MS Word document on MacBook Pro won't save after Sequoia update

Make sure to run Disk Utility First Aid on the hidden Container. Within Disk Utility click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if the First Aid Summary says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll back through the report to see if there are any unfixed errors. If there are errors, then run First Aid again until they are gone. If after several scans the errors remain, then run First Aid while booted into Recovery Mode. If the errors can still not be fixed, then you will need to perform a clean install of macOS by first erasing the disk (aka deleting the "Volume Group") followed by reinstalling macOS & restoring from a backup.

Are you using any anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, or third party security software? If so, then they are probably causing a problem.

You can try booting into Safe Mode to see if you still have the problem.

Also try disconnecting all external devices in case one of them is causing a problem.

In my case manual update of MAU (Microsoft AutomaUpdate) solved the issue.

Download the latest version of Microsoft AutoUpdate directly from the Microsoft website (MICROSOFT LEARN) and install it manually.

Remove and reinstall MAU:

Open any Office app (e.g., Word).

In the top menu, click Help, then select Check for Updates to open MAU.

In the Dock, right-click the MAU icon and select Options > Show in Finder.

Move the MAU file to the Trash to uninstall it.

Download and install the latest version of MAU (4.76) from the Microsoft website.

Even if you do have the newest version of MAU on your Mac reinstall it anyway - it was my case.

After having newest version of MAU update your office and everything should come back to normal.

All of my Office 2021 for Mac Home and Business applications are at version 16.89.1 as of this post date, all work normally with Sequoia v15.0 and v15.0.1. No operating system bug or I would have the same problem. I do not use any cloud service for my Office files and all are on my local drive.

Check your Office application versions, and remove any anti-virus applications or so-called Mac cleaning applications as these may complicate normal application and operating system behavior.

If this was an operating system update issue, this community would be overflowing with complaints such as yours — about Office and it is not.

I and a colleague have the same issue. Common denominator is saving the file to any cloud location, including iCloud Drive. We've had various degrees of success using different ways of saving within Word (e.g., Save As sometimes causes issues, or renaming the file within Word sometimes works, others doesn't). It's not consistent and it will work once macOS pops the "Grant access to this location for Word" window. Which itself is inconsistent in 15.0.1.

Granting Word Full Disk Access seems to resolve the issue, but that isn't a good long term solution.

As mentioned here, it seems that the file picker box (shared by multiple MS Office apps) locks up when it encounters directories that are being watched and synced by cloud services including OneDrive and Dropbox.

I have only seen this happening in Office Products but some people (as shown in the screenshot below) have seen this in other apps including basic Apple apps.

I am going to check a system soon that only has iCloud Drive and not the others. If I still see the spinning with only iCloud Drive, I will reply here again.

For me, Word 16.89.1 works fine in 15.0.1. If you have an old version of Word you might need to upgrade. If you have a new version, the next thing I'd try is to delete and reinstall it.

Run EtreCheck and post the report here in the Additional Text area (the document icon in the reply toolbar).

I don’t have 365, but my 2019 version works without issue.

I still have this problem on a customers MacBook Air (m2) running Sequoia 15.1.1, and Office 16.91 (24111020).

Backing up default folders in OneDrive.

All the suggested solutions, only work once in a while, the problem returns. Tried:

Manual uninstall and reinstall of Office

Removal of Sentinel One AV

Updating MAU

Full disk access to Office apps

Combinations of above.

Same problem - It works for a couple of times, then it can stop working in eg. Powerpoint, but still works in Word, Then You can Close Powerpoint, start it again then it works........

Really strange behavour.

I have the same problem. Upgraded to 15.0.1 and all office apps "not responding." Don't know what to do.