Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
It is still giving me the same error
Word does not save to my desktop
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Noeline van den Berg
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Once I have a saved Word document, and I make a change, hit command s it looks like it saves and when i close it asks again if i want to save, never saving. Word will ot save anywhere on my mac desktop.
I am using docs that I hae had for years and now it won't save after I make changes
Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:10:51.27+00:00 It didn't help to uninstall and reinstall, it is so frustrating, what is the next step
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Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator2026-09-26T18:51:21.46+00:00 Please keep in mind that this is a user-to-user forum; it isn't a chat. You will have to be a bit patient and give people a chance to respond before you post a new message. Thanks.
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14 answers
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:30:58.61+00:00 In files and folders there is no Word or Powerpoint, only Outlook and Excel. When I click on Excel, it says Desktop only. Outlook oly says Full disk access. No other office apps listed here, is this the problem?
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor2026-09-25T23:56:51.4566667+00:00 Sorry to hear about this. Could you please confirm whether this happens with every Word document or only with older existing files? Also, are you able to create a new blank Word document and save it successfully to a local folder such as Documents or Downloads, rather than the Desktop?
Please also confirm which version of Word for Mac you are using by going to Word > About Microsoft Word, and whether Word shows any activation or sign-in warning under your Microsoft 365 account. If you receive any error when using File > Save As, please share the exact message or a screenshot with any personal information hidden.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-25T23:59:33.9+00:00 I can open a new document and save it. When i go back into and make a chhange it doesn't save and asks if i want to save or cancel. Tis happens with new and old word docs, doesn't matter where i try and save it
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:04:38.6133333+00:00 I can open and save a brand new doc. I cannot make changes to that doc or any other word doc and save it. Version 16.113.2 (26092012).
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T00:07:52.8766667+00:00 Thank you for confirming that. As the next test, please completely quit Word, then restart your Mac and open Word again without opening any existing document first. If the problem still occurs, please also confirm which version of macOS you are currently using and whether Excel or another Microsoft 365 application can open an existing file, make a change, and save that change normally. This will help determine whether the issue is limited to Word or affects the Microsoft 365 installation more generally.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:07:58.9733333+00:00 I cannot save changes made to a new or old word doc anywhere on my Mac
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T00:09:22.2533333+00:00 Could you please confirm if you have tested what I mentioned in my last reply?
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:10:43.16+00:00 I have restarted 10 times and the problem persists. How can I speak to a human, I have logged 5 calls and noone has called me
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T00:13:19.89+00:00 Please confirm which version of macOS you are currently using and whether Excel or another Microsoft 365 application can open an existing file, make a change, and save that change normally.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:17:12.94+00:00 Excel and now I discover Power Point is not saving either, this is a nightmare
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:17:26.21+00:00 Excel and now I discover Power Point is not saving either, this is a nightmare
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T00:19:43.3066667+00:00 Thank you, that is important information. Please confirm your macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac. The number you provided, 16.113.2, is the Microsoft Office version, not the macOS version.
Also, please open Word and go to Word > About Microsoft Word and confirm whether it shows that Microsoft 365 is activated, and then sign in at:
https://account.microsoft.com/services
Please confirm whether your Microsoft 365 subscription is shown there as active. Microsoft has documented an issue on Mac where Office applications can enter a reduced-functionality state in which documents can be opened but changes cannot be saved. The macOS version and activation status will help determine whether that is what is happening here.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T00:23:23.3966667+00:00 Excel works and now I discover Power Point is not saving either, this is a nightmare
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T00:27:41.97+00:00 Please follow the steps in this link to fully uninstall the programs:
https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/uninstall-office-for-macAfter that, follow the steps in this link to remove the license files:
https://support.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-macAnd finally, reinstall it as mentioned here:
https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/download-install-or-reinstall-microsoft-365-or-office-2024-on-a-pc-or-mac -
Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:10:13.0166667+00:00 This didn't work it is so frustrating, same error comes and won't save the document
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:15:17.99+00:00 It didn't help to uninstall and reinstall, it is so frustrating, what is the next step
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T01:15:44.12+00:00 Have you activated the software after this process?? Please log in here and share a screenshot of what you see using the same Microsoft account that you use to log in to the Microsoft 365 apps
account.microsoft.com/services
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:21:06.7466667+00:00 -
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:25:41.6966667+00:00 I keep getting this when i have made changes and want to quit a document
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T01:26:30.57+00:00 Thank you for the screenshot. It confirms that your Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active, so this does not appear to be an expired-subscription or licensing problem. Also, version 16.113.2 (26092012) is the current Office for Mac release from September 22, 2026.
As the next step, please open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders and confirm that Microsoft Word and PowerPoint are allowed access to Desktop, Documents, and any other listed folders. Also check Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access and temporarily enable Word and PowerPoint there, then completely quit both applications and reopen them.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:30:40.5+00:00 In files and folders there is no Word or Powerpoint, only Outlook and Excel. When I click on Excel, it says Desktop only. Outlook oly says Full disk access. No other office apps listed here, is this the problem?
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T01:41:33.2666667+00:00 Since Word and PowerPoint cannot save changes while Excel can, I would test their macOS permissions next. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, click the + button, then add Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint from the Applications folder and enable both. Completely quit Word and PowerPoint, reopen them, create a test document, save it, make another change, and press Command + S.
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Noeline van den Berg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-26T01:48:39.4966667+00:00 It is still giving me the same error
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-26T02:46:23.13+00:00 You do not need to add Excel or Outlook back under Full Disk Access. Since adding Word and PowerPoint there did not change the problem, please leave those settings alone for now.
The next useful test is to temporarily install the previous Word version rather than reinstalling the same current version again.
First open Word > Help > Check for Updates and temporarily turn off Automatically keep Microsoft Apps up to date. Then quit all Office applications. In Finder > Applications, move Microsoft Word to the Bin. This does not delete your Word documents.
Then install Microsoft Word 16.112.4 using Microsoft’s previous-version installer:
Once installed, open Word, create a simple test document, save it, type another sentence, press Command+S, close it, and tell me whether Word now closes without asking you to save again.
Please do only the Word test for now. If 16.112.4 works, that gives us a much clearer indication that the current Office build is involved, and you can then address PowerPoint the same way. If it still fails, the fact that your emoji picker has also stopped working would make me investigate the macOS user profile itself rather than continuing to reinstall Office.
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Jeronimo Fuerte 46,745 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-28T18:00:05.0966667+00:00 Thank you for letting me know. I’m glad Microsoft Support was finally able to contact you and spend some time investigating the issue directly.
Could you please confirm if the situation was resolved?
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