How do I clear my cache or do any other steps that would stop my Word from freezing ALL THE TIME?

Joanie Wread 0 Reputation points
2026-09-15T22:05:58.2366667+00:00

I constantly can't use Word -- it's always freezing. It's like having a third world country program that sort of works a little bit. My Mac is up to date. None of my other programs have this problem.

I see in the forum you suggest to clear cache but there are no instructions on how to do this. Or anything else that you mention might help.

One person mentioned uninstalling the full Word (16.5) and just doing 16.4 and finding improvement - I see no instructions on how to do this either.

Please give step by step instructions.

Thank you.

Joanie

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS

5 answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest

  1. AI answer

    2026-09-15T22:06:15.2+00:00

    For Word on Mac, the most relevant self-service steps are to reset Word preferences, reset the Normal template, and clear the Office add-in cache if add-ins are involved.

    1. Reset Word preferences
      Warning: this removes custom preferences such as keyboard shortcuts and toolbar or dictionary changes.
      1. Quit all programs.
      2. In Finder, open Go > Home > Library. If Library is hidden on macOS 10.7 or later, open Go, hold Option, then choose Library.
      3. Open the Preferences folder and drag com.microsoft.Word.plist to the desktop. If it is not there, continue.
      4. Open the Microsoft folder in Preferences and drag com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist to the desktop. If Service Pack 2 is installed, use Application Support > Microsoft instead of Preferences > Microsoft.
      5. Start Word.
        • If Word no longer freezes, quit Word and move the files back one at a time, testing after each one. If the problem returns after restoring one file, that file is corrupt and should be moved to Trash.
        • If Word still freezes, restore both files and continue to the next step.
    2. Reset the Normal template
      1. Quit all programs.
      2. In Finder, open Go > Home > Library. If needed, hold Option while opening Go to reveal Library.
      3. Open Application Support > Microsoft > Office > User Templates.
      4. Drag Normal.dotm to the desktop.
      5. Start Word.
        • If Word works normally, quit Word and move Normal.dotm to Trash.
        • If Word still freezes, restore the file.
    3. Clear the Office add-in cache on Mac
      This is most useful if Word freezes when using add-ins or after add-in updates.
      Caution: clear the cache completely. Do not delete individual manifest files. Deleting the wef folder contents removes all sideloaded add-ins for that app. Option A: from a task pane add-in
      If a task pane add-in is open in Word, open its personality menu and choose Clear Web Cache. Option B: Terminal command
      Open Terminal and run: 
         npx office-addin-cache clear
      Option C: manually clear cache folders
      Delete the contents of these folders:
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft.OsfWebHost/Data/
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Documents/wef
      If the first folder does not exist, check and clear the contents of these instead:
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Caches/
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/16.0/Wef/
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2/Data/Caches/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2/
      • ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2/Data/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2/
    4. If Word hangs while clearing Office Document Cache
      If Word hangs for more than 2 minutes with a cache-clearing message on screen, press Option, right-click the Office app in the Dock, choose Force Quit, then restart the app.
    5. About uninstalling 16.5 and going back to 16.4
      The available context only documents reverting from 16.xx builds to 15.xx builds, not from 16.5 to 16.4. No supported step-by-step instructions for downgrading specifically from 16.5 to 16.4 are provided here.

    If freezing continues after the preference reset and template reset, the next supported path in the available guidance is reinstalling Office.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. Hendrix-V 19,115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-16T07:09:31.7333333+00:00

    Hi Joanie Wread,

    The confusion is that “Go > Home > Library” is not something you type into Finder's search box. Those are menu options in the Finder menu bar at the top of your Mac screen.

    To open the Library folder:

    1. Click anywhere on your desktop to make Finder active.
    2. At the top of the screen, click Go in the menu bar.
    3. Hold down the Option key.
    4. Library should appear in the Go menu.
    5. Click Library.

    If you prefer a quicker method:

    1. Open Finder.
    2. Press Shift + Command + G.
    3. Enter: ~/Library
    4. Press Return.

    Once you're able to access the Library folder, you can continue with the troubleshooting steps for Word. If Word is still freezing, it would also be helpful to know whether it happens:

    • In all documents or only specific files
    • While typing, saving, or using AutoSave
    • With documents stored in OneDrive or only local files

    That information can help narrow down whether the issue is related to Word settings, templates, add-ins, or file synchronization. I hope this helps you get to the correct location and move forward with the troubleshooting.

    Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Joanie Wread 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-16T18:29:47.7133333+00:00

    I don't see com.microsoft.word -- just com.microsoft.office.plist -- I put this on the desktop. But then, if I want to open it to find Word, it sends me to a search for an application or internet...and that loses me.

    You want me to leave this on the desktop and see if the freezing stops? I wouldn't be able to isolate anything before putting it back bc there's no way to do so.

    Was this answer helpful?

  4. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  5. Stefan Blom 352.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-16T18:38:37.1833333+00:00

    On the Mac, you can create a new user account (as discussed in the support article at https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl3e281fc9/mac) and see if your Word installation works for that additional user account.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.