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Office 2019 Install on High Sierra Nov. 2020

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SpotOnT

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 7, 2016
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Hello!

I just upgraded my old 2011 Macbook Pro to High Sierra, the last OS it can handle.
Now I am looking to install Microsoft Office on my Mac. I figured the best option was Office 2019, however, I noticed on the Microsoft website it states that the last two version of Mac OS are required.

Does that mean that if I purchase Office 2019 today, I cannot install it on my Mac running High Sierra? But if I purchased it in early Oct. I would be able to install Office 2019? I just don't want to drop over $100 on Microsoft Office if I can't install it on my Mac.

On a side note, I did contact Microsoft through Chat about this, and they told me I should contact Apple for clarification. When I contacted Apple, they of course told me I needed to ask Microsoft. Go figure.
 
Microsoft is not testing that updates will work on High Sierra anymore since they state that they only support the Apple supported Mac OS versions.

Meaning that it may work well on HS for now and for some time, but as time goes by future updates may cause a glitch here and there (or even a bigger failure) since neither Apple nor MS spend any time on HS and can't be held responsible if it fails.

You may have happy computing for a longer period with Office 2019 or a serious problem somewhere down the line after a new update but it will be at your own risk and cost.

If it works now as mdgm mentions then at least some version work, but you will have to be prepared to stay on the last working version (and be able to roll back) if a sudden new update cause problems.
 
Well the latest Office 2019 (Nov 10) was released prior to Big Sur (Nov 12). I guess it's possible that Microsoft may end up blocking Office 2019 updates on High Sierra. If not, if you can figure out the url they get the updates from it should be possible to figure out a way to block the update prompts.

It's a good idea to download the installers of known working versions before Microsoft removes them if you plan on remaining on High Sierra for a long time to come.
 
mdgm said:
There are download links for recent versions of Office for Mac here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-au/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

The latest version of Office 2019 for Mac (16.43) at the time of writing works for me on High Sierra on a mid-2014 MacBook Pro. YMMV.
Click to expand...


Thank you for your helpful reply!

Just to confirm though, that page includes downloads for the full installer for Office Mac 2019? I can download the version I want and I just need to enter some account information that I obtain after purchasing a license from Microsoft.com?

My concern is if those installers are for Office 365, and when I go to enter my license key purchased for Office 2019, it will show up as invalid since I used an Office 365 installer. The main reason I think those might be Office 365 installers is because they include Outlook and OneNote, which are not listed as being part of Office 2019.

Sorry if these are silly questions! I haven't purchased Microsoft Office since it came on a DVD for installation.
 
Kent W said:
Microsoft is not testing that updates will work on High Sierra anymore since they state that they only support the Apple supported Mac OS versions.

Meaning that it may work well on HS for now and for some time, but as time goes by future updates may cause a glitch here and there (or even a bigger failure) since neither Apple nor MS spend any time on HS and can't be held responsible if it fails.

You may have happy computing for a longer period with Office 2019 or a serious problem somewhere down the line after a new update but it will be at your own risk and cost.

If it works now as mdgm mentions then at least some version work, but you will have to be prepared to stay on the last working version (and be able to roll back) if a sudden new update cause problems.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply!

I am OK avoiding MS Office updates or not receiving further support for Office 2019. My biggest concern is mainly that when I go to launch the installer.pkg I get a popup saying "This software requires macOS version 10.14 or later" and I can't install Microsoft Office at all!

Office 2019 was released for Sierra back in the day....as long as I can find compatible installers for High Sierra (that I can backup if I ever need to do a clean install of my Mac), I am a happy camper!
 
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That webpage specifically mentions Office 2019. “Starting with the 16.17 release in September 2018, this information also applies to Office 2019 for Mac”. So I presume these installers work for both Office 365 and Office 2019.
 
I have got notified today that there's an update for Office 2019 and the updater won't let me update saying MacOS Upgrade Required. So 16.43 is the last version for High Sierra. So save the High Sierra installer for Office 2019.

I have been holding off from upgrading to Mojave due to expensive upgrade costs for some key software I use but the old version of that software will stop working mid next year so I may upgrade to Mojave (or newer) at that point.
 
