Update Office for Mac automatically

Update Microsoft 365 apps from the Mac App Store

If you downloaded Microsoft 365 apps from the Mac App Store, and have automatic updates turned on, your apps will update automatically. But you can also manually download the updates: 

1. Open the Mac App Store from your Dock or Finder.

2. Select Updates on the left side menu, then select Update All, or the Update button next to the apps that you want to update.

Update Microsoft 365 apps and Office using AutoUpdate

If you downloaded Microsoft 365 apps or Microsoft Office from microsoft.com, Microsoft AutoUpdate makes sure your apps will always be up-to-date with the latest security fixes and improvements. If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you'll also receive the newest features and tools.

1. Open an Office app such as Word, then on the top menu, select Help > Check for Updates.

   If you don't see Check for Updates, run the latest version of Microsoft AutoUpdate tool, then check for updates again.

   

2. Select Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date to receive the latest security fixes and feature improvements as soon as they become available, helping your Mac stay protected and up to date.

3. Select Update to download and install all the available updates.

   

4. If you want to learn about the details of each update before installing, select the arrow next to the Update button and review the apps, versions and installation date. Then select Update All or Update next to individual apps.

   

If you're not sure how you installed your apps, you can use the following command from the Terminal app:

mdls -name kMDItemAppStoreReceiptType /Applications/Microsoft\ Word.app

If you see MDItemAppStoreReceiptType = (null) after running the command, then Microsoft AutoUpdate should be used to update your apps. Apps downloaded from the Mac App Store will show a receipt type of "Production".

Early access with Office Insider

To get exclusive access to the newest features and updates, and the opportunity to send feedback directly to Microsoft, join our Insider program. You’ll get preview builds for the latest features, security updates, and performance fixes that we release before anyone else who are on the older versions of Office.

To learn more about the insider program, see this page.

1. Open an Office app, like Word, then select Help > Check for Updates > Advanced....

   

2. Select Current Channel (Preview) or Beta Channel.

   • Current Channel (Preview) gives you early access to fully supported builds with minimal risk.

   • Beta Channel is a good option if you want the earliest but unsupported preview builds that are released more frequently. 

   

3. Review the License Agreement and information that’s collected when you use your apps.

4. Select Accept and then Check for Updates, to download the Insider updates

More about Microsoft AutoUpdate

You can find Release notes for Office for Mac here. If you're looking for previous release downloads for Microsoft AutoUpdate, see Update history for Office for Mac.

See Also

When do I get the newest features for Microsoft 365 ?

What's new in Microsoft 365?