Microsoft 365 Apps SHOULD NOT overwrite Office 2019/2021 one-time retail installs
I want to raise a serious concern about Microsoft 365 Apps being imposed over existing Office 2019/2021 installations that were activated with legitimate one-time installation retail keys. In our case, these are not Microsoft 365 subscriptions and they are not licenses we can simply deactivate and reactivate freely. They are one-time installation retail keys. Once the product has been installed and activated, removing Office and reinstalling it later can make the original key unusable or trigger “already used” activation problems. That is precisely why the current behavior is so damaging. We have PCs with legitimate Office 2019/2021 installations. These machines did not request a migration to Microsoft 365 Apps. However, after internet connection, Office update activity, or Microsoft account interaction, Office appears to silently update, convert, or replace the existing retail installation with the Microsoft 365 Apps version. This is not a minor inconvenience. It creates a serious licensing and operational problem: -A valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installation is replaced by Microsoft 365 Apps without clear, explicit consent. -The original retail installation is no longer cleanly usable. -Fixing the issue requires uninstalling Office, removing Click-to-Run/licensing/account leftovers, and reinstalling the previous Office 2019/2021 version. -But because these keys are one-time installation keys, that reinstall process can render the original key unusable or create activation failures. -In practice, a forced Microsoft 365 conversion can destroy the value of a legitimate one-time Office license. From a user’s perspective, this looks less like a normal software update and more like an exploitative commercial strategy: using Microsoft’s control over Office updates, account sign-ins, Click-to-Run, and activation systems to push already-paid retail users toward Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Even if Microsoft does not intend that result, the practical effect is that users who already paid for Office 2019/2021 can lose practical access to their licensed product and are then nudged toward paying again through a subscription. This should not happen. A perpetual or one-time installation Office license and Microsoft 365 Apps are different products with different licensing models. Microsoft should not silently replace or convert one into the other because a Microsoft 365 account exists on the PC, because the user signs into Office, because OneDrive is present, or because Office updates are enabled. At minimum, Microsoft should provide: -A clear opt-in confirmation before replacing, converting, upgrading, or rebranding Office 2019/2021 retail installations as Microsoft 365 Apps. -A supported way to block Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over one-time installation Office versions. -A clean removal tool that fully removes Microsoft 365 Apps, Click-to-Run leftovers, licensing remnants, and account-based activation conflicts. -A reliable way to restore the original Office 2019/2021 retail installation without invalidating or losing the original one-time key. -Clear separation between Windows account sign-in, OneDrive sign-in, Microsoft 365 entitlement, and local Office retail activation. Users who purchased legitimate one-time installation Office licenses should not be forced into Microsoft 365 Apps by unclear update behavior. If Microsoft wants users to move to Microsoft 365, that should be a deliberate, informed choice — not a silent process that leaves the user cleaning up the installation and losing access to a paid retail license. I am not asking how to install Microsoft 365. I am asking Microsoft to stop Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installations without explicit consent.
Issue with viewing mode for E5 licensed users
I'm a sysadmin for a Health care provider in Sweden and we have an issue with users with an E5 license loading into Office apps in view-mode. As far as I know we are a coupe of organisations providing health care that have this same issue. Background: We have a mix of F3 and E5 licenses and sometimes the F3 licensed users need to view documents that contains info that isn't allowed to be saved in the cloud. To minimize the popups that show up when a user starts word unlicensed we have a GPO (viewer mode) that says that it should open i view-mode. Per my understanding this GPO is device based and not user based. However, this also affects the users of E5 license who regularly change workstations, easily 5-10 devices in a day. Since they should be able to view and edit documents in office apps it causes frustration and confusion when they load into view-mode and have to log out and then in again (or update license) and restart the program. Our computers devices are Microsoft Entra hybrid joined and shared computer licensing is enabled. Are there any solutions or viable workarounds for this issue? It's not complicated for users to handle but frustrating and causes a lot of tickets to the support team. Unsure if I'll be able to participate due to the time zone difference but will appreciate any and all help. /Per Ekholm
[Update on Microsoft 365 Copilot Mac app issue]
We have identified the root cause of the issue currently affecting some users on Microsoft 365 Copilot Mac app, starting with version 1.2601 released on January 27. A fix has been prepared for the same and will be delivered via Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) within the next 48 hours. Please note that the app may not function as expected if MAU configurations are being managed through MDM. To mitigate, tenant administrators can remove the LCID key from their MAU configuration, as illustrated below. Kindly let us know if the issue persists for you beyond this timeline.
Math Assistant in OneNote M365 no longer calculates results
I’m a mathematics professor in higher education, and I’ve relied heavily on OneNote for Windows 10 — especially its Math Assistant feature — to support my teaching. While we teach at the university level, the mathematics involved is foundational: from basic first-degree equations to partial derivatives of multivariable functions, limits, definite and indefinite integrals, 2D graphing, and inequality plots. This isn’t advanced research mathematics — it’s core material for management and accounting students. In the previous version of OneNote, I could write an equation, click “Math,” and immediately get the final result. That was extremely helpful for classroom demonstrations and student self-checking. In the current version (OneNote M365), the “Math” button still appears, and it does solve simple equations — but it fails to graph more complex functions and is significantly slower than the previous version. Is Microsoft working to restore the ability to calculate final results and draw 2D graphs reliably, as the previous version did? This feature is essential for teaching and productivity. I appreciate any clarification. Best regards, José Maria E. G. Salazar Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração de Lisboa (ISCAL)
Microsoft 365 Apps admin center - No Devices Being Managed?
We are an Office 365 E3 customer, and have configured Cloud Update for our devices. However, devices are not updating, and I see the message "0/27 devices are being managed by Cloud". Any idea what I need to do to get updates rolling out? Thanks!Microsoft 365 Apps Admin Center - Inventory Errors Out
Been running into issues the last few days as I try to swap a handful of devices to a different update channel. I'm able to browse to the Microsoft 365 Apps Admin Center (https://config.office.com/), however when I go to Inventory it throws a generic error (it's been happening for 3 days now): There was a problem showing the security update status information. Please refresh the page or try again later. 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 This was working earlier this week (Tuesday 5/13/25) but as of Wednesday it was "broken". Checking to see if other folks are running into this or if we're just the lucky ducks. Several of us within the organization have run into the same error so it's not isolated to any one individual.Microsoft Sway - Restricting Access to Templates
Hi all, We are assessing the usage of Sway for internal project and change communications, and have a concern that those with access to Sway could create content which does not follow internal approved designs and patterns. Are there mechanisms in place to allow us to control which templates the content creator could use as a baseline for their content, whether that involves access to explicitly approved templates only (workflows for approvals??), or restricting access to marketplace or generally available content? TIA GeoffSearching in a Microsoft List
How could a user restrict their search to a particular value in a particular field? Let's say I need to search for the value 'Williams' in the 'Company' field. I could enter "Williams" into the search bar, but the hits would include all items that contain the word "Williams" in any field. I want to restrict the search. How can one do that?Is there a way to hide Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Hello, We are not quite ready to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to our end users. Is there a way to hide the Microsoft 365 Copilot icon from the M365 Home page - specifically the 9 dot icon? We still need to roll out the security labels in our organization.
