Equations font Cambria maths has changed, why ?

Question

Equations font Cambria maths has changed, why ?

Olwen Fisher 0

When I insert an equation the font still says Cambria maths but it looks nothing like historic Cambria maths inserts. This has just happened, I have spent several hours at the Genius Bar at Apple but they cannot understand why either. Can anyone help?

John Korchok 237K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-02-04T18:59:48.5933333+00:00

Please post a screen shot showing what you are seeing.
Olwen Fisher 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T21:18:54.29+00:00

The top is how it appeared yesterday and the bottom is today's insert equation attempt. I seem to be able to highlight and then go to Home Screen and italicise twice to convert. Tedious but at least a way around the problem
Olwen Fisher 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T21:19:58.0366667+00:00

3 answers

Your answer

John Korchok 237K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-02-04T18:59:48.5933333+00:00

Please post a screen shot showing what you are seeing.
Olwen Fisher 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T21:18:54.29+00:00

The top is how it appeared yesterday and the bottom is today's insert equation attempt. I seem to be able to highlight and then go to Home Screen and italicise twice to convert. Tedious but at least a way around the problem
Olwen Fisher 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T21:19:58.0366667+00:00

Answer 1

If the appearance of the Cambria Math font has changed in your equations, it could be due to several factors. One possibility is that the font cache may be corrupted or not properly updated, which can happen after software updates or installations. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

Restart Your Computer: Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve font display issues as it refreshes the font cache.
Clear Font Caches: On a Mac, you can use Font Book to clear font caches. Quit all Microsoft Office applications, open Font Book, select duplicated fonts, and resolve duplicates.
Check for Updates: Ensure that your Microsoft Office applications are updated to the latest version, as updates can fix bugs related to font rendering.
Reinstall the Font: If the font appears damaged, reinstalling it may help. You can find instructions on how to do this in the macOS documentation.
Create a New User Account: Sometimes, issues can be specific to a user account. Creating a new user account can help determine if the problem is account-related.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it may be beneficial to reach out to Microsoft support for further assistance, as they can provide more specific guidance related to Office applications.

References:

Answer 2

John Korchok 237K Volunteer Moderator

That is still Cambria Math, but it is not italicised, To change back to italics, select the equation, then choose the Home tab and click on the I button in the Font group.

Olwen Fisher 0 Reputation points

2026-02-05T07:35:26.8466667+00:00

That is really quite obvious, but the need to switch back to home page and italicise twice, when it clearly states it is in italics is an obvious glitch. Thank you for your time…

Answer 3

I had exactly the same symptom on PowerPoint for Mac: newly inserted equations showed “Cambria Math” with Italic on, but the variables were upright, and toggling Italic off and on fixed it. Updating Office and clearing the font cache did not help.

What fixed it for me:

Quit all Office apps.

In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/

Move the file MicrosoftRegistrationDB to the Trash. Copying it to the Desktop first is a safe backup.

Restart PowerPoint.

Equations are italic again from the moment they are inserted. Office recreates the file automatically on launch. It seems this settings database had become corrupted.