{"id":137347,"date":"2026-05-28T16:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/appleinsider.com\/articles\/26\/05\/28\/microsoft-is-killing-office-2019-for-mac-and-iphone-and-you-cant-do-much-about-it"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:42:26","slug":"microsoft-is-killing-office-2019-for-mac-and-iphone-and-you-cant-do-much-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/05\/28\/microsoft-is-killing-office-2019-for-mac-and-iphone-and-you-cant-do-much-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft is killing Office 2019 for Mac and iPhone, and you can’t do much about it"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Microsoft will be effectively bricking the standalone Office 2019 for Mac, iPad, and iPhone users on July 13, 2026. There’s not much you can do about it, other than buy again, or subscribe to Office 365.\n<\/p>\n

In October, Microsoft officially ended support for Office 2019 for Mac, a standalone version of its ubiquitous productivity suite. While support was no longer provided, users could still use the software.\n<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that’s about to change no matter how old your hardware is, and regardless of what version of Apple’s OSes you’re running.\n<\/p>\n

Starting July 13, 2026, Microsoft will disable almost all functionality for Microsoft Office users on macOS 11 Big Sur. It will also put Office 2019 into read-only mode for all users, regardless of OS.\n<\/p>\n

It’s also bricking its mobile apps on devices running iPadOS 16<\/a> and iOS 16<\/a> or earlier.\n<\/p>\n

Here’s what that means for you.\n<\/p>\n

You can still access your files<\/h2>\n

Before you start to panic, don’t worry; you will still be able to access all of your Microsoft Office files. <\/p>\n

What you won’t be able to do, however, is edit them, save them, or create any new files. Instead, you’ll be relegated to what Microsoft charitably calls “reduced functionality mode.”\n<\/p>\n

It really should be called “give us more money mode.”\n<\/p>\n

In this mode, you can view and print files, but you cannot<\/em> edit, save, or create new files. At all. If you want to interact with your files in any meaningful way, you have a couple of different options. <\/p>\n

Users with Microsoft 365 and Office 2021<\/h2>\n

If you’re on macOS 11 or earlier, you’ll need to upgrade to macOS 12 Monterey, or later to continue using Microsoft Office 365 or Office 2021. Doing so is relatively easy, assuming your Mac supports it.\n<\/p>\n

To update, you’ll need to:\n<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Open Settings<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Click the General<\/strong> tab<\/li>\n
  3. If available, click Software Update and follow the instructions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For mobile users, updating your iPad or iPhone is done by following the steps below.\n<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Open the Settings<\/strong> app<\/li>\n
    2. Tap General<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. If available, tap Software Update<\/strong> and follow the instructions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If your Mac or mobile device of choice doesn’t support the minimum required operating system, you’re not entirely<\/em> out of options, either.\n<\/p>\n

      If your Mac doesn’t support macOS 12 or newer, you can purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription and use Microsoft 365 from your preferred browser. <\/p>\n

      This may not be the most convenient way to access your files long term, but it will allow you to edit and save them. <\/p>\n

      Important:<\/strong> You’ll notice we didn’t mention Office 2024, and for good reason. Office 2024 requires macOS 14, that’s macOS Sonoma<\/a>, so those users are already in the clear. <\/p>\n

      If you’re running Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac in 2026<\/h2>\n

      While Microsoft’s support documentation is not entirely clear<\/a>, it seems as though the company is effectively bricking Office 2019 for all macOS users, regardless of operating system. <\/p>\n

      This means that even if you’re running macOS 26<\/a>, the most recent iteration of Apple’s operating system, you will lose most functionality within Office 2019. This isn’t terribly ideal, especially since many online vendors are still actively selling Office 2019 to users. <\/p>\n

      Unfortunately, regardless of what you do, you’re going to be forced to move to an updated version. This includes either purchasing a one-time license like Office 2021 or Office 2024 or subscribing to Microsoft 365.\n<\/p>\n

      AppleInsider<\/em> suggests that you opt for Office 2024 if you choose a one-time license. Microsoft clearly states that it only supports one-time purchase software for five years. <\/p>\n

      This means that Office 2021 is losing support in late 2026. By purchasing Office 2024, you should still receive support until 2029, based on Microsoft’s stated five-year support window.\n<\/p>\n

      Of course, you could also take this as a sign to move to Apple’s free iWork suite, LibreOffice, or other solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Microsoft will be effectively bricking the standalone Office 2019 for Mac, iPad, and iPhone users on July 13, 2026. There’s not much you can do about it, other than buy again, or subscribe to Office 365. In October, Microsoft officially ended support for Office 2019 for Mac, a standalone version of its ubiquitous productivity suite. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-insider"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}