I just installed 365 Business subscription on an iMac as Admin, but only the 2011 versions of Word/Excel open for the device user

Katherine Baab @ Baabcorp 0 Reputation points
2026-08-16T22:21:55.4066667+00:00

I just installed 365 Business Standard subscription on an iMac as Admin.

When I sign out as admin and sign in the device user, only the 2011 versions of Word/Excel open.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For business | MacOS
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  1. Jay1 Tran 615 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-16T22:55:14.5566667+00:00

    Hi Katherine,

    Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your concerns.

    Based on your description, it appears the iMac is still opening the older Office 2011 applications instead of the newly installed Microsoft 365 apps.

    To resolve the issue, please follow these steps:

    1. Uninstall Microsoft Office 2011
    • Sign in to the iMac using an administrator account.
    • Close all Microsoft Office applications.
    • Open Finder and select Go > Computer from the menu bar.

    User's image

    • Navigate to the following folder: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/
    • Move the Microsoft Office 2011 folder to the Trash. Please make sure you remove only this folder and not the newer Microsoft 365 applications.
    • Remove any old Word 2011 or Excel 2011 icons from the Dock by Control-clicking each icon and selecting Options > Remove from Dock.
    • Restart the iMac.
    1. Activate Microsoft 365 as the device user
    • Sign back in using the device user account.
    • Open Finder > Applications, then launch the current Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel application.
    • Sign in with the Microsoft 365 business account that has the Business Standard license assigned.

    I hope this information is helpful. Please follow the steps above and let me know if it works for you. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.  

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  2. John Korchok 235.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-08-17T00:06:58.15+00:00

    If you are using an operating system that still supports Office 2011, you may want to stick to that version. In my opinion, that edition was a high point in Office for Mac, and subsequent versions have reduced functionality by comparison.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-08-16T22:22:07.9133333+00:00

    Office 2011 for Mac is no longer available for installation with a Microsoft 365 subscription, and Microsoft 365 users should upgrade to the latest Office version included with the subscription.

    For this iMac, the issue is that the device user is still opening the old Office 2011 apps instead of the current Microsoft 365 apps.

    Recommended path:

    1. Verify which account is licensed.
      • Microsoft 365 for business is tied to the work or school account that was assigned the license.
      • If needed, open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, then go to File > Account to see which account the product is licensed to.
    2. Check that the device user has a Microsoft 365 license assigned.
      • Sign in to http://admin.microsoft.com with the work or school account.
      • Go to Settings > My app settings > Office 365.
      • Select Subscriptions.
      • Confirm that The latest desktop version of Office appears in the licensed services.
      • If it does not appear, assign the Office license to that user.
    3. Install the current Microsoft 365 apps for the user account.
      • Sign in at https://m365.cloud.microsoft/.
      • Select Install apps > Premium Microsoft 365 Apps.
    4. Stop using the old Office 2011 apps.
      • If Office 2011 is still installed on the Mac, the user may keep launching those old applications.
      • Use the current Microsoft 365 apps instead of the 2011 versions.
    5. If the wrong account is signed in, sign out and sign back in with the licensed work or school account.
      • If the user forgot which account is associated with Microsoft 365, the account can be identified in a desktop app under File > Account.

    If the goal is to let multiple people on the same Mac use Office desktop apps, each person needs to sign in with an account that has a Microsoft 365 license for the latest desktop version of Office.

    References:

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