Do I have to buy a new Office licence to continue using 2019 Office for Mac, on my Big Sur iMac?

Question

Do I have to buy a new Office licence to continue using 2019 Office for Mac, on my Big Sur iMac?

E O 0

For a long while now,I have been unable to use/edit within the Office apps on my 2014 iMac with Big Sur OS. I understand Microsoft ceased support up to version 16.77 of Office for Mac.Although I have previously purchased and have Office 19,I felt compelled to get buy a single 365 Office licence for £85 today.

Did I really have to do this? I am now suspecting that using the Microsoft licence removal tool might have cured/fixed something,and was the reason I am from today able to use the installed apps,rather than my 365 subscription purchase.

I dont need any of its feautures.All I simply wanted to do was to get my Word,Excel and Powerpoint working again.

I am thinking of cancelling the 365 subscription.Will I get a refund? There does not seem an obvious way to email Microsoft directly-I bought the licence directly from them.Any help/advice greatly welcome.Thanks.

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Answer 1

Manoel Barros 11,410 Independent Advisor

Hello!

Since you removed the Office 2019 license but purchased the 365 license, if your email address is linked to Office 2019, the 365 license will be valid. Office will only update if you do so in Settings.

Microsoft 365 is only supported on the latest three versions of macOS. BitSur does not support Microsoft 365 and you must have maintained Office 2019 with a 365 license.

To cancel your subscription, access your Microsoft account and click Subscriptions. But maybe this can remove your license again.

https://account.microsoft.com/account?lang=en-us

E O 0 Reputation points

2025-08-28T06:16:55.15+00:00

Thanks Manoel for your response.I frankly find this situation very confusing.Office came with my Mac when I purchased it 10 years ago.I can see that I have 2 2019 office purchases/subscriptions in my account.Also when the 365 was being installed I was given the choice of that (365) or Office 19.I selected the 365.

From your post it appears that I need the the 365 licence to mainatian the Office 2019 on my Mac? As mentioned I dont need the extra features/storage/benefits that 365 brings. But I am afraid of cancelling the subcription,not getting a refund,and then still finding out I need afterall.None of this makes sense to me.
Manoel Barros 11,410 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-08-29T02:19:46.7466667+00:00

If you see two Office subscriptions in your account, you may not need 365. Generally, Office 2019 licenses are permanent. This means that if you remove 365, your Office 2019 license should work.

However, this isn't a guarantee, as it depends on how your Office was activated, the license type, and the integrity of your Office 2019. You would need to remove the 365 license and test it.

It's a complicated situation. I believe you need additional help, so I'll try to redirect you to the moderators.

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Do I have to buy a new Office licence to continue using 2019 Office for Mac, on my Big Sur iMac?

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