If you’re contentedly using Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac, you’re not going to love this.
Users of all Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac apps will stop receiving security updates in October, and will increasingly face performance and reliability issues as Microsoft drops support.
From October 13, 2020 on, Office 2016 users will not longer by supported via Microsoft’s Office 365 or Microsoft 365 services. In addition, the business versions of OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange Online will not be supported, although they may continue to function.
Microsoft, in turn, has offered a contradictory statement, first declaring that Office 2016 will remain in the list of supported versions, but that “Office 2016 for Mac isn’t supported.”
The company will officially end all support for Office 2016 for Mac on that point. Office 2016 will still be supported, and Microsoft has been gradually migrating users to Office 365 since 2011. As part of that promotion, subscribers have received continually updated support plus new features that are exclusive to Office 365.
Where iOS is concerned, iPad users wishing to use Microsoft Office for iPad will also have to subscribe to its Office 365 service.
“We won’t take any active measures to block other versions of the Office client, such as Office 2013, from connecting to Office 365 services,” says Microsoft in a support statement, “but these older clients may encounter performance or reliability issues over time.”
Companies who have bought Office 2016 for Mac will notice the lack of support first, as it affects how Word and the other apps can save and share data.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Microsoft