Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac Will Soon Stop Letting You Edit Documents

[Cameront9]

If the certificate is expired wouldn’t the app just not launch at all? Why would it go into read only mode?

I'm assuming it's designed that way so that you'll be prompted to upgrade or buy a new license.

I finally deleted Word and Excel from my Mac today. Been installed on my Mac for 20 years. I'm not even sure what version it was. Don't care anymore. I've finally got rid of everything Microsoft on my Mac.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

I'm assuming it's designed that way so that you'll be prompted to upgrade or buy a new license.

I finally deleted Word and Excel from my Mac today. Been installed on my Mac for 20 years. I'm not even sure what version it was. Don't care anymore. I've finally got rid of everything Microsoft on my Mac.

If that’s the case that’s super scummy to blame it on an expired certificate

 

[bigglow]

Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac will still open your documents after July 13, 2026 but you will not be able to edit, create or save files. This happens because Microsoft has ended support for Office 2019 so it can no longer get the updates needed to keep full features working. If you are using Office 2019 the best option is to upgrade to Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 so you can keep editing documents normally and continue getting updates in the future.

 

[dwhankner]

You can get a license for office 2024 standard on Mac for as cheap as $17 on Groupon. That’s what I did.

 

[Bazza1]

Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac will still open your documents after July 13, 2026 but you will not be able to edit, create or save files. This happens because Microsoft has ended support for Office 2019 so it can no longer get the updates needed to keep full features working. If you are using Office 2019 the best option is to upgrade to Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 so you can keep editing documents normally and continue getting updates in the future.

This is Microsoft's take - and it makes no sense. It's one thing to stop sending updates (many can live without that) - its quite another to disable the product remotely. 'Updates' and functionality are two completely different things.

It is simply a money grab by Microsoft - forcing users into (ideally) their subscription 365. While buying their more recent Office Suite will only delay a repeat performance of this down the line.

But they may simply be pushing users (and companies, corporations and governments - as is increasingly the case in the EU) to look at free options that are not Microsoft.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac will still open your documents after July 13, 2026 but you will not be able to edit, create or save files.

Those are the main reasons why people bough it in the first place. Just viewing documents doesn't require a purchase from Microsoft and there are many free alternatives. Those who bought the standalone version clearly did so so that they could create and edit Office documents into the future.

This happens because Microsoft has ended support for Office 2019 so it can no longer get the updates needed to keep full features working.

In a circular sort of way. The full features work and the only reason they are breaking is the license check which MS shipped with an expiration date they won't fix because they don't feel like it.

if GM shipped a car that put itself in stolen vehicle mode after a GPS week number overflow and then said, 'we can't fix that it's out of warranty', who would put up with that? And technically you probably can't legally fix it yourself due to DMCA...

If you are using Office 2019 the best option is to upgrade to Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 so you can keep editing documents normally and continue getting updates in the future.

And what do you suggest for those who don't want updates (i.e. why they bought the standalone Office 2019 instead of 365 in the first place) and/or whose computers are not compatible with Office 2021, etc?

 

[mwhite]

Funny the battles some people pick to fight...

There are plenty of deals for M365 for as low as $50/yr. As soon as your Amazon subscription ends, cancel it. You make everything so hard...

Subscribing to software is an abomination, and pure unmitigated greed.

 

[mwhite]

Pay for Office and have it stop working. Meanwhile you always have access to the free Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, and they're lighter apps that run better too.

Yeah, but unfortunately Pages is crap with a crap user interface, and Numbers is just so basic.

 

[Bazza1]

Yeah, but unfortunately Pages is crap with a crap user interface, and Numbers is just so basic.

Pages et al is pretty much ClarisWorks 2026 and like the old Microsoft Works - intended for non-professional work, like PTA announcements and family calendars - albeit with pretty graphics. Otherwise, you'd be very, very hard pressed to find any professional office documents created in their proprietary form.

In fact, these days, what with the increased backlash against Microsoft (and frankly, any US company with potential access to private materials or internet use), many companies elsewhere are moving to non-proprietary OpenDocument format (ODT, ODF, ODS, etc.) instead.

 

[Rob9874]

Did July 13 come early? I cannot edit or save any Excel files today (using Office 2019).

 

[WebHead]

Makes me glad I upgraded to 2024 for, er, less than full price. Shall continue denying MS maximum profit.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I have Office 2016 yet it keeps working.

me too

 

[martinchivers]

I think I'll go for this. Just hope all functionality is there. £31, so not the end of the world.

