How do I stop autoupdate from constantly turning on Mac

John Burton 30 Reputation points
2026-10-08T13:12:53.34+00:00

Autoupdate literally interupts every 5 minutes or so. How can I change the interval or do I need to just turn it off

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | MacOS
Answer accepted by question author

AI answer

2026-10-08T13:13:05.9966667+00:00

To reduce or stop the interruptions on Mac, use one of these supported options:

  1. Open any Office app such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote.
  2. Select Help > Check for Updates.
  3. In the Microsoft AutoUpdate window:
    • To stop automatic updating, clear Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date.
    • To keep updates but reduce how often MAU checks, an admin-managed preference exists: UpdateCheckInterval in the com.microsoft.autoupdate2 domain. The default is 780 minutes (13 hours), and Microsoft recommends using a multiple of 60 and not exceeding 4320 minutes (3 days).

If Microsoft AutoUpdate keeps reappearing because it is allowed to run in the background, macOS Ventura and later also lets it be disabled there:

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Go to General > Login Items & Extensions.
  3. Under Allow in the Background, turn Microsoft AutoUpdate off.

Important: turning off Microsoft AutoUpdate or removing its background access can stop Office apps from receiving updates.

AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

Was this answer helpful?

4 people found this answer helpful.

0 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.