MS Office 2019 for Mac being killed?

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benwiggy

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  • #1
    There seems to be a lot of internet outrage that Office 2019 for Mac (and iOS) will be switched to "reduced functionality mode" (meaning that you can't save) on July 13th 2026.

    https://uk.pcmag.com/office-suites/...or-macs-heres-how-to-keep-your-files-editable


    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...s-device-f418ae5d-bb5f-4078-b3d9-9340f5dd084e


    As usual, it seems to be some kind of certificate expiry issue.

    I'm currently using Office 2021, which is due to become unsupported in October this year. I don't really have any plans to buy a newer version, but can I expect my apps to have a similar ticking time-bomb?
     
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    logic_88

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  • #2
    Are you asking about the Mac or PC version of Office? From what I can tell, the PC version has no expiry date as it's able to use Microsoft's own certificate service. But for the Mac version, since it's using Apple's certificate service, Microsoft isn't patching Office 2019 so it's dead but you can get an update for Office 2021 with a new certificate so I'm guess the new certificate expires after something like 10 years?
     
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    benwiggy

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  • #3
    logic_88 said:
    Are you asking about the Mac or PC version of Office?
    Click to expand...
    The Mac version.

    The concern seems to be that Office 2021 gets an update, as it is still (by a matter of months) inside the support window; but 2019 users have their product killed, rather than MS issuing a 'goodwill' patch.

    Is it Apple's certificate service? Surely it relates to MS's licensing, so it would be their own? It's not Mac App Store apps.

    (How anyone is going to do hobbyist retro-computing 40 years from now, I have no idea....!!)
     
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    LordDaMan

    LordDaMan

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  • #5
    benwiggy said:
    The Mac version.

    The concern seems to be that Office 2021 gets an update, as it is still (by a matter of months) inside the support window; but 2019 users have their product killed, rather than MS issuing a 'goodwill' patch.

    Is it Apple's certificate service? Surely it relates to MS's licensing, so it would be their own? It's not Mac App Store apps.

    (How anyone is going to do hobbyist retro-computing 40 years from now, I have no idea....!!)
    Click to expand...
    I'm guessing it has something to do with Apple as the window 2019 versions runs just fine an ended support the same time a the macOS one nd there' no problems still using it. Microsoft always has extensive timeline for thier products and what will happen to it when support run out while Apple not so much.
     
    Skoop

    Skoop

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  • #8
    Those two were installed under Windows 7 in 2010. Online upgrade to Win 10 kept them running, with some years of nagging about losing support. Eventually it quit checking with the mothership and the nagging stopped. Then I installed Win 11 with Rufus, and it's still perfectly functional for our limited needs.

    I built a desktop last year and tried to install it. Got to the step where I enter the code and it's supposed to check that as legit, where I can call a MS number and promise that it's only installed on 3 devices (it was a home/student 3-user version).

    But it shows me a screen declaring that there aren't any phone numbers available. Cancelling out of that and I'm stuck in an install that cannot complete.

    So I bought a standalone version of 2024, not using any cloud connection.
     
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    m0nckywrench

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  • #10
    Louis Rossman's take on the situation:
    View: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1tsf1af/microsoft_revokes_office_2019_for_mac_perpetual/


    Skoop said:
    But it shows me a screen declaring that there aren't any phone numbers available.
    Click to expand...
    I would never advise anyone to research unconventional activation methods like many-years-proven open source third party scripts because the risk of being crushed by guilt is extreme, but in case of a life or death situation they've been known to function flawlessly.
     
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