Microsoft office on Mac

Question

I have mac running . Ventura 13.7.8. I had originally purchased Office Home & student 2021 in Sept 2022. The program is no longer working. I do not want microsoft 365. Is there a way to have my Office Home working or do I need to purchase office 2025? Do I need to install my previous program? If I do will I loose the documents I already have?

Thank you

Deborah Tina

Answer 1

There was a bug in a recent update that has caused some installations to stop working. Please try the steps on this page: Unknown Error 0x0 or License not found error in Microsoft 365 or Office running on macOS

Answer 2

Yes. Office Home & Student 2021 for Mac can still work on macOS Ventura 13.7.8, but Ventura no longer receives newer Office updates. The September 2025 update (16.101) is the last build that supports macOS Ventura.

What this means:

1. There is no need to buy Microsoft 365 if the goal is to keep using a perpetual Office license.
2. There is no need to buy a newer Office version just because Ventura is older.
3. If Office stopped working, reinstalling Office 2021 is the supported path.

What to do:

1. Check macOS compatibility
   • Office 2021 for Mac is supported on the three most recent major versions of macOS.
   • Ventura is no longer eligible for newer updates, but Office apps should still work on the last supported build for Ventura.
2. Reinstall Office for Mac
   • Close Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
   • Open Finder > Applications.
   • Locate the Office apps and move them to Trash.
   • Download the installer package for Office for Mac and reinstall.
   • For perpetual licenses, once installation is complete, the apps can be activated and used with the one-time license.
3. If activation is wrong or keeps prompting
   • Remove old Office license files on the Mac, then reactivate with the correct Office license.

About documents:

• Uninstalling Office does not delete Office files.
• If Office includes Outlook, backing up Outlook data is recommended before uninstalling.
• Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents are not removed by uninstalling Office.

Important note:

• New installs of Office 2024 for Mac require macOS Sonoma or later. Ventura 13.7.8 does not meet that requirement.
• Because of that, purchasing a newer Office version for this Mac is not the right fix unless macOS is upgraded first.

If the goal is to keep Office Home & Student 2021 working on this Ventura Mac, reinstall the existing Office license rather than purchasing Microsoft 365 or Office 2024.

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References:

• How do I upgrade Office?
• Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store
• Upgrade macOS to continue receiving Microsoft 365 and Office for Mac updates
• What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac