Updating to Big Sur/Microsoft Word compatability

I found a ticket from February 26, 2024, that has better information. From what I can tell, this is the actual answer as of spring, 2024.

"Office for Mac is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS. As new major versions of macOS are made generally available, Microsoft will drop support for the oldest version and support the newest and previous two versions of macOS."

• macOS 15 - TBD
  • Expected release in Q3 or Q4 of 2024
  • Once macOS 15 is released, users won't be able to download Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 using macOS 12 Monterey

• macOS 14 Sonoma - Latest update 14.4.1 (March 2024)
  • Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 are supported for now

• macOS 13 Ventura - Latest update 13.6.6 (March 2024), LAST update expected in 2025
  • Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 are supported for now

• macOS 12 Monterey - Latest update 12.7.4 (March 2024), LAST update expected in 2024
  • Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 are supported for now. Once Mac releases macOS 15 in Q3 or Q4 of 2024, these will no longer be supported on Monterey.
  • If they're already installed they will continue to function. New installs will not be supported.

• macOS 11 Big Sur - LAST update 11.7.10 (September 2023)
  • Office version 16.77 is the final version supported by Big Sur
  • If you already have Office installed it will continue to function, but will not update past 16.77

• macOS 10.15 Catalina - LAST update 10.15.7 (July 2022)
  • Office version 16.66 is the final version supported by Catalina
  • If you already have Office installed it will continue to function, but will not update past 16.66

For older macOS, you could also check here (https://macadmins.software/) for older versions of MS Office software that might be supported on older operating systems.

wendyjpc Said:

"Updating to Big Sur/Microsoft Word compatability: I have an early 2014 MacBook Air running on High Sierra and I'm going to update to Big Sur. I'm using Microsoft Word 2008 which is not compatible on High Sierra and want to know if Microsoft Office 2019 will work and allow me to open up my old 2008 documents. And where can I purchase Microsoft Office 2019?"

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Using Microsoft Office 2019 will work with Big Sur:

Yes. Microsoft Office 2019 will work with Big Sur.

1. Go Here: Upgrade macOS to continue receiving Microsoft 365 and Office for Mac updates - Microsoft Help
2. Click: Office for Mac 2019
3. As it Reads: "Note that new installs of Office 2019 for Mac also requires macOS Monterey or later."

Get it from Microsoft: Download and install or reinstall Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office 2013 - Microsoft Help

"ok so i just read this really closely and it's very confusing. I bought a new Office 2019 and it is saying that I need: OS 12 or later.So what you're saying is that because this is a "new" install and not an update from my Word2008 that it requires Monterey? That doesn't make any sense. Microsoft said that I couldn't use 2021 but 2019 was ok..."

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Your Right: It doesn't make any sense. My Intel Mac with macOS Monterey (which I have for troubleshooting purposes, BTW), actually has MS Windows 2019. In fact, I purchased a license card for Office for Mac 2019. from a retailer, and the license keys were for Office for Mac 2008. It installed. I'm like "What?". So, I contacted Microsoft, and they provided me with the correct key. The correct version installed. So, it may be a key error.

So, Take this Up with Microsoft:

So, chat with Microsoft to troubleshoot this: https://vsa.services.microsoft.com/en-us/v1.0/

wendyjpc wrote:

ok so i just read this really closely and it's very confusing. I bought a new Office 2019 and it is saying that I need OS 12 or later.So what you're saying is that because this is a "new" install and not an update from my Word2008 that it requires Monterey? That doesn't make any sense. Microsoft said that I couldn't use 2021 but 2019 was ok...

I believe that Microsoft's policy is to support only the three most recent versions of macOS.

Microsoft Support – Upgrade macOS to continue receiving Microsoft 365 and Office for Mac updates

It doesn't necessarily mean that Office 2019 is going to drop dead for people who are on Big Sur, and who bought Office 2019 when Microsoft supported Big Sur.

"What if I don't update macOS to a supported version?

If you’re on an unsupported version of macOS, your Office apps will still work but you would no longer receive any updates including security updates."

But "new installs of Office 2019 for Mac … [require] macOS Monterey or later."

I also see that "Support for Office 2019 for Mac will end on October 10, 2023." They want you to purchase Office 2021 or to move to a Microsoft 365 subscription plan.

Microsoft Support - End of support for Office 2019 for Mac

If you can't get a version of Microsoft Office for Big Sur, there is LibreOffice. It can open many Word documents, although I'm not sure that it's 100%-compatible with Office 2008.

LibreOffice

The current versions are 24.2.2 (early adopter) and 7.6.6 (tested for longer). The big jump from 7.6.6 to 24.2.2 is because the project is changing to calendar-based version numbers, where "24.2" indicates a build released in – you guessed it – February 2024.