A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
If the Mac is on macOS 12 or higher, the supported path is to update the existing Microsoft 365 apps, not buy Word again.
- Close all Office apps.
- Open Finder > Applications > Microsoft AutoUpdate.
- Select Update All or update Word individually.
- Open Word again and test editing and saving.
If Office was installed from the Mac App Store instead of microsoft.com:
- Open the App Store.
- Select Updates.
- Update Microsoft Word or select Update All.
Important points:
- A Microsoft 365 subscription already includes the latest Office apps, so no extra purchase is required to get the current version.
- The Mac App Store version of Word requires a Microsoft 365 subscription to activate.
- If the Mac is actually below macOS 12, Office can go into reduced functionality mode, and downloading an older paid version will not fix that. In that case, the options are to upgrade the device/OS or use Microsoft 365 on the web.
- Office 2013 and Office for Mac 2011 are no longer available to install with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
If Word still shows licensing errors such as Unknown Error 0x0 or License Not Found, make sure the Mac is on macOS 12 or later, then update Office through Microsoft AutoUpdate and test again.
- Unknown Error 0x0 or License not found error in Microsoft 365 or Office running on macOS | Microsoft Support
- Microsoft Office and the Mac App Store | Microsoft Support
- Update Microsoft 365 or Office on your macOS or iOS device | Microsoft Support
- Office 2013 and Office for Mac 2011 are no longer available for installation with a Microsoft 365 subscription | Microsoft Support