word did not save, progress gone

Question

word did not save, progress gone

Mark Elias 20

word did not save, progress gone. I am totally disappointed with my 365 subscription.

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Answer accepted by question author

DaveM121 928.6K Independent Advisor

There are some problems reported with the Office apps on a Mac at the moment.

At the top left of your Mac desktop, click the Apple icon and select 'About this Mac', what version of MacOS is installed on your computer?

Mark Elias 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T14:01:31.7233333+00:00

I am using Tahoe 26.6.2
DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T14:07:41.1233333+00:00

Thank you for that information.

Microsoft indicate updating the Office apps should resolve the problem:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/support/known-issues/unknown-error-0x0-license-not-found-error-microsoft365-macos

However, most people indicate that does not resolve the problem and the working method is to completely uninstall Office using the steps on this link, then download and reinstall Office form your Microsoft account online.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/uninstall-office-for-mac
Mark Elias 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T15:24:17.1566667+00:00

On Friday I went through a whole process with a Microsoft troubleshooter via chat and he deleted all the Microsoft 365 materials and reinstalled the entire program. This morning I go in to start work again and the save/don’t save/cancel box pops up as I tried to save the story once more.
DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T15:27:57.3966667+00:00

Try using the Office Licence Removal Tool on this link to remove the Office licence, then open one of the Office apps and log back into Office to check if that resolves the problem.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-mac

2 additional answers

Your answer

Mark Elias 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T14:01:31.7233333+00:00

I am using Tahoe 26.6.2
DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T14:07:41.1233333+00:00

Thank you for that information.

Microsoft indicate updating the Office apps should resolve the problem:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/support/known-issues/unknown-error-0x0-license-not-found-error-microsoft365-macos

However, most people indicate that does not resolve the problem and the working method is to completely uninstall Office using the steps on this link, then download and reinstall Office form your Microsoft account online.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/uninstall-office-for-mac
Mark Elias 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T15:24:17.1566667+00:00

On Friday I went through a whole process with a Microsoft troubleshooter via chat and he deleted all the Microsoft 365 materials and reinstalled the entire program. This morning I go in to start work again and the save/don’t save/cancel box pops up as I tried to save the story once more.
DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T15:27:57.3966667+00:00

Try using the Office Licence Removal Tool on this link to remove the Office licence, then open one of the Office apps and log back into Office to check if that resolves the problem.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-mac

Answer 1

Stefan Blom 351.1K MVP Volunteer Moderator

Where are you saving? If you are saving in OneDrive, sign in to https://onedrive.live.com and see if you can find the document. Use the Version History if you need an older version.

If you saved locally on your Mac, try with any local backup facility that you may be using, such as Apple Time Machine.

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Answer 2

If Word closed unexpectedly, the first place to check is Document Recovery when Word is opened again. It automatically opens after an unexpected app closure and shows recovered files from the most recent saved, AutoSaved, or AutoRecovered point.

For Word on Mac, use this recovery path:

Reopen Word and check whether the Document Recovery pane appears.
If multiple recovered files appear, choose the one with the most recent date and time under the file name.
Open the recovered file and save it immediately.
If the recovery pane was closed too soon, reopen Word again. Word can offer to show those recovered files later.

What likely happened:

AutoSave is the safest option, but it works for Microsoft 365 subscribers when files are stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
If AutoSave was not available, Word relies on AutoRecover, which is not continuous saving.
AutoRecover saves work at intervals, so the recovered version may be older than the latest edits.

To reduce the chance of this happening again:

Save files to OneDrive or SharePoint and use AutoSave.
In Word, go to File > Options > Save and make sure:
- Save AutoRecover information every x minutes is selected
- Keep the last autorecovered version if I close without saving is selected
Use a smaller AutoRecover interval such as 5 or 10 minutes to reduce potential data loss.
If AutoSave is missing, confirm that:
- there is an active Microsoft 365 subscription
- the file is not in an older format such as .doc
- the file is stored in OneDrive

If AutoSave was not on and Word did not create a newer AutoRecover snapshot before the app closed, the missing edits may not be recoverable.