed as a result. Would you like us to repair now? - Microsoft Q&A
• How can I get office 365 to work? - Microsoft Q&A
• how can i fix it. - Microsoft Q&A
• Word, Excel, or Outlook might stop responding after installing the KB5002700 security update for Office 2016