Completely Uninstall Microsoft Office on Mac, including Microsoft 365, Office 2021, 2019, and 2016.
What to Know
- To uninstall Office on Mac, quit all Microsoft 365 (Office) applications.
- Open Finder, select the Applications folder, and drag Office apps to the Trash.
- Right-click on the trash bin and click Empty Trash.
- Restart your Mac to complete the uninstall.
Microsoft Office is critical to our day-to-day work.
However, you might want to uninstall it from your Mac for different reasons, including upgrading to a newer version, freeing up storage space, or fixing errors in Word, Excel, Outlook, or other Office applications.
It should have been easy to uninstall Office for Mac, but the Office Uninstall Tool only works with Windows.
Want to learn how to Uninstall Microsoft Office on Mac? Please continue reading.
In this article, I’ll show you step-by-step how to completely uninstall Office 365, 2021, 2019, and 2016 from your Mac.
Let’s begin.
Note: If you want to install Microsoft 365 on another computer or device, you don’t have to uninstall it from your Mac. Visit www.office.com on the other device, sign in to your Microsoft 365 subscription account, and install Office from there.
How to Uninstall Office on Mac
Microsoft Office is available in many versions (Home, Family/Personal, Business, and Enterprise). Different versions serve different purposes.
Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 2021, and the most recent Microsoft 365 are the most commonly used Mac versions. Here’s how to remove them from your Mac computer.
Tip: Be sure to log in to your administrator account on Mac.
How to Remove Office 2016 on Mac
Microsoft Office stopped supporting Office 2016 for Mac on October 13, 2020. Although you can continue to use its apps, you cannot keep them up to date and receive new features, patches, and security updates. To uninstall it, follow the steps:
- First, quit all Office 2016 for Mac applications.
- Launch Finder from the Dock and navigate to the Applications folder.
- Locate the Office 2016 folder and move it to Trash.
- Restart your Mac after emptying the Trash.
Note: If you want to upgrade to Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019 for Mac, download the License Removal Tool and run it to remove the Office 2016 for Mac license.
How to Uninstall Office 365, 2021, and 2019 on Mac
Uninstalling newer versions of Office for Mac, such as Microsoft 365, is complicated because you must delete its apps and any related files on the hard drive.
The steps to uninstall Office 365, 2021, and 2019 on Mac are similar. And they mainly include removing Office for Mac apps, deleting their associated files, and closing these apps from the Dock.
Step 1: Remove Office for Mac Apps
- Open Finder from Dock.
- Click on the Applications folder. It’s the default location where macOS stores Office applications.
- Depending upon the version of Office installed on your Mac, select all Office apps. You can Command +click to select all Microsoft 365 for Mac applications.
- Ctrl+click an application and choose “Move to Trash.” You can also drag an application to the Trash.
Note: macOS 11 and newer will ask you for an administrator password (same as your login password) to remove Office for Mac apps.
Step 2: Delete Office Files on Mac
1. Launch Finder on your Mac.
2. Press Shift + Command + G. It opens the “Go to the folder” dialog box.
3. Enter ~/Library and click Go. It will open the Library folder.
4. Locate and open the Containers folder.
5. Locate the folders listed below, select and move them to Trash.
Note: Not all of them will be present.
- com.microsoft.errorreporting
- com.microsoft.Excel
- com.microsoft.netlib.shipassertprocess
- com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2
- com.microsoft.Outlook
- com.microsoft.Powerpoint
- com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService
- com.microsoft.Word
- com.microsoft.onenote.mac
- com.microsoft.OneDrive.FinderSync
6. Return to the Library folder by clicking the back arrow at the top.
7. Scroll down and open the Group Containers folder.
8. If the folders below are present, click+click and Move them to the Trash.
- UBF8T346G9.ms
- UBF8T346G9.Office
- UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost
- UBF8T346G9.OneDriveStandaloneSuite
- UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite
- UBF8T346G9.OfficeOneDriveSyncIntegration
Warning: You’ll lose all Outlook data when you remove the first three folders. Please make a backup before removing them.
9. Right-click on the trash icon and click empty Trash.
Step 3: Quit Office Apps from the Dock
- If you have added Office Apps to the Dock, right-click or ctrl + click on each app icon and select Options > Remove from Dock.
Step 4: Restart your Mac
- Click the Apple logo icon in the top left corner.
- Select Restart from the drop-down menu.
Restarting your computer will uninstall Office for Mac completely.
RELATED: How to Reinstall Microsoft Office
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it when it comes to uninstalling Office on a Mac.
Uninstalling Office 2016 for Mac is straightforward, but removing Office 365, 2021, and 2019 is challenging and time-consuming.
I hope this step-by-step guide made it easy for you to remove all Office applications and their related files.
I you found this blog helpful or have any questions, please leave a comment below.
To reinstall Office on Mac, visit www.office.com, sign in, and click Install Apps. In the Download and Install Office window, select the Install button. Run the Office installer, and follow the on-screen prompts to reinstall Office.
Download the Office license removal tool. Go to Finder > Downloads and hold down the Control + click the .pkg file to Open it. Click Continue and follow the on-screen steps. Click Install and enter your Mac’s login password. After removing the licenses, click Close and restart your Mac.
To Uninstall the License Removal Tool, open Finder and go to the Downloads folder. Locate and drag the Microsoft_Office_License_Removal file to Trash.
