The report highlights that about a year ago, we reported on Microsoft imposing a deadline for users who still rely on Microsoft Store versions of Office apps: starting December 2026, the Store versions of Office apps will no longer be supported, meaning they won’t receive security updates anymore.
In a fresh development, that deadline is on our minds again as Microsoft has recently revised this support page (spotted by Windows Current), urging users to switch to Click-to-Run versions of Office sooner than later:.
In a fresh development, recent capability updates stopped in October 2025 and security updates will end in December 2026. Support for the Microsoft Store installation type of Microsoft 365 Apps is ending.
In a fresh development, if you have the Microsoft Store installation type of Microsoft 365 Apps, you must upgrade to the Click-to-Run installation type for continuing fresh functions and security updates.
As part of the ongoing story, that were installed via the Microsoft Store, you’ll need to switch to their Click-to-Run alternatives. That means if you’re still running versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
The report highlights that unlike a traditional installer file, which holds the entire app and must install the entire thing before you can start using it, Click-to-Run is more like a patcher that lets you immediately arrival an app and start using it while it downloads and installs the rest of it in the background.
Industry observers note that furthermore, whereas a traditionally installed app requires periodic patch checks and patches, Click-to-Run apps are automatically revised in the background and don’t require restarts, so your workflows remain uninterrupted even as components are revised.
According to the latest update, the easiest way to switch from Microsoft Store Office apps to their Click-to-Run variants is to download the Office Deployment Tool (ODT), a command-line utility that lets you download and deplay Click-to-Run versions of Office apps.
As part of the ongoing story, this article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish.
The report highlights that he has previously worked with Macworld, but today mainly writes for our sister sites PC för Alla and M3. Mikael has a firm grasp on which gadgets are dropped, and what is happening with the streaming services and the most recent AI tools. Mikael writes news across all our consumer tech categories.