why microsoft 360 office apps stopped working when i updated my macbook pro to Catalina 10.15.7 ?

why Microsoft 360 office apps stopped working when i updated my MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) Catalina 10.15.7 ? what i should do to make them work ?




MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 18, 2023 3:28 PM

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Posted on May 18, 2023 3:43 PM

There are two factors here.


  1. Microsoft 365 applications that were installed on macOS Mojave or earlier are not compatible with macOS Catalina.
  2. Microsoft ended support for all Microsoft applications on macOS Catalina when Apple also dropped support for the operating system in Fall 2022. This means that you cannot install newer licensed Microsoft 365, or Office 2019/2021 for Mac applications on macOS Catalina either.


If your MacBook Pro is supported by macOS Big Sur, Monterey, or Ventura, you can install a new Microsoft 365 licensed applications, or the Office 2019/2021 for Mac suite. Otherwise, you will need to use an MS Office clone to continue working with your documents on Catalina.


The free LibreOffice v7.5 Suite is compatible with your Microsoft documents, but comes with a learning curve and associated documentation.


The free trial of the paid Softmaker Office 2021 for Mac is also compatible with your Microsoft documents. A newer version of Softmaker Office 2024 for Mac is in beta right now and will be out this year. The current beta will cease at the end of this May.

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Question marked as Best reply

May 18, 2023 3:43 PM in response to bassam49

There are two factors here.


  1. Microsoft 365 applications that were installed on macOS Mojave or earlier are not compatible with macOS Catalina.
  2. Microsoft ended support for all Microsoft applications on macOS Catalina when Apple also dropped support for the operating system in Fall 2022. This means that you cannot install newer licensed Microsoft 365, or Office 2019/2021 for Mac applications on macOS Catalina either.


If your MacBook Pro is supported by macOS Big Sur, Monterey, or Ventura, you can install a new Microsoft 365 licensed applications, or the Office 2019/2021 for Mac suite. Otherwise, you will need to use an MS Office clone to continue working with your documents on Catalina.


The free LibreOffice v7.5 Suite is compatible with your Microsoft documents, but comes with a learning curve and associated documentation.


The free trial of the paid Softmaker Office 2021 for Mac is also compatible with your Microsoft documents. A newer version of Softmaker Office 2024 for Mac is in beta right now and will be out this year. The current beta will cease at the end of this May.

May 18, 2023 3:37 PM in response to bassam49

If all your did was allow the Mac to update itself via system preferences, this should not have happened. But stranger things have happened.


I suggest you talk with Microsoft and work with them about restoring activation. My guess is activation was somehow broken.


You may have run into the 32 bit/64 bit incompatibility. I don't use 360, but if you had an OS that was 32 bit and went to a 64 bit you'll need a new office suite. But with 360 I'm unsure how this works.

why microsoft 360 office apps stopped working when i updated my macbook pro to Catalina 10.15.7 ?

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