Microsoft recently confirmed that starting from July 13, the Mac version of Office 2019 will no longer allow users to edit documents. The relevant restrictions are attributed by Microsoft to the imminent expiration of the digital certificate that the office suite relies on.Affected applications include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, which will enter what Microsoft calls "restricted function mode". Users can still open, view and print existing documents, but will not be able to create, edit or save documents; Microsoft also said that iPhone and iPad versions of Office applications that cannot be updated will also be subject to the same restrictions.
Microsoft has renewed new certificates for the suite, but they will only be distributed through software updates, so Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 users who are still receiving update support will not be affected as they can get the version 16.83 update containing the new certificates. However, official support for Office 2019 ended on October 10, 2023, and the suite will no longer receive any updates since then and will therefore not be updated to version 16.83. Microsoft made it clear that simply reinstalling Office 2019 will not resolve the issue, and recommended that affected users switch to the free Microsoft 365 web app, subscribe to Microsoft 365, or purchase Office 2024 as a one-time purchase.
For users who are still using a supported version of Office, just update to the specified build version on the corresponding system to continue using it normally. Newer Office versions running on macOS 12 Monterey or newer need to be updated to version 16.83; on iPhones and iPads running iOS 17 or newer, they need to be updated to version 2.93. Users can view the current version by opening Word and selecting "Word ➝ About Word" in the menu. Most packages will automatically complete the update in the background.
According to Microsoft's current life cycle schedule, update support for Office 2021 will continue until October 13, 2026, when this version will officially end support. Microsoft said that the app itself will still be available at that time, but it will no longer receive security updates and feature updates.
This approach has caused some industry insiders and users to question it, believing that Microsoft actually "set an artificial deadline." JimmyTech, an IT consulting agency that discovered this change, pointed out that Microsoft has actually renewed the certificate, but has chosen not to provide updates to Office 2019 users. Using certificate expiration as a means to promote the elimination of old software is "essentially a choice."
Another focus of criticism from the outside world is the change in the wording of Microsoft’s end of support instructions for Office 2019 for Mac. When the page was originally published in October 2023, it promised that users could "rest assured that all Office 2019 apps will continue to work." In the version updated on May 15, 2026, this sentence has been removed and instead reminds users that their data can be accessed in supported Microsoft 365 or Office products.
Microsoft began sending email notifications to affected users in May of this year, but there may still be some Office 2019 users who have not yet learned about this change. For users who do not want to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Apple's own iWork suite is considered an optional alternative. In addition, LibreOffice, a free open source office software maintained by the Document Foundation, is also widely recommended as another solution path.