Word for Mac keeps asking to save even when no changes were made

For the last 1–2 months, Word for Mac has been prompting me to save documents even when I haven’t made any changes. This happens with every file, including blank new documents. I tried contacting Microsoft Support but was unable to reach an agent, so I am reporting the issue here.

Troubleshooting steps I have already tried:

– Deleted and regenerated Normal.dotm

– Cleared AutoRecovery folder

– Removed all Word-related .plist files

– Reset Word preferences

– Disabled AutoSave, background saving, and AutoRecovery

– Reinstalled Word completely

This issue never occurred in the past 10 years of using Word on macOS. It started only recently, so it may be related to a recent update or regression. Any guidance or confirmation from the product team would be appreciated.