Effective October 14, 2025, Support for Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 2019 ends. After that date, no further updates, security fixes, or technical support will be available for these versions of Office. While the applications may continue to function, using unsupported software could lead to potential security risks and other issues. Because migrations can take time, we recommend starting to upgrade any remaining devices your organization has running Office 2016 or Office 2019 to a supported version as soon as possible.
What does end of support mean?
Microsoft Office, like almost all Microsoft products, has a support lifecycle during which Microsoft provides bug fixes and security fixes. This lifecycle lasts for some years from the date of the product’s initial release. The end of this lifecycle is known as the product’s end of support. After Office reaches its end of support, Microsoft no longer provides the following services:
- Technical support for issues
- Bug fixes for issues that are discovered
- Security fixes for vulnerabilities that are discovered
Because of these changes, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to a supported version of Office as soon as possible.
Recommended path: Migrate to the cloud with Microsoft 365 E3
To mitigate these risks and ensure your organization remains secure and compliant, we recommend upgrading devices running Office 2016 or Office 2019 to Microsoft 365 E3, which includes Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise plus core device management, security, and compliance capabilities.
Microsoft 365 (and Office 365) provides subscription plans that include access to Office applications and other cloud services, including Teams, Exchange Online, and OneDrive.
Microsoft 365 Apps is the version of Office that comes with many of those enterprise and business subscription plans. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise provides the latest versions of desktop apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with regular updates and continuous support under the Modern Lifecycle Policy and is eligible for the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on.
Microsoft 365 E3 provides an end-to-end solution for securely harnessing the power of AI in your organization, including:
- Always up-to-date versions of familiar apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to install on up to 5 PCs + 5 tablets + 5 phones per user
- Intelligent services like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Microsoft Loop to help keep employees connected and in sync
- Core security and information protection capabilities to help you safeguard your organization’s devices, applications, and sensitive data against threats
- Streamlined endpoint management to enable faster deployment and help your workforce stay secure and productive across devices
- Integrate generative AI seamlessly into core productivity workflows within Microsoft 365 Apps using Microsoft 365 Copilot (available as an add-on)
Fallback for disconnected scenarios: Upgrade to Office LTSC 2024
For scenarios that require a fully disconnected solution, we recommend upgrading to Office LTSC 2024. Office LTSC 2024 includes a subset of the value in Microsoft 365 Apps and will be supported for five years under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.
More information
Resources to help you prepare for this transition:
- Read the official announcement with helpful insights here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/office-end-of-support-blog/get-ready-now-one-year-until-office-2016-2019-end-of-support/ba-p/4267801
- Read the upgrade guidance for an overview of how to move from Office 2016 or Office 2019 to Microsoft 365 Apps: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/end-of-support/plan-upgrade-older-versions-office#what-does-end-of-support-mean
Planning ahead will help you avoid potential disruptions and keep your organization’s software environment secure and up to date.
For our Microsoft page, please visit: https://www.schneider.im/software/microsoft.
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