Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

A step-by-step guide to install or reinstall Office on any Windows device

Updated on October 17, 2022

What to Know

  • After purchase, sign in and enter the product key. Then, select Install Office > Run > Yes on UAC > Yes to install > Close.
  • To reinstall Office, go to My Account, select the download link, and follow the installation instructions

This article explains how to download and install Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 on a Windows or Mac laptop, computer, or tablet.

How to Install Microsoft Office

After you purchase Microsoft Office, activate and download the product. Detailed instructions are included in the packaging if you buy the software at a retail store or order a key card online from someplace like Amazon. If you order directly from Microsoft, you'll get the link in an email. There’s an "Install Office" link on the receipt.

If your organization uses volume license versions, your company's IT department might use a different method to install Office. Talk to your IT department for installation help.

  1. Visit setup.office.com and sign in with your Microsoft account or create a new account.

  2. Enter your product key (or activation code). This product key lets Microsoft know the software was purchased legally. The key comes with any physical packaging you receive and is included in an email if you ordered digitally. Select your country or region and language, as well.

    Write this activation code down and keep it in a safe place. You’ll use it if you need to reinstall Microsoft Office.

  3. Select Install Office. After the installation file is downloaded, what happens next depends on which web browser you use. When you select Install, a dialog window at the bottom prompts you to either run the file, save it, or cancel. Select Run and work through the installation process.

    The easiest way to install Microsoft Office is to use the Edge browser.

  4. If the User Account Control asks whether you want to allow the app to make changes to your device, select Yes.

  5. Once you run the downloaded file, the installation process begins automatically. If Windows asks if you want to allow the installation, select Yes. If it prompts you to close any open programs, select Yes again.

  6. The install is finished when you see the phrase, "You're all set! Office is installed now," and an animation plays to show you where to find Office applications on your computer. Select Close.

  7. Microsoft Office is now installed and ready to use.

    You might be prompted to install updates to Office. If so, allow those updates to happen.

To reinstall Microsoft Office, go to My Account and select the download link if you don't already have the installation file on your hard drive. Then, follow the instructions outlined above. If you do have the file, run it to begin the installation process again.

FAQ

  • Can I install Microsoft Office for free?

    Yes. You can download the Microsoft Office 365 free trial to try Word and other programs for free, but you'll have to subscribe to continue using after the trial expires.

  • Can I install multiple versions of Microsoft Office on one computer?

  • How long does it take to install Microsoft Office?

    It depends on your internet connection, but it can generally take up to 20 minutes for Microsoft Office to install. If it takes longer, you might want to check your internet connection.

Thanks for letting us know!

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Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

Microsoft Corporation is an American company founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It develops and manufactures computer software and electronics. It is the largest software company in the world. Microsoft is best known for developing software like MS Windows and the MS Office suite.

Microsoft Office is a client-server software developed by Microsoft which offers convenient features for people from every walk of life. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988. The first version of Office contained Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint which are also the most used processing tools of MS Office. Microsoft also offers its Office apps to mobile operating systems like Android and iOS. In this article, we will discuss different methods to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office on Mac.

  • Part 1. Scenarios for Uninstalling Office on Mac
  • Part 2. 3 Ways to Uninstall Microsoft Office on Mac
  • Part 3. How to Install or Reinstall Microsoft Office on Mac?
  • Part 4. Tips for Installing and Uninstalling Microsoft Office on Mac

Part 1. Scenarios for Uninstalling Office on Mac:

The desktop version was the first software of its kind that was developed by Microsoft. It is supported both by the Windows and macOS operating systems. Since then it is also offered as an online tool that runs in the web browser of your computer. Microsoft Office 2019 is the latest version of the software that is being branded under the name of Office 365. The newest version was released on September 24, 2018.

MS Office is one of the most important software on the Mac used for various functions. Microsoft offers new and advanced updates regularly on Office 365, sometimes the auto-update feature does not work on Mac. This will force you to uninstall the older version of Office and reinstall the newer one. Here are some of the reasons that would prompt you to Uninstall MS Office on Mac:

  • The system does not install the latest updates directly.
  • The license is deactivated.
  • Wrong login information entered which locks your account out.
  • The old version of MS Office is not compatible with macOS Mojave.
  • You want to install the newest version.

In this article, you will learn how to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office on Mac.


You may be prompted to uninstall Microsoft Office to fix some bugs in the existing version installed on the computer. You may also want to install the newest version that includes the features you need. No matter what kind of situation you are facing, there's an answer to every problem. We will show you how to properly uninstall all apps and features of Office 365 on Mac manually.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

An official Office removal tool is offered by Microsoft to the users of the Windows Operating System. There is no such tool provided on MacOS that would instantly remove the software from the system. It is a bit complex when it comes to uninstalling apps on Mac and the library files that they create with them. To remove MS Office manually, you are required to sign in the system using the administrator account.

There is a whole three-part process to manually uninstall office from Mac:

  • Move to Trash.
  • Remove from the Library folder.
  • Remove apps from Mac Dock.

1. Move to Trash:

You can completely delete MS office from the system by following the steps mentioned below:

  • Go to Finder.
  • Open Application.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Press the Command button.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Select all MS Office supported apps and tools.
  • Press Control + Click the selected applications from the keyboard.
  • Choose "Move to Trash".

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • All files will be deleted.

2. Remove from Library folder:

Even if you delete the main file from the computer, the service files still remain on your disk until you remove them manually. macOS doesn't provide any default tool to find and remove the leftovers of MS Office. You have to search for them yourself. The next phase in removing MS Office files completely from the system is to delete them from the Library Folder. Here are the steps:

  • Open Finder.
  • Press "Command + Shift + h".

