Unable to update the Microsoft 365 apps on my Mac Air

Question

Unable to update the Microsoft 365 apps on my Mac Air

Manuel Mascarenhas 20

Tried auto updates and it says there is an update error for Excel, Word etc.

At this moment in time I am unable tosave my Excel docs which is hugely frustrating

Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-17T21:00:03.43+00:00

Cannot activate Microsoft 365 for Excel either

Answer accepted by question author

EmilyS_726 24,380 Volunteer Moderator

Manuel, I saw you marked Jonathan's reply as answer, but your last comment was that it still didn't work?

For macOS Monterey 12, Microsoft 365 is no longer supported for current updates.

The August 2024 release, version 16.88, was the final Office build supporting Monterey. An existing installation may continue to work, but it will not receive security updates, fixes, or new features. Current Microsoft 365 and Office 2024 installations require macOS Sonoma 14 or later.

You will need to uninstall it. And install the downgraded version (16.88) here: https://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.88.24081116_Installer.pkg

Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:35:30.39+00:00

Thank you Emily, so it does not mean I have to change my lap top?
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EmilyS_726 24,380 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-18T01:37:31.19+00:00

No, not at all. It only means you can only run an older version of the installer for Microsoft 365. If you update your Office beyond version 16.88 it will stop working again.
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:48:46.36+00:00

Thank you again

1 additional answer

Your answer

Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-17T21:00:03.43+00:00

Cannot activate Microsoft 365 for Excel either
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:35:30.39+00:00

Thank you Emily, so it does not mean I have to change my lap top?
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
EmilyS_726 24,380 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-18T01:37:31.19+00:00

No, not at all. It only means you can only run an older version of the installer for Microsoft 365. If you update your Office beyond version 16.88 it will stop working again.
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:48:46.36+00:00

Thank you again

Answer 1

Jonathan Deives 79,125 Independent Advisor

Which macOS version are you using?

Since there was a licensing update on July 13, 2026, this could be related to your issue depending on your macOS version.

Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-17T21:38:56.4466667+00:00

I think you may well be right Jonathan. Just in the process of updating to macOS Monterey; fingers crossed and many thanks
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-17T23:38:00.49+00:00

Hi Jonathan

Monterey updated but activation still does not work. Although it says activating in the background , a dialogue box appears with an unknown error also appears with an error : code 0x0
Jonathan Deives 79,125 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-17T23:54:30.34+00:00

Uninstall your current Office apps:

Uninstall all Office apps completely
Open Finder > Applications
Select all Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, etc.)

Download and install through your Microsoft account:

Go to account.microsoft.com/services**
Sign in with the Microsoft account linked to your subscription
Find your Microsoft 365 subscription and click Install
Once installed, open any Office app and sign in with the same Microsoft account to activate.

Also install the latest version of the Microsoft AutoUpdate app. There is a link in the support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/update-office-for-mac-automatically

If the problem persists, please let me know.
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T00:10:56.7866667+00:00

So helpful and working so late. Such a worry and great knowing there are individuals like yourself around to help.

I will give it a go over the weekend Jonathan 🙏
Manuel Mascarenhas 20 Reputation points

2026-07-18T00:37:40.5433333+00:00

Tried ploughing through ; it now says this software requires macOS version 14.0 or later😰