which comes first re: upgrading macOS and Office

Question

which comes first re: upgrading macOS and Office

Kimberlee Herold 40

I want to upgrade from Office for Mac version 16.78.3 on Ventura 13.7.8 to Office 2024 and I want to upgrade from Ventura to Tahoe. I am reading conflicting suggestions. Which comes first? I do not want or need Microsoft 365.

Kimberlee Herold 40 Reputation points

2026-08-28T21:18:02.8266667+00:00

What is the impact to all my current documents and spreadsheets?

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Kimberlee Herold 40 Reputation points

2026-08-28T21:18:02.8266667+00:00

What is the impact to all my current documents and spreadsheets?

Answer 1

John Jefferson Doyon 86,990 Independent Advisor

Hi, @Kimberlee Herold

Yes, the recommended order is still:

Upgrade macOS from Ventura to Tahoe first.
Then install or activate Office 2024 for Mac.

What is the impact to all my current documents and spreadsheets?

Your existing Word documents and Excel spreadsheets should not be deleted or changed just because you upgrade macOS or Office. Standard .docx and .xlsx files should continue to open in Office 2024. Before upgrading macOS, I recommend making a full backup with Time Machine or another backup method, just in case.

The main things worth checking are older Office file formats, macros, add-ins, custom fonts, or templates, since those can sometimes behave differently after an upgrade.

Are your documents stored locally on the Mac, in iCloud, or OneDrive?
Also, do any of them use macros or special add-ins?

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!

Kimberlee Herold 40 Reputation points

2026-08-28T23:33:52.3833333+00:00

Hi John, as far as I know, they are both on my Mac, in the Cloud and I do have a time machine that back things up automatically. Some of my Word and Excel files go back years though and one suggestion was to upgrade to Ventura, then delete my current Office, then download Office 24.
Kimberlee Herold 40 Reputation points

2026-08-28T23:36:20.2066667+00:00

Hi John, as far as I know, they are both on my Mac, in the Cloud and I do have a time machine that back things up automatically. Some of my Word and Excel files go back years though and one suggestion was to upgrade to Ventura, then delete my current Office, then download Office 24. That is what scared me.
John Jefferson Doyon 86,990 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-29T10:08:18.68+00:00
Hi,

That suggestion can sound concerning, but there is no need to manually uninstall your current Office installation first.

Since you already have Time Machine backups, the recommended order is:

Make sure Time Machine has completed a recent backup.

Upgrade Ventura to Tahoe.

Confirm your documents are still available.

Install Office 2024.

If Office 2024 installs and activates normally, no separate uninstall should be necessary. If there is an installation or activation problem, then removing the older Office installation may be part of the troubleshooting.

Uninstalling Office removes the applications, not your Word and Excel documents.

Thanks!
Kimberlee Herold 40 Reputation points

2026-08-29T14:04:59.4233333+00:00

Hi John, you have made me feel so much better and a little more confident in what I’m doing thank you thank you I woke up this morning and was greeted by a bunch of questions from my computer. It looks like everything went pretty smoothly with one exception one or two exceptions, one being my printer software, which I will reach out to Cannon to discuss but I really appreciate the time and your explanations so clear thank you.
John Jefferson Doyon 86,990 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-29T14:21:23.5666667+00:00

Glad to hear the upgrade went smoothly overall, and you’re very welcome.

For the Canon printer software, contacting Canon is the right next step since they can confirm the latest driver/software compatible with Tahoe.

Answer 2

Upgrade macOS first, then install or activate Office 2024 for Mac.

Why this order:

Office updates for Mac require a supported macOS version. As of September 2025, Office updates require macOS Sonoma or later, and Ventura no longer receives Office updates after build 16.101.
New installs of Office 2024 for Mac require macOS Sonoma or later.
If moving to Tahoe, that is a supported macOS version for current Office updates.

Recommended path:

Upgrade Ventura 13.7.8 to Tahoe.
Then install Office 2024 for Mac.
If an older Office license is still present, remove the existing Office license with the License Removal Tool, then open an Office app, sign in with the account associated with Office 2024, and use Help > Check for Updates.

Important notes:

Office 2024 is a one-time purchase for one Mac and does not require Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 is not required if the goal is Office 2024.
Version numbers on Mac can be confusing because multiple Mac Office releases use the 16.x version line. Office LTSC for Mac 2024 uses version numbers 16.89 or higher.
If Office 16.78.3 is currently installed on Ventura, that is below the Office LTSC for Mac 2024 version range.

References: