Cannot save existing excel or word files on my Mac

Thanks for the screenshots.

The 0x0 error is a known Microsoft Office for Mac activation issue, and it also affects Office 2021. Your current version, 16.78.3, is below the minimum Office version 16.83 required to resolve this.

You do not need to purchase Microsoft 365 or upgrade to Office 2024. You just need to update your existing Office 2021 installation. Office 2021 can still receive the current Office for Mac updates.

Please close all Office apps, then open Finder > Applications > Microsoft AutoUpdate. If you do not see it there, check:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/

Open Microsoft AutoUpdate and choose Update or Update All for Word, Excel, and the other Office apps.

Microsoft also has a specific support article for the 0x0 error here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/support/known-issues/unknown-error-0x0-license-not-found-error-microsoft365-macos

Hold off on removing the license files for now, since Microsoft lists updating Office as the fix for this particular error.

If Microsoft AutoUpdate only gives you an Upgrade option and no Update option, can you share a screenshot of that window? That will help determine the next step.

Thanks!

Mac is updated to Tahoe. I'm using office 2021 - word and excel versions are 16.78.3 and it does say the license is not active.

It says the license is not activated and there is no 'more info' to activate it. the only options are License terms which when I click says safari can't find the server or third part notices which lists copyright info. Is there another way to activate the license?

If I need to remove the license file - how do I do that? and then how do I reinstall? Office is updated, I get messages that I ned to upgrade which I do not want to do at this time as the version of office is only a few years old.

Thanks for the details.

You do not need to upgrade to Microsoft 365 just to troubleshoot this.

Your Office 2021 version 16.78.3 is actually quite old. Updating Office 2021 is different from upgrading to Microsoft 365 or Office 2024. You can keep your Office 2021 license.

Before removing the license, try this first:

• Open Word.
• Go to "Help" > "Check for Updates."
• When Microsoft AutoUpdate opens, select "Update All."
• Restart the Mac after the updates finish.

Microsoft has a current issue where older Office for Mac versions can enter reduced functionality mode and no longer allow editing, saving, or creating documents. Updating the Office apps is the recommended fix:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/update-m365-office-macos-ios

If it still says the license is not activated after updating, then use Microsoft's License Removal Tool:

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

Before running that tool, please make sure you know the Microsoft account associated with your Office 2021 purchase. You can check here:

https://account.microsoft.com/services

After the license is removed, open Word again and sign in with the Microsoft account that owns Office 2021. You normally do not need to uninstall Office first.

Also, to help narrow this down:

1. Does Office 2021 appear under your Microsoft account at the Services page above?
2. Did you originally install Word and Excel directly from Microsoft, or from the Mac App Store?

Thanks!

Apparently I have office 2019 even though it was installed in 2021. I trashed word and excel reinstalled and still cannot edit or save. The license is 16.78.3.

@Mallorie Berger

I'm afraid Office 2019 is the problem here. It can no longer be activated under macOS.

You'll need a license which supports updating to at least version 16.83 of Office. (The operating system should be fine, since you have macOS Tahoe.)

If you can't get a newer version of Microsoft Office, you can try a third-party alternative, such as LibreOffice, which is open source. You can use it for free and file compatibility with Microsoft Office is generally good.

It is probably and older version of office. Office 2019’s certificate expired and because it’s out of support there is no update. In order to update to a supported version of office you must be on macOS Sonoma or later. List your version of office and macOS for further help.

Hi, @Mallorie Berger

Since this affects both Word and Excel, and you also cannot create a new document, Office may be running in reduced functionality mode.

First, please try these:

• Check that your Microsoft 365 subscription is still active at https://account.microsoft.com/services
• Make sure Word and Excel are signed in with the same Microsoft account that owns the subscription.
• Update macOS first, then update Microsoft Office. An outdated macOS or Office version can prevent creating, editing, or saving files.

To help narrow down the issue:

1. Which macOS version is installed? Go to Apple menu > "About This Mac."
2. In Word, go to "Word" > "About Word." What version is shown?
3. Do you see any message such as "Activation Required," "Unlicensed," or "License not found" when you open Word or Excel?

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!