Forum Discussion
msft-user911
Oct 30, 2025Copper Contributor
Word turns text into random unintelligible characters
Hello, Word is randomly turning text from my documents into random characters. This is on Windows 11.
Kidd_Ip
Oct 31, 2025MVP
Try below:
- Check the font in use
- Select the affected text → look at the font in the ribbon.
- If it says Aptos (or another cloud font), try changing it to a standard font like Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman.
- Install missing fonts
- Go to Settings → Personalization → Fonts.
- Search for Aptos (or the font your document is using).
- If missing, install it from Microsoft Store or re‑enable Cloud Fonts in Microsoft 365.
- Clear the font cache
- Close Word.
- Delete the font cache file:
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache
- Restart Windows — the cache will rebuild.
- Repair Office
- Go to Control Panel → Programs → Microsoft 365 Apps → Change → Online Repair.
- This reinstalls missing fonts and fixes corrupted Office components.
- Check for updates
- In Word: File → Account → Update Options → Update Now.
- In Windows: Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates.
- Encoding fix (if imported files)
- Open the file in Word → File → Options → Advanced → Confirm file format conversion on open.
- Reopen the file and choose the correct encoding (UTF‑8 usually works).