Office 365 installation issue on MacBook Pro with macOS Monterey

There is a *possibility* you may be able to install Office 365 on Monterey.

The final version that was compatible with Monterey was Office 365 v16.89.1 (Sep. 17, 2024). You should be able to download the installer from Microsoft's Update History For Office for Mac. Scroll down to the line for Sep. 17, 2024 version 16.89.1 and download the installer package for Office Suite with Teams or without Teams, whichever you prefer. You should then be able to install it.

Make sure you have Monterey 12.7.6 installed before you install this version of Office 365.

Note (this is the "possibility" piece). You will still need an Office 365 license to activate the installation. There is a 1-month free trial available, so you could sign up for the free trial and see if you can activate your installation. If it doesn't work you can cancel the subscription before the end of the 1-month trial.

Please let us know if this works!

(Full disclosure ... I have not done this myself, so I cannot claim that it works; only that it is a possibility.)

MartinR wrote:

There is a *possibility* you may be able to install Office 365 on Monterey.

If so, it's "Christmas." This Microsoft Support article suggests that existing users can keep using Office 365 on Monterey – without feature or security updates. But it also says "Note that new installs of Microsoft 365 for Mac require macOS Ventura or later."

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

I saw that in the fine print on the page you linked, but it's worth a shot. Things are not always what they are said to be.

Further, I noticed that the MS document also says "The August 2024 update (16.88) is the last build to support macOS Monterey" but I consider that statement suspect. I have version 16.89.1 on Monterey 12.7.6.

When I click the download link for 16.89.1, the full installer starts to download. Same for 16.88:

The links provide installers going back to v.16.27 on Mojave. The only reason I can think of that MS would still make these available would be for users to install them if/when needed. I suspect that if there's a gotcha it's more likely in the activation, not the installation.

Over the holidays I plan to replace the drive in another Mac that I own and install Monterey (clean install, no migration); then I'll try this myself to find out if it works.

As I said earlier, this is only a possibility. But I think it's worth a try,

Try logging into the online/web version of Office365 as suggested by dialabrain, you just access the Office "apps" through any browser. Once you are logged into the Office365 web suite, then you may be able to click on your avatar for Office365 or maybe Settings (within the office web app) to download an older version of the stand alone Office apps compatible with Monterey. Sometime last year I saw an option for this, but I just took a quick look and didn't see it, but MS keeps moving things around so it is hard to say. This would be a question for the university's IT department.

Awesome to know! I have suspected for a long time that it would work but have not been in a position to personally verify it.

I'll draft a User Tip so other people can find the procedure more easily. There are many like you who want/need to install an older version of Office 365 on an older version of macOS. (I will soon be one of them, too.)

Thanks for confirming it worked!

Hi Martin

I have a macbook air inch 2017 with the latest monterey 12.7.6 and now i need microsoft to install.Please recommend whether i need to buy office 2024 which is my first choice or office 2021.I understood microsoft 365 is not compactable

jayanthi244 wrote:

I have a macbook air inch 2017 with the latest monterey 12.7.6 and now i need microsoft to install.Please recommend whether i need to buy office 2024 which is my first choice or office 2021.I understood microsoft 365 is not compactable

Microsoft Office 2024 is not compatible with Monterey.

Microsoft Support – Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 FAQ

"Office LTSC for Mac 2024 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."

Microsoft Support – Office suites for individuals and families indicates that even for Office 2021, Microsoft has a policy of dropping support for older versions of macOS as newer ones are made generally available. So although Monterey was originally a supported OS for Office 2021, it no longer would be.

You would have to acquire a new Mac or use an alternative office suite such as LibreOffice.

Just to add, Microsoft 365 online may work. You'll have to check.

https://www.office.com/

Monterey is the latest version of macOS supported on your Mac.

Look into the Free LibreOffice, it handles MS Office files like Word & Excel, & Page Layout…

https://www.libreoffice.org/