According to a new support document (spotted by Windows Latest), Microsoft plans to end support for Office applications installed through the Microsoft Store. Starting October 2025, those versions of Office apps will stop getting new features. Starting December 2026, they’ll stop receiving security updates as well.
This move may be inconvenient if you’re using the Microsoft Store versions, but it’s a reasonable one. Instead of having to support two different ways to use Office apps, Microsoft can now focus its efforts on one—the one that isn’t tied to Windows Updates or the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft is encouraging users to switch to the Click-to-Run versions of Office, which is a faster and more flexible way to install apps compared to using traditional MSI installer files or AppX packages from the Microsoft Store (which offer limited support for enterprise solutions).
With Click-to-Run, Office apps can be used even before the entire suite is downloaded and installed, installation sizes are minimized because you can skip unnecessary components, and multiple versions of Office can be installed on one PC without version conflicts. Updates are streamed and automatically handled in the background, too.
Which type of Office do you have?
To check which Office version you have, open an Office app and navigate to File > Account, then look under “About [the application].” You should see a Version number, a Build number, and an indication of either “Microsoft Store” or “Click-to-Run.”
To switch to the Click-to-Run version, you’ll need to reinstall Office using the Microsoft 365 Apps installer. This installer automatically detects if you have the Microsoft Store version, and if so, removed that version and replaces it with the Click-to-Run version.
Further reading: Should you buy Office 2024 or subscribe to Microsoft 365? Here are the pros and cons
