Forum Discussion
Word for Mac Office Add-ins authentication fails, but works in Word Online
Hi everyone.
I am having an Office Add-ins authentication problem in Word for Mac 16.113.1 with a personal Microsoft 365 subscription.
Claude for Microsoft 365 installs successfully, but opening it in desktop Word gives: “You don't have permission to use this add-in.”
The same add-in works normally in Word for the web using the same Microsoft account.
Microsoft Support asked me to test a new macOS user profile. Word activates successfully in the new profile, but Word's Add-ins interface displays “Sign-In Required.” Clicking Sign In briefly loads and then returns to Sign-In Required.
Microsoft then asked me to have Apple rule out device-level restrictions. Apple Support found no MDM/configuration profile, Screen Time, firewall, or other macOS-level restriction interfering with Office Add-ins authentication.
I have also refreshed the Office license, enabled Connected Experiences, cleared the Office add-in cache, restarted Office/macOS, and reinstalled the add-in.
Has anyone encountered this with Word for Mac Office Web Add-ins authentication? Is there a supported way to reset the desktop Office Add-ins authentication/registration state or collect diagnostic logs for it?
Hope someone can help.
Thank you!
I have received advice from the Word Product Team at Microsoft that the issue has now been resolved with a change on the service side.
A small number of users may still see the issue if their device is using cached credentials. They can work-around the issue by signing-out and back in or waiting for the token to expire.
11 Replies
I have received advice from the Word Product Team at Microsoft that the issue has now been resolved with a change on the service side.
A small number of users may still see the issue if their device is using cached credentials. They can work-around the issue by signing-out and back in or waiting for the token to expire.
Thank you so much for following this up with the Word Product Team. I can confirm that the issue has now resolved on my end as well.
As of September 26, Claude for Microsoft 365 is working normally in Word for Mac again. I didn't make any further changes or perform any additional troubleshooting, so this appears consistent with the service-side fix you described.
I really appreciate your help in escalating this and getting to the bottom of the issue!
This is a known issue with Office Web Add-ins authentication on Word for Mac: the desktop client sometimes fails to pass authentication tokens correctly, even when Word Online works.
May try on below:
- Clear the add-in cache folder and reinstall Word.
Thanks for the suggestion. I did clear the Office/Word add-in cache during troubleshooting, although I didn't reinstall Word. Unfortunately, clearing the cache didn't resolve the issue at the time.
The issue has since resolved without any further changes on my end, following Microsoft's service-side fix. Claude for Word is now working normally again.
Thank you again for taking the time to help.
Thank you for the suggestion. I did clear the Office/Word add-in cache as part of the troubleshooting, although I did not reinstall Word. Unfortunately, clearing the cache did not resolve the issue at the time.
The issue has since resolved without any further changes on my end. As another MVP confirmed with the Word Product Team, Microsoft implemented a service-side fix (which appears to have resolved it for me as well).
Thank you again for taking the time to help!
I am having the same issue with Windows and PERRLA. Tried to work through chat to address the problem to no avail. They sent me here to see if there were any fixes, but it seems to be that you are having a VERY similiar issue.
Thanks for sharing! Interesting, especially since you're seeing a very similar issue on Windows with PERRLA (rather than Claude on Mac).
My issue's now been resolved—a Microsoft service-side change was made, and the add-in started working normally again without any changes on my part. Some responders here also noted that some might continue to see the issue temporarily because of cached credentials, in which case signing out and back in or waiting for the token to expire may help.
I can't say whether the PERRLA issue has the same underlying cause, but given how similar the behavior is, it may be worth checking again and updating Microsoft Support if you're still experiencing it. I hope yours has resolved as well!
Hi! I’m experiencing almost exactly the same issue, but with Claude for PowerPoint on Mac, also using a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription.
The add-in installs successfully and appears in PowerPoint, but when I open it, I get: “You don’t have permission to use this add-in. Contact your system administrator to request access.”
I contacted Microsoft Support today and they opened case 7109164621, but so far I haven’t received a solution. I’ve also escalated it to Claude Support.
Were you able to make any progress or find a workaround? Since we’re both using Microsoft 365 Personal on Mac and getting the same permissions error, I’m wondering if this could be a broader issue with Office Add-ins authentication on macOS.
Yes, frustrating! But the issue has now been resolved on my end. Microsoft confirmed that a change was made on the service side, and Claude for Word started working normally again without me making any further changes.
I also just checked my Claude for PowerPoint access, and it's working normally on my Mac as well with the same Microsoft 365 Personal account.
Since you're getting the same permissions error in PowerPoint, it may be related to the same Office Add-ins authentication issue. Just to reiterate what was mentioned by another commenter, Microsoft mentioned that some users might continue to see the problem temporarily because of cached credentials, in which case signing out and back in or waiting for the token to expire may help.
Since you already have a Microsoft support case open, I'd update them that the service-side issue has reportedly been fixed and ask whether your PowerPoint case is related. Hopefully yours resolves shortly/has been resolved too.
I am a Windows user and unfamiliar with Claude for Word.
Is this a Microsoft Store app?
Have you contacted the company that produces Claude?
Hi! Yes, Claude for Microsoft 365's an Office add-in available through Microsoft Marketplace and installs directly within Word. I had also contacted Claude/Anthropic Support, while Microsoft Support investigated the Office side.
The issue has now thankfully been resolved—Microsoft apparently confirmed that a service-side change was made (and Claude for Word started working normally again without any further changes on my end).
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
