Microsoft will stop allowing Office for Mac 2019 owners from editing their documents on July 13. The company blames an expiring digital certificate for the productivity suite being made basically unusable.
The Office 2019 apps affected include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Once the digital certificate that confirms the suite’s license expires, all of the apps will go into “reduced functionality mode.” While users will still be able to open, view, and print existing documents, they will no longer be able to create, edit or save documents. Microsoft says the same restriction will apply to iPhone and iPad apps that can’t be updated.
Starting July 13, 2026, some users may notice that Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or OneNote) can open and print files, but cannot edit, save, or create new files – called “reduced functionality mode”. This happens when support for Microsoft Office apps is no longer continued for older operating systems or devices.
This issue affects both Microsoft 365 subscribers on macOS, iPhone, and iPad, and those with non-subscription software, including Office 2021 or Office 2019 on macOS. For most users, updating your OS, and updating your apps will resolve it.
“Updating your apps” will basically involve buying or subscribing to a later version of the office productivity suite.
While Microsoft has the ability to renew the suite’s certificate, that renewal can only be delivered via a software update. That means users of Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 will receive the update and will be able to continue using all of the suites’ features, including creating, updating, and saving their documents. However, Microsoft stopped offering support for Office 2019 on October 10, 2023, and the suite has received no updates since. That means Office 2019 will not be updated to version 16.83, which is the release that includes the renewed certificate.
As you might imagine, Microsoft’s solution to the problem involves subscribing to Microsoft 365, or making a one-time purchase of Office 2024. (Affiliate links) Users can also use the company’s free but more limited Microsoft 365 web apps.
To check the version of Microsoft Office you’re running on your Mac, do the following:
- Open the Word app, select “Word” in the menu bar, and then select “About Word.”
- If it lists ”Microsoft 365,” you have a Microsoft 365 subscription. If it lists ”Office 2021″ or “Office 2019,” you have a non-subscription version of Office.
- If you are on an iPhone or iPad, you are using Microsoft 365 apps for mobile.
Users running newer supported versions of Office on macOS 12 Monterey or later simply need to update to build 16.83. For users on iPhone and iPad running iOS 17 or later, it’s build 2.93.
Office 2021 users are also faced with an impending deadline, as Office 2021 will reach the end of support on October 13, 2026, putting an end to updates for the suite. While those apps will continue to work properly, they will no longer receive feature or security updates. And if today’s news about Office 2019 is any indication, it too will cease to allow editing and saving a few years down the line.
As you might imagine, this news has led to consternation among users and IT folks. Since Microsoft could update the Office 2019 security certificate, but chose not to, the move is viewed by many (this write included) as simply a money grab, as users will be forced to subscribe to or outright purchase newer versions of the suite.
Luckily for Mac users, there are alternatives to Microsoft’s somewhat expensive productivity suite offerings. Apple’s iWork suite is free alternative that offers many of the feature in Microsoft’s offering, but at the low, low, price of free. (Although some features are locked behind an Apple Creator Suite paywall.) Another option is the free and open-source LibreOffice suite of apps, developed by The Document Foundation. While LibreOffice is a bit rough around the edges, it offers most, if not all of the features of Office 2019.
