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Because the ordinary reinstall and Mac restart did not resolve the crash, completely remove the existing Office files, reinstall Office 2021 directly from Microsoft—not the Mac App Store—and reactivate it with the Microsoft account linked to the purchase.

Your Office 2021 purchase is a perpetual, one-time license; these steps do not require upgrading to Microsoft 365.

1. Confirm access to the Office 2021 purchase

Sign in to the Microsoft account dashboard with the account originally used to redeem or purchase Office.

On Overview → Office apps, confirm that Office 2021 appears and has an Install option. A redeemed product key is linked to that account and normally does not need to be entered again.^1^

Do not continue with license removal unless the correct account and password are available.

2. Completely remove the current installation

This is more thorough than reinstalling over the existing applications.

1. Open Finder → Applications.
2. Command-click the Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote.
3. Control-click the selection and choose Move to Bin.
4. In Finder, press Command+Shift+G, enter ~/Library, and select Go.
5. Open Containers and move the listed Microsoft Office containers to the Bin.
6. Return to ~/Library, open Group Containers, and remove:
   • UBF8T346G9.ms
   • UBF8T346G9.Office
   • UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost
7. Remove old Office icons from the Dock, empty the Bin, and restart the Mac.

Use Microsoft’s complete folder list while performing this procedure.^2^

Outlook warning: The complete-removal procedure can delete locally stored Outlook data. Back up the Outlook-related container folders before deleting them if Outlook contains mail or other data that is not synchronized elsewhere.

3. Reinstall the correct Office 2021 build

Download Office from the Microsoft account dashboard or use Microsoft’s Office 2021 for Mac Installer. Do not install Word or Excel from the Mac App Store: those versions require Microsoft 365 for editing and are not compatible with perpetual Office licenses.^3^

Then:

1. Open Finder → Downloads.
2. Double-click the downloaded .pkg installer.
3. Select Continue → Agree → Install.
4. Enter the Mac administrator password if requested.
5. Select Close when installation finishes, then apply any offered update.
6. Open Word from Finder → Applications, select Get Started, and sign in with the Microsoft account that owns Office 2021.^1^

4. If Office opens but requests Microsoft 365 or will not activate

Reset the saved activation data:

1. Quit every Office application.
2. Download and run Microsoft’s License Removal Tool.
3. Open the downloaded .pkg, select Continue, and follow the prompts.
4. Select Install and enter the Mac administrator password.
5. After it reports success, open Word and sign in with the account containing the Office 2021 purchase.
6. If asked which license to use, choose the Office 2021 one-time-purchase license.
7. Restart the Mac after activation.

The tool removes locally stored Office licenses, not the purchase attached to the Microsoft account.^4^

If Word still “quit unexpectedly”

Check Apple menu → About This Mac. Office 2021 currently supports the three most recent major macOS versions; as of September 2026, those are macOS Golden Gate 27, Tahoe 26 and Sequoia 15. Older macOS versions can run older Office builds but no longer receive current Office updates.^5^

If the Mac is on a supported version and a fully clean installation still crashes, contact Microsoft Support and provide:

• macOS version
• Mac model and whether it uses Intel or Apple silicon
• Office version, if visible
• The macOS crash report from Finder → Applications → Utilities → Console → Crash Reports
• Confirmation that the complete removal and direct Microsoft reinstall were performed

References

1. [Office for Mac 2021](https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/download-and-install-or-reinstall-office-2021-office-2019-or-office-2016)
2. Uninstall Office for Mac
3. Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store | Microsoft Support
4. How to remove Office license files on a Mac
5. Upgrade macOS to continue receiving Microsoft 365 and Office for Mac updates | Microsoft Support