Office for Mac: macOS Catalina - which version of Office is supported?

For the release of macOS 10.15, Microsoft promises full Office compatibility. At the same time, support for macOS 10.12 ends, old Office apps no longer run.

Microsoft readies Office for macOS 10.15 Catalina

Microsoft is preparing users and administrators for changes to Office for Mac support. Office 2019 and Office 365 are expected to offer „full compatibility“ with the new operating system version in time for macOS 10.15 Catalina’s public release day in the autumn, the software company promises. The Office suite can already be used with the Catalina beta if at least build 16.26 is used with the Office 2019 or Office 365 programmes, according to Microsoft’s Office Deployment Insiders video channel. Office 2016 runs from build 16.16.11 onwards under macOS 10.15. The company is asking developers to provide feedback in case of problems in the interaction with Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Co. Due to the future obligatory Apple notarisation of signed apps that are obtained outside of the App Store, there may still be error messages when installing Office apps in macOS 10.15, notes an employee of the software manufacturer. They want to iron this out by the time of the general Catalina release in autumn, he adds.

Office 2019/365 drop support for macOS 10.12

With the release of macOS 10.15, Microsoft will simultaneously discontinue support for macOS 10.12 Sierra, Office 2019 and Office 365 will then require at least macOS 10.13 High Sierra. Microsoft already announced last year that Office would only support the three most recent macOS versions. Existing installations of the Office apps could continue to be used under macOS 10.12, but would then no longer receive updates.

Office 2016 still supported until 2020

Office 2016 for Mac, however, remains exempt: Due to the older code base, this version is to be supported unchanged on macOS from version 10.15 back to OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Office 2016 as a whole, however, is on the brink of extinction: according to Microsoft, this version will be obsolete from October 2020, when no more updates will be made available.

Office 2011 facing complete demise

It will not be possible to continue using Office for Mac 2011 in conjunction with macOS 10.15, the manufacturer notes: Since Apple’s upcoming operating system no longer runs 32-bit software, the old Office programmes can no longer be opened either. Microsoft discontinued support for Office 2011 a good year and a half ago.

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