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Click on "View as List" from the Finder Folder.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • View options dialogue box will appear.
  • Check the "Show Library Folder" option.
  • Click on Save.
  • Click on Finder again.
  • Click on Library and then Containers option.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Ctrl + right-click on each of these folders mentioned below.
  • Select and "Move to Trash".

Here are the mentioned files that should be removed if found in the containers box:

  1. com.microsoft.errorreporting
  2. com.microsoft.Excel
  3. com.microsoft.netlib.shipassertprocess
  4. com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2
  5. com.microsoft.Outlook
  6. com.microsoft.Powerpoint
  7. com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService
  8. com.microsoft.Word
  9. com.microsoft.onenote.mac

  • Go back to the Library Folder.
  • Open "Group Containers".

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Ctrl + right-click on each of these folders mentioned below.
  • Select "Move to Trash".

Here is the list of files that should be removed to completely uninstall MS Office from Mac:

  1. UBF8T346G9.ms
  2. UBF8T346G9.Office
  3. UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost

You should carefully remove all the files created by Microsoft Word, but be sure not to delete any other file. Deleting other important library files may damage the system. After removing the files please restart your Mac.

3. Remove Office Apps from Dock:

Mac Dock is known as the launching pad for different kinds of applications in the Mac. It works just like like Windows taskbar but it has animations. It allows you to open the apps that you frequently use with just one click. To completely remove MS Office from Mac the last piece of the puzzle is removing the shortcuts from Mac Dock. Here are the steps:

  • Locate the files and "Ctrl + click" on them.
  • Choose "Options".
  • Select "Remove from Dock".

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

After completing the procedure, the software will be completely removed from the system. Restart the Mac to complete the process. You will find no trace of MS Office on your computer.


Part 3. How to Install or Reinstall Microsoft Office on Mac?

Microsoft products come with a product and activation key. If you already have one then before installing Office, sign in with your existing account, and enter your product key. You can always make a new account. Here are the steps to install MS Office on your Mac:

  • Go to the official site of Microsoft office.
  • Sign in with your existing account or make a new one.
  • Click on the Install office.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Click on Office 365 apps and the downloading process will start.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Click on Finder and go to Downloads.
  • Click the Microsoft Office installer.pkg file.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Click on Continue and agree on the license agreement.
  • Select the Install location
  • Click on Install.
  • Enter your Mac Administrator Password.
  • Click on Install Software.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • The installation will proceed.
  • Click on Close after a successful installation.

Can Microsoft Office be uninstalled and reinstalled?

  • Restart your Mac.

Part 4. Tips for Installing and Uninstalling Microsoft Office on Mac:

Microsoft Office one of the useful applications if you are using your Mac for business purposes and school work. Precautionary measures must be taken before installing or even Uninstalling the software. As some sort of negligence might damage the software, the operating system, or the computer itself.

Below is the list of precautions that should be taken before uninstalling and Reinstalling Microsoft Office on Mac.

  • Close all Applications before the uninstallation process.
  • Make sure that it is not a computer glitch that is causing problems with the software.
  • Make sure you have a good running Internet.
  • Always download & install MS Office from its official website.
  • Always purchase the software.
  • Check the battery of the computer before installing the program.
  • Check to see if your Mac has the required storage space to keep Microsoft Office and its apps.
  • Make sure your computer has at least 4GB RAM.
  • Scan the software for viruses for the sake of security.
  • Clear all the cache of the previously installed version of MS office.
  • Keep the updates to "automatically install".


Closing words:

Despite the effort, Apple's iWork has not come close to undermine Microsoft Office. MS Office is still the most preferred software in the world. Microsoft Office for Mac offers great features that can enhance the overall experience of the user. It provides added functionality and improvements for the users to perform their tasks at hand with ease. Sometimes during an update, a minor internet or storage problem can halt the installation process entirely. This might cause the MS Office to not function properly. To fix the problem you might have to Uninstall and Reinstall the program. Now you know exactly what to do whenever such a problem arises.

If you find some important data lost when uninstalling and reinstalling the Office programs on Mac, download Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac and check out how to recover missing files in 3 steps.

How do I uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office?

Uninstall Office from Control Panel 1 Open the Control Panel. In most cases you can't uninstall an individual app if it's included in your Office suite. ... 2 Follow the prompts to complete the uninstall. 3 To reinstall Office select the version you want to reinstall and follow those steps. See More....

Can I reinstall Microsoft Office 2016 on a new computer?

However, if your Office 2016 is a one-time-purchase version you can also reinstall it from your Office Account. Please, as you suggested, uninstall your Office before taking your computer back to the store.

How to uninstall Microsoft Office from Windows 10 using PowerShell?

Tip: If you can't uninstall your Microsoft Store installation using Settings in Windows 10, then try to uninstall Office manually using PowerShell following the steps below. Right-click Start and select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Press Enter. This takes a few minutes. Once it's done, a new command prompt appears. Press Enter.

How do I uninstall an app in office?

In most cases you can't uninstall an individual app if it's included in your Office suite. The only way to uninstall an individual app is if you purchased it as a stand-alone app. How you open the Control Panel depends on your version of Windows. Windows 10

Can I uninstall Microsoft Office and reinstall with the same product key?

This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Yes, any consumer Office license allows you to uninstall and re-install on the same computer.

Can you reinstall Office after uninstalling?

Go to www.office.com and if you're not already signed in, select Sign in. Sign in with the account you associated with this version of Office. On the Office home page, select Install Office apps. This begins the download of Office.

Do I need to uninstall Office before reinstalling?

Before you Install Office 365 If you do not uninstall previous versions of Microsoft Office and you install Office 365 your computer will not run any program of Office 365 properly.

Can Microsoft Office be reused?

When you initially activate an Office licence, that becomes associated to your Microsoft Account online and it is from there that you can later re-install Office on the same or another PC without the need for a product key.