Word for Mac Version 16.113.3 opens most DOCX without issue but some DOCX generated on PC crash Word upon opening.

Try these steps in this order:

1. Update Word for Mac first
   • Open any Office app.
   • Go to Help > Check for Updates.
   • Enable automatic updates if offered, then select Update and install all available updates.
   • Test one of the crashing DOCX files again.
2. Open the file through Word’s Open command and recover text
   • In Word, go to File > Open.
   • Select the problem document once.
   • In the Open dropdown, choose Recover Text and then select Open.
   • If prompted, select OK.
   • If the file opens, save it as Word Document (.docx).
   • Note: some formatting may change.
3. Use OneDrive to convert the file
   • Sign in to OneDrive in a web browser.
   • Upload the DOCX file.
   • After upload, open it and wait for the conversion message.
   • Select File > Save as > Download a copy.
   • Save the downloaded file locally and test it in Word for Mac.
4. Check for a known add-in conflict
   • If WordRake is installed, remove it or update it. A known issue caused Word for Mac to crash when creating or opening documents after a macOS upgrade.
5. Reset Word preferences
   • Warning: this removes custom preferences such as keyboard shortcuts, toolbar changes, or dictionaries.
   • Quit all programs.
   • In Finder, open Go > Home > Library. On newer macOS versions, hold OPTION while opening Go to show Library.
   • Open Preferences and move com.microsoft.Word.plist to the desktop.
   • Open the Microsoft folder under Preferences and move com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist to the desktop. If Service Pack 2 is installed in older Word versions, use Application Support > Microsoft instead.
   • Start Word and test.
   • If the crash stops, return the files one at a time to identify the corrupt one, then discard the bad file.
   • If the crash continues, restore both files.
   • Then go to Application Support > Microsoft > Office > User Templates and move Normal.dotm to the desktop.
   • Start Word and test again.
   • If the crash stops, discard Normal.dotm.
6. If only certain incoming files fail
   • Save attachments to the local disk before opening them.
   • If the file came from a remote drive, copy it locally first and then open it from the local folder.
7. If the file still crashes Word
   • Open it with an earlier version of Word if available, or use Apple TextEdit for basic formatting, then save it again.
   • If the document may be damaged, look for another copy from backup.

The pattern described points to either a problematic document, an add-in conflict, or corrupted Word preferences/templates rather than a general DOCX compatibility issue.

References:

• Error: [Filename] uses a file type that is blocked from opening in this version
• WordRake add-in causing Word for Mac to crash since upgrading to Catalina (OSX 15.0)
• Word for Mac error: "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close"
• My client's PC WORD files won't open on my MAC office WORD - Microsoft Q&A
• Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Word for Mac