 

[Bazza1]

I think I'll go for this. Just hope all functionality is there. £31, so not the end of the world.

Simply kicking the can down the road. And should an OS change, no guarantee Microsoft will keep up.
That said, I anticipate that Microsoft will endeavour to make all of their software not just subscription-based, but online.
Including their OS.

Which may explain why many (individuals and EU-based governments, for example) are moving to products like LibreOffice, the recently announced Euro-Office and also Linux-based OSs.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Simply kicking the can down the road. And should an OS change, no guarantee Microsoft will keep up.
That said, I anticipate that Microsoft will endeavour to make all of their software not just subscription-based, but online.
Including their OS.

Which may explain why many (individuals and EU-based governments, for example) are moving to products like LibreOffice, the recently announced Euro-Office and also Linux-based OSs.

If I were an organization for which Office documents are the primary work product and/or are a fundamental component of historical/business records, I would consider the current situation a critical supply chain risk.

The alternatives aren't perfect but mostly its incremental features versus catastrophic operational risks.

 

[bladerunner616]

Oddly, the MS bulletin also mentions Office 2021:

Starting July 13, 2026, some users may notice that Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or OneNote) can open and print files, but cannot edit, save, or create new files – called “reduced functionality mode”. This happens when support for Microsoft Office apps is no longer continued for older operating systems or devices.

This issue affects both Microsoft 365 subscribers on macOS, iPhone, and iPad, and those with non-subscription software, including Office 2021 or Office 2019 on macOS. For most users, updating your OS, and updating your apps will resolve it.

So 2016 will keep working?

 

[Heindijs]

What about Office 2011? Last I used it, it worked fine, and that was not that long ago.

 

[bzgnyc2]

What about Office 2011? Last I used it, it worked fine, and that was not that long ago.

I still have a version of Office 2008 that works fine under Mojave. The last version of Office with a designed-for-Mac UI. Of course it is 32-bit, won't run on Catalina, and is completely unsupported. But it still works.

Similarly my Office 2016 comes up fine on Mojave.

The question we're finding out now though is, 'do these software have any ticking time bombs tucked away inside?' Unfortunately, I don't think anyone knows for sure (other than likely the UNIX Year 2038 time problem).

 

[Macky-Mac]

So 2016 will keep working?

...Similarly my Office 2016 comes up fine on Mojave....

I also have Office 2016 running on Mojave.

edit; This is what Google Ai tells me about Office 2016 and the upcoming change for Office 2019;

"...It is completely unaffected by the July 13, 2026 certificate expiration that impacts Office 2019. Because it uses an older, separate licensing framework, its core editing and document creation features will remain unlocked and operational indefinitely on your current system...."

Hopefully that's true

 

[boswald]

This kind of **** should be illegal. In saner countries, it probably is!

 

[danpass]

I one-time-purchased the 2019 suite. Looking at Word now shows 16.78

Let's see what an update does.

Fortunately Pages and Numbers will open Word and Excel docs.

-

edit: nope. I'm ok with paying once every 5yrs or so but I think this time I'll stick with Apple programs.

-

 

[macizcool]

I one-time-purchased the 2019 suite. Looking at Word now shows 16.78

Let's see what an update does.

Fortunately Pages and Numbers will open Word and Excel docs.

-

edit: nope. I'm ok with paying once every 5yrs or so but I think this time I'll stick with Apple programs.

-

Are older versions unaffected?

 

[danpass]

Are older versions unaffected?

Unaffected as of this posting time.

 

[SpotOnT]

You can get a license for office 2024 standard on Mac for as cheap as $17 on Groupon. That’s what I did.

And if you are using a Mac that is too old to run macOS Monterey, Office 2021 and Office 2024 won’t install.

For people who need to use older computers for specific functions, it isn’t about the money, it is about having the option to run Microsoft Office or not at all.

Microsoft going in and bricking software that is running perfectly fine on these older systems is a problem.

 

[Bazza1]

And if you are using a Mac that is too old to run macOS Monterey, Office 2021 and Office 2024 won’t install.

I had the 'reduced functionality' show up in my Office 2021 suddenly on my 2017 Air (running Monterey).
I regained full accessibility to it - required a full uninstall of program (using their own uninstall app found on internet) and full reinstall. BUT that only worked because I had still had the original installer - the one on offer now for download only works for OS 14 and above.

If it packs it in again, I've got LibreOffice ready. Apple's own Suite doesn't really do it for me, and isn't really meant to be competition / option to MS Office.