Microsoft 365 and Office in Mac OS Monterey

Question

Microsoft 365 and Office in Mac OS Monterey

Naiya Cominos 0

I have Mac OS Monterey only. If I cancel my Microsoft 365 subscription, will my MS Office applications stop working?

Maxim Dorosevici 0 Reputation points

2026-10-03T00:02:36.2966667+00:00

Yes, if you cancel your Microsoft 365 subscriptions your Office apps will not allow you to edit your files. The Microsoft applications will only allow you to read the files you have saved. Essentially they will not stop working but you will only have limited functionality such as viewing Word documents or PowerPoints without the ability to edit them anymore.

2 answers

Your answer

Maxim Dorosevici 0 Reputation points

2026-10-03T00:02:36.2966667+00:00

Yes, if you cancel your Microsoft 365 subscriptions your Office apps will not allow you to edit your files. The Microsoft applications will only allow you to read the files you have saved. Essentially they will not stop working but you will only have limited functionality such as viewing Word documents or PowerPoints without the ability to edit them anymore.

Answer 1

EmilyS726 271K Independent Advisor

If you cancel the plan, it will stay on until it expires. Then you won't be able to use the apps, but you can still use the web version for free via www.office.com.

However, you shouldn't have to cancel the app simply because you are using macOS version 12. You can run an older installer and it should work.

You will need to uninstall the current apps. And install the downgraded version (16.88) here: https://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.88.24081116_Installer.pkg?apid=ets

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Answer 2

Yes. If the Microsoft 365 subscription is canceled, the desktop Office apps do not remain fully functional. After the subscription/trial ends, Office can still be used for a short time, but it eventually goes into View Only mode or shows Unlicensed Product notifications. In that state, documents can be opened and printed, but not edited or newly created.

On macOS Monterey specifically, Office may still continue to run if already installed, but Monterey is no longer in the currently supported macOS range for current Office updates. Microsoft states that the August 2024 update (16.88) was the last build to support Monterey, and unsupported macOS versions no longer receive Office updates, including security updates.

If the goal is to keep editing Office files after canceling Microsoft 365, one supported option is to use the free web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote at Office.com.

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