Share via

Unable to Use Installed Microsoft Apps on PC

Shenny Larido 0 Reputation points
2026-05-18T01:46:05.6966667+00:00

I’m having an issue with my Microsoft apps on my PC. I can only use the online/web versions, but the apps installed on my computer (like Word, Excel, etc.) won’t open or work properly.

Has anyone experienced this before? How can I fix it? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Windows
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Norah-L 6,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-18T06:28:09.3333333+00:00

    Good day Shenny Larido!

    From what you described, the installed Office desktop apps on your PC, such as Word or Excel, are not opening or working properly. Since the web versions still work, the issue may be related to the local Office installation, cached sign-in data, or a Windows service on the PC.

    Please try the following steps in order:

    1. Make sure Windows is fully updated

    Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates, install any available updates, then restart your PC.

    1. Check the Office service

    Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter. Find Microsoft Office Click-to-Run Service and make sure it is Running. If it is stopped, right-click it and choose Start. Also make sure its Startup type is not set to Disabled.

    1. Clear cached Office credentials

    Go to Control Panel > Credential Manager, then remove saved entries related to Microsoft, Office, or Microsoft 365. Restart the PC, then open Word or Excel and sign in again.

    Additional tip: If you use a third-party antivirus/security program or cleanup tool, try temporarily disabling it or adding Microsoft Office as an allowed/excluded app, then test Word or Excel again. Some security tools can interfere with Office background components.

    Also, you can try repairing Office as Q&A Assist suggested (step 2). If that still does not help, it may be worth testing with a new Windows user account. If it works there, the issue is likely tied to settings or corruption in the original Windows profile.

    Hope this could help. Please let me know how it goes!

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. AI answer

    2026-05-18T01:46:15.65+00:00

    Based on similar issues, there are two main areas to check: whether the desktop apps are included in the current subscription, and whether the local Office installation is damaged.

    1. Confirm the subscription includes desktop apps
    • Microsoft 365 Basic does not include desktop Office apps; it only provides web and mobile apps plus OneDrive storage. In that case, previously installed desktop apps will stop working once the old subscription ends.
    • If recently moved to Microsoft 365 Basic or a similar plan without desktop apps, renew or upgrade to a plan that includes desktop apps (for example, Microsoft 365 Personal or Family). Once on a plan with desktop apps, sign in with the same account in Word/Excel and reactivate.
    1. Repair or reinstall Office if the subscription is correct If the plan does include desktop apps and they still will not open or work properly:

    a. Try repairing Office:

    • On Windows 11:
      1. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.
      2. Select the Microsoft Office product, choose the More icon (three dots), then Advanced options (if available), and select Repair. If Repair is not available or does not fix the issue, select Reset.
    • On Windows 10:
      1. Right-click Start and select Apps and Features.
      2. Select the Microsoft Office product, choose Modify, then run an Online Repair (or Repair for MSI-based installs) and follow the prompts.

    b. If repair does not help, completely uninstall and reinstall Office:

    • Uninstall Office from Apps & Features / Programs and Features.
    • Make sure all remaining Office folders under Program Files are removed.
    • Restart the PC.
    • Reinstall Office from the account page associated with the subscription and sign in.

    If after these steps the desktop apps still cannot be used but the web apps work, verify again that the signed-in account on the PC matches the account that owns the qualifying subscription.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.