Almost two years have passed since Microsoft released Office 2016 for Mac, finally replacing Office for Mac 2011, which it originally launched in October 2010. Given that so much time has passed since its release, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft is preparing to end its support for the older version of its productivity suite.
In fact, Microsoft reminded its customers today that 'all applications in the Office for Mac 2011 suite are reaching end of support on October 10th, 2017'. It added that 'after that date there will be no new security updates, non-security updates, free or paid assisted support options or technical content updates.'
Microsoft's reminder came shortly after Apple unveiled macOS 10.13 Sierra, the latest version of its PC operating system, at its Worldwide Developer Conference today. Unfortunately, for those still using Office for Mac 2011, it won't be supported at all on the new operating system.
Jul 15, 2017 Microsoft still provides all previous versions of Office 2016 for Mac on their own servers. Office 2016 for Mac Test Drive. Unbelievable, but Microsoft has not yet started giving out trial versions for Office 2016. The only Office Trial version currently available is Office 365, which runs on both PC and Mac. Office 365 Trial. Office for Mac that comes with an Office 365 subscription is updated on a regular basis to provide new features, security updates, and non-security updates. Updates are available from Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU). To use Microsoft AutoUpdate, start an Office application, such as Word, and then choose Help Check for Updates. If you're an admin and want to update the computers in your organization with your existing software deployment tools, you can download and deploy the update packages for. If you're an Office Insider, see Release notes for Insider Fast builds.; Starting with the 16.17 release in September 2018, these release notes also apply to Office 2019 for Mac, which is a version of Office for Mac that’s available as a one-time purchase from a retail store or through a volume licensing agreement.
'Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Lync have not been tested on macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and no formal support for this configuration will be provided,' Microsoft said.
In fact, the only Office apps supported on High Sierra will be those from the Office 2016 for Mac suite, and you'll specifically need version 15.35 or later, but they won't officially be supported while macOS 10.13 remains in beta, as Microsoft explained:
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote will install and run on 10.13. Not all Office functionality may be available, and you may encounter stability problems where apps unexpectedly quit. During the beta period for macOS 10.13 High Sierra, no formal support is available for this Office configuration.
The first developer preview of macOS 10.13 High Sierra is now available, and a wider public beta is expected to arrive in the next few weeks.
By Mike Wuerthele
Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 09:21 am PT (12:21 pm ET)
A support document published by Microsoft, and some AppleInsider testing, shows that while the newer versions of the office productivity suite will mostly work with High Sierra now, the current version does not —and older versions are getting left behind.Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 09:21 am PT (12:21 pm ET)
In the support document, published shortly after the reveal of High Sierra, Microsoft declares that while the Office 2016 suite of applications from unreleased version 15.35 and later do work, users will still have to endure problems while waiting for a future update. According to Microsoft, 'not all Office functionality may be available' and stability problems may manifest where 'apps unexpectedly quit.'
Without delving into specific reasons why, Microsoft strongly recommends that users back up existing data before trying the software. The company is requesting that users send feedback if they choose to test High Sierra and Microsoft Office products.
Versions 15.34 —the current version —and earlier are not supported on High Sierra, and users may not be able to launch the apps at all, according to Microsoft. The 15.34 update was released on May 16
Microsoft Office For Mac Download
Microsoft notes in the same memorandum that Office for Mac 2011 'have not been tested' and 'no formal support for this configuration will be provided.' Office for Mac 2011 will also cease all support from Microsoft on October 10, 2017 and no further updates in any form will be provided after that date.
AppleInsider tested the 15.34 version and found that they appear to launch and run for a period of time, but with notably slower speeds across the board. Furthermore, the apps quit unexpectedly fairly often during use.
The same issues manifested in a Mac with High Sierra that was not migrated to APFS, eliminating that as a primary source of the errors and crashing.
The latest Office for Mac 2011 from April, version 14.7.3, was examined, and was found to be in a worse state following the High Sierra update. Crashing was even more frequent than in the Office for Mac 2016, not even accounting for a number of other user interface oddities spanning the entire suite. A standard troubleshooting step for Microsoft Office applications is to uninstall and reinstall the suite. Neither the 2011 nor the 2016 versions were any better after a complete delete and reinstall.
List Of Microsoft Office Versions
Both the 2011 and 2016 versions of Office were usable prior to the High Sierra update.AppleInsider