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Hmmm. It seems Microsoft says that existing installs will work fine, but new installs need to be Mojave and newer. Haven‘t tested this to see if this is accurate.
 
Perhaps it's worth to try to dig up a somewhat older installer app for Office 2019 from back when High Sierra still was supported and try to install it with internet down and after that install any updates from there?

Otherwise you have to downgrade to Office 2016 or just run the web interface version of 2019.

This is what we will experience more and more when running High Sierra.

Since my 2011 iMac 27 still runs excellently but cant't be upgraded further without a big unsupported HW and SW operation, I have installed a separate TB connected external SSD with a fully updated and supported Windows 10 system. I will soon make room on the interior main HDD for a Linux install. I will still keep a smaller partition with HS since I run target display mode connecting my i7 8gb ram MBA with Big Sur to it to get full use of the 27 inch 2K real estate.
 
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I have been primarily running Windows 10 on some 2011 iMacs for years and Windows 7 before that ever since they were purchased.

Just recently I bought a couple of TB3 NVMe drives and successfully used them to boot High Sierra on a 2011 Mini and a 2011 iMac. I will soon clone a Bootcamp install from the internal HDD and hopefully it will boot into Windows 10. I have done speed tests in OS X and the write speed exceeds what a single internal SATA III SSD could theoretically achieve.

iMac -> TB (1/2) cable -> Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter -> TB3 dock -> TB3 NVMe SSD.

It’s important to check that the TB3 dock and NVMe drive are supported by High Sierra before purchasing.
 
Thank you for the download links. I was able to download Microsoft_Office_16.43.20110804_Installer and it allowed me to install Office. The updater initially wanted to update, but I put it off, and now the updater says that MacOS Upgrade Required. I turned off "Automatically keep MS Apps up to date".

I hate what Apple is doing. They are trying to turn the Mac into an iOS device, so they only have to maintain one OS. I don't know how anyone can get anything done in iOS. Don't get me wrong, I like my iPhone and iPad, I just can't create anything in the iOS.
mdgm said:
There are download links for recent versions of Office for Mac here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-au/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

The latest version of Office 2019 for Mac (16.43) at the time of writing works for me on High Sierra on a mid-2014 MacBook Pro. YMMV.
Click to expand...
 
I think I renamed a file to stop the prompts to update within Office.

I expect that I will reluctantly update from High Sierra (my MBP will go to at least Big Sur) probably to Mojave at first. My 2011 iMacs and 2011 Mini are stuck on High Sierra, at least as far as official support goes.
 
Buckaroo said:
Thank you for the download links. I was able to download Microsoft_Office_16.43.20110804_Installer and it allowed me to install Office. The updater initially wanted to update, but I put it off, and now the updater says that MacOS Upgrade Required. I turned off "Automatically keep MS Apps up to date".

I hate what Apple is doing. They are trying to turn the Mac into an iOS device, so they only have to maintain one OS. I don't know how anyone can get anything done in iOS. Don't get me wrong, I like my iPhone and iPad, I just can't create anything in the iOS.
Click to expand...
It's Microsoft that is requiring a newer MacOS to run their newer updates, not Apple.
 
Just as an update in case anyone else is ever looking for this information. The webpage linked by mdgm above works beautifully. The final Microsoft Office 2019 installers compatible with each version of macOS are as follows:

macOS 10.12 Sierra: Microsoft Office 16.30 (19101301)
macOS 10.13 High Sierra: Microsoft Office 16.43 (20110804)
macOS 10.14 Mojave: Microsoft Office 16.54 (21101001)

These are full Office installers and work for both the Home & Student and Home & Business editions of Microsoft Office 2019.

If you are installing these and know you won't be upgrading your version of macOS, I would recommend choosing not to install the Microsoft AutoUpdate (just head to custom install and uncheck the AutoUpdate application during installation). That way you won't get any annoying popups from Microsoft telling you to update your version of macOS so you can upgrade to the latest version of Office.

Thanks again to mdgm for the providing the link.
 
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