MacBook Air M2 frequently freeze while running Microsoft Word

1 - Use the Activity Monitor application and select View >> View All Processes. Identify the processes using the most CPU and memory. 

Often, it’s a combination of processes. 

When the computer uses a lot of CPU and Memory, it may indicate a lack of empty space on the drive. 

In this case, the CPU and memory usage increase as the system searches for empty space to save changes. 

View memory usage in Activity Monitor on Mac

2 - To avoid a game of 20 questions   

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer.

It makes a coherent and readable inventory of both the Hardware and Software used on the computer 

The application is free or paid for added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - Share Report >> Copy , then  paste  >>>> using the Additional Text Icon  <<<<

In Activity Monitor, do you see any particular processes that look to be using much higher CPU cycles - percentages - than others? If so, please provide us with a screenshot or at least tell us what you see.

As an example, when I recently experienced similar hesitations with the Pages app, I discovered a problem with iCloud syncing because the process 'corespotlightd' was eating CPU cycles. My fix was to download the files I was working on rather than leave them out in the cloud.

If you have a process or processes similarly involved, it will help us to help you by knowing what is happening.

NusaDua wrote:

Great advice: check "Activity Monitor."

I think my solution has to be 1) an upgrade to M5 chip. 2) more RAM.

As most slow Mac reports here resolve to software interferences, if you go ahead and post the requested Etrecheck report, we may see something minor and fixable at home that can save you a lot of money. It can show things you may not know were installed.

Please post the entire report. What seems insignificant to a new Etrecheck user can speak volumes to those of us who have reviewed thousands of such reports. See: How to post long attachments/reports

NusaDua wrote:

(Note: Microsoft told me that Word on the App Store and their website is exactly the same - Word version 16.104 (25121423))

They can say that, but in my experience, that's not the case. the App Store versions of the office apps behave better for me.

Just sayin...

I am running Office 2024 for Mac Home on my M4 Mac Mini Pro with 64 GB RAM, and 1 TB internal. No prior versions of Word, or 16.104 have ever hung, or misbehaved on this Mac. I purposely do not use local NAS storage, a mounted share, Microsoft OneDrive, or any other cloud service to store these Word documents.

If you haven't already, update your Mac to Tahoe 26.2.

The files you are working on when you experience these freezes, where are they saved?

Are they saved locally on your Mac or one of its external drives? Or are they saved in iCloud, One Drive or other?

Unfortunately, the only means for Word to autosave on the Mac is when one saves to OneDrive. And if there are network disruptions between you and Microsoft's OneDrive servers, Word may hang as a result.

NusaDua wrote:

Great advice: check "Activity Monitor."

I think my solution has to be 1) an upgrade to M5 chip. 2) more RAM.

In theory, the M2 Chip Set should be fine for most functions.

Unified RAM ?

The Stock and Off the Shelf " MacBook Air (M2, 2022 ) " does come configured with 16 GB Unifies RAM

So that should not be a real issue and dependent on what other Processes are running at the same time