How to Uninstall Microsoft Office Completely (Windows & Mac)

Need to remove Microsoft Office from your PC or Mac? Whether you are upgrading to a newer version, fixing activation errors, or replacing a pre-installed trial, a clean uninstall is essential before installing a new licence. This guide covers every method — from one-click removal in Windows Settings to the nuclear option with Microsoft's own cleanup tool.

Quick answer: On Windows 11/10, go to Settings → Apps → Installed Apps, find Microsoft Office (or Microsoft 365), click the three dots and select Uninstall. If that fails, use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) for a complete clean removal.

Why You Need to Uninstall Office Before Installing a New Licence

If you have purchased a new Office licence — for example, Office 2024 Professional Plus from Licendi — and your computer still has a pre-installed version of Office or Microsoft 365, the old installation will conflict with your new licence. Common symptoms include:

• Activation errors (e.g., "This product key has already been used")
• The old version opens instead of the new one
• Installation fails with error codes like 0-1011, 30015-6, or 0xc004f050
• Office apps crash or behave unpredictably

The solution is always the same: completely remove every trace of the old Office installation before installing the new one.

Method 1: Uninstall via Windows Settings (Quickest)

This works for most Click-to-Run Office installations on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Apps → Installed Apps (Windows 11) or Apps → Apps & Features (Windows 10).
3. Search for "Microsoft Office" or "Microsoft 365" in the search bar.
4. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) next to the entry and select Uninstall.
5. Confirm the prompt and wait for the process to complete.
6. Restart your PC before installing your new Office licence.

Tip: If you see multiple Office entries (e.g., "Microsoft 365 - en-us" and "Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019"), uninstall all of them.

Method 2: Uninstall via Control Panel

The classic method that works on all Windows versions, including older MSI-based Office installations:

1. Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
2. Find Microsoft Office in the list.
3. Right-click it and select Uninstall (or Change → Remove for MSI installations).
4. Follow the on-screen prompts.
5. Restart your computer.

Method 3: Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) — Recommended

If the standard uninstall fails, leaves remnants, or you get errors when trying to install your new licence, Microsoft's own SaRA tool performs a deep clean that removes all Office files, registry entries and cached data.

1. Download SaRA from the official Microsoft page: https://aka.ms/SaRA-FirstScreen
2. Run the downloaded file and accept the licence agreement.
3. When prompted, select "Office" as the product you need help with.
4. Select "I have Office installed, but I am having trouble uninstalling it" (the third option).
5. Confirm that "Yes" — this is the affected computer.
6. Wait for SaRA to completely remove Office. This can take up to 20 minutes — do not interrupt the process.
7. Restart your PC when prompted.

Important: After SaRA finishes, install your new Office licence using the download link provided in your Licendi order confirmation email. Do not download Office from any other source, as this may cause activation problems.

Method 4: Remove Office with PowerShell (Advanced)

For IT administrators or advanced users who prefer command-line tools:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click Start → Windows Terminal (Admin)).
2. List installed Office packages:
   Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office*" | Select Name, PackageFullName
3. Remove each package:
   Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office*" | Remove-AppxPackage
4. For Click-to-Run installations, you can also use the Office Deployment Tool:
   setup.exe /configure remove.xml

Note: PowerShell removal may not clean up all registry entries. For a complete clean, follow up with the SaRA tool.

Method 5: Uninstall Office on macOS

Removing Office from a Mac requires deleting both the applications and their support files:

Step 1: Remove the Applications

1. Open Finder → Applications.
2. Hold Command (⌘) and click each Office app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote).
3. Drag them all to the Trash (or right-click → Move to Trash).

Step 2: Delete Support Files

1. In Finder, press Go → Go to Folder... (or ⌘+Shift+G).
2. Enter ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office — delete this entire folder.
3. Go to ~/Library/Preferences/ and delete any files starting with com.microsoft.office.
4. Go to ~/Library/Containers/ and delete folders like com.microsoft.Word, com.microsoft.Excel, etc.

Step 3: Empty Trash and Restart

Empty the Trash, then restart your Mac before installing a new Office licence.

What to Do After Uninstalling Office

Once Office is completely removed:

1. Restart your computer — always restart before installing a new version.
2. Install your new licence — use the download link from your Licendi order confirmation email.
3. Activate with your product key — enter the key you received from Licendi when prompted.
4. Verify activation — open any Office app, go to File → Account and confirm it says "Product Activated".

Troubleshooting Common Problems

"Office won't uninstall — the Uninstall button is greyed out"

This usually happens with OEM installations managed by your PC manufacturer. Skip to Method 3 (SaRA) — it can force-remove even stubborn installations.

"I uninstalled Office but the new version still won't activate"

Remnant licence data may be cached. Try these steps:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run: cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /dstatus
3. If old licence keys appear, remove them with: cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:XXXXX (last 5 digits of the old key).
4. Then activate your new key.

"Office apps still appear in the Start menu after uninstall"

Windows caches Start menu entries. Right-click each Office shortcut and select Unpin from Start. They will disappear after a restart.

"I accidentally uninstalled Office — can I get it back?"

If you have a valid licence key, simply reinstall Office using your Microsoft account services page or the download link from your order.

Frequently Asked Questions