Microsoft AutoUpdate hangs, "Some apps have encountered errors"

Dec. 14, 2020

• mid-2014 MacBook Pro with Big Sur installed before Apple took this model off the list of supported hardware (sigh).
• 2.8 GHz
• 8 GB memory
• 512 SSD

Wasn't able to run Microsoft AutoUpdate for my subscription to Office365. Many tries. Many tricks. Many failures. Frustrating.

In desperation, I logged into my Microsoft Account, where I learned that Office365 is now Microsoft365. I downloaded the most recent version. Success. The install was clean -- old apps removed, new apps installed, no files left behind.

If you use a custom Word template, you will need to re-point Word to it. (you can't always get what you want)

 "But if you try sometimes, well,"