Word and Excel don't work at all, despite being updated

Your perpetual Office 2021 license is not intentionally disabled by end of support; first identify the installed Office build and macOS version, because the documented repair differs for the current reduced-functionality issue and the version 16.114.1 licensing regression.

Office 2021 reached end of support on October 13, 2026, meaning no further security updates or technical support, but Microsoft states that its applications may continue to function.^1^ Opening files while creation, editing, and saving are blocked is reduced-functionality mode, usually indicating that Office cannot validate a compatible installation or license—not that the perpetual license has expired.^2^

Check the exact versions before changing anything

1. Open Word → Word → About Word.
2. Record:
   • Whether it says Office 2021
   • Whether it says Activated
   • The complete version/build, particularly whether it is 16.114.1
3. Select Apple menu → About This Mac and record the macOS version.
4. Note any message such as License not found or Your Office 2021 license is not supported with this version.

If the installed version is 16.114.1

If Word or Excel reports 16.114.1, or explicitly says the Office 2021 license is unsupported/not found, matching Office 2021 for Mac cases were resolved by completely uninstalling Office and installing build 16.114, then temporarily disabling automatic updates.^3^

1. Quit all Office applications.
2. Completely uninstall Office for Mac—not merely Word and Excel.
3. Install Microsoft’s Office 16.114 package: https://res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/mro1cdnstorage/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.114.26101123_BusinessPro_Installer.pkg?atp=ets
4. Open Word or Excel and activate it with the Microsoft account associated with the Office 2021 purchase.
5. Select Help → Check for Updates.
6. In Microsoft AutoUpdate, clear Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date, and select Turn Off so 16.114.1 is not immediately restored.
7. If Office remains read-only, select Excel → About Microsoft Excel → More Info → Refresh License.^4^

This rollback is specific to that build or licensing message; do not use it merely because Office is read-only.

If it is not the 16.114.1 case

Microsoft’s documented recovery for the July 2026 reduced-functionality issue is to update macOS first and then Office:^2^

1. Go to Apple menu → System Settings → General → Software Update.
2. Install an available supported macOS update.
3. Open Word and select Help → Check for Updates → Update All.
4. Fully quit Word and Excel with Command+Q, then reopen them.
5. Sign out through the application’s Account settings and sign back in with the account owning Office 2021.

For this particular reduced-functionality issue, Microsoft lists macOS 12 Monterey and Office 16.83 as minimums. However, receiving current Office updates now requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later; older Office builds may continue working but no longer receive updates.^5^

If the Mac cannot run macOS 12, the required repair update cannot be installed. Office can instead be installed on another supported Mac or PC from the Microsoft account’s Services & subscriptions page.^2^

If activation still fails

1. Sign in at https://account.microsoft.com/services using the account used for the purchase.
2. Confirm that Office 2021 appears under the purchased products.
3. If it appears, quit Office and run Microsoft’s Office license removal tool. This removes all Office licenses from the Mac, so have the correct Microsoft account credentials ready first.
4. Reopen Word, sign in, select the Office 2021 one-time license if prompted, and restart the Mac after activation.^6^
5. If necessary, remove Office and reinstall the Office 2021 for Mac Installer rather than the Mac App Store version; Microsoft documents that the package can be activated with a perpetual license.^7^

If Office 2021 does not appear under Services & subscriptions, contact the original seller or Microsoft Support to verify the entitlement. If it appears but activation still fails after the applicable repair, contact Microsoft Support at https://support.microsoft.com/contactus/ and provide the purchase receipt, product key if one was supplied, purchasing-account email address, exact macOS and Office builds, and screenshots of the activation error.

References

1. End of support for Office 2021 | Microsoft Support
2. Update Microsoft 365 or Office on your macOS or iOS device | Microsoft Support
3. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac licence no longer working - Microsoft Q&A
4. How can I get my MS office for Mac 2021 back???? - Microsoft Q&A
5. Release notes for Office for Mac
6. How to remove Office license files on a Mac | Microsoft Support
7. Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store | Microsoft Support