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Microsoft Office 365 for macOS

Upgrading your Mac from Office 2016 to Office 365 (O365)

We are pleased to announce the availability of Microsoft Office 365 for our supported Apple computers. 

Microsoft ended support for Office 2016 for Mac on October 13, 2020.  While the current 2016 version of the Microsoft Office will continue to function, it will no longer receive software updates, security, or functionality updates.  With this in mind, we strongly encourage you to upgrade to Microsoft Office 365 as soon as possible to continue to receive regular and security updates from Microsoft. 

Follow our instructions to identify the current version of Microsoft Office installed on your Mac. If you currently have a version older than 2016 installed on your Mac, contact the SCS Help Desk at 412-268-4231, help@cs.cmu.edu or submit a support request. 

Upgrade Office on an SCS-supported MacUpgrade Office on an unsupported Mac

Please Note: In order to upgrade to Office 365, your Mac needs to meet the minimum hardware requirements. Office 365 for Mac currently supports macOS 10.13 High Sierra, 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, and will support macOS 11.0 Big Sur.

Desktop Computing

Need Help?

    How to Find Office Version Information

  1. To verify which version of Office for Mac you are using, first open an Office program of your choice (in this example, we will use Microsoft Word).

    Next, click on the program name in the menu bar (located directly to the right of the Apple menu) and select the About the program option.
    Microsoft Word About Menu
  2. The version of Office will be listed in the resulting pop-up window.
    Details about Word for Mac version

    Upgrading an SCS-Supported Mac to Office 365

  1. Open the Self Service application located in the Applications folder

    The Self Service application is pre-installed on SCS-configured Macs, if you do not have the Self Service application please proceed to the instructions for unsupported Macs.
    macOS Applications folder
  2. Select SCS Applications in the lefthand sidebar
    SCS Self Service
  3. Locate the Office for Mac icon as shown here and select Install
    Install option
  4. Once the install is complete, the new Office 365 icons can be seen in the Applications folder.
    Finder window with new Office icons
  5. To activate Office 365, start by opening the Office application of your choice. Once the application opens, you will see the "Activate" bar at the top of the window as shown here in Microsoft Word. Select Activate.
    Activate Microsoft Office
  6. An Office sign-in window will pop up, select Sign In.
    Office 365 sign in prompt
  7. Type in your AndrewID email and select Next
    Office 365 sign in window
  8. Type in your Andrew ID and password in the Andrew authentication window.
    Andrew authentication
  9. Complete the Duo Push prompt
    Duo Push prompt
  10. After completing the Duo Push prompt, the activation is complete and you may start using Microsoft Office.
    Successful Activation

    Upgrading an unsupported Mac to Office 365

  1. If your Mac is not enrolled in SCS Software Support and does not have access to the Self Service application, SCS Computing Facilities has created an install package for Office 365. Select the link below and then proceed to the next step.

    Download Office 365
  2. The download is restricted to those with Andrew accounts. Enter your Andrew email in the sign in field.
    Google authentication window
  3. You will be automatically redirected to Andrew SSO authentication, enter your AndrewID and password and select Login
    Andrew authentication
  4. Complete the Duo Push prompt if requested
    Duo push prompt
  5. The install package is stored in a secure Google Drive folder. Right click the install package and select Download.
    Download install package
  6. You may be presented with a pop up stating that the file is larger than Google has the ability to run a virus scan on. As this file is stored in a secure Google Drive folder that is managed by SCS Computing Facilities, select Download Anyway.
    Google Virus Scan prompt
  7. Once the download is complete, it can be found in the Downloads folder. Double-click the package to launch the installer.
    MacOS downloads folder
  8. MacOS will prompt for the login credentials for your Mac to authorize the installer to run.
    MacOS Authentication
  9. Select Continue on the installer window
    Install Microsoft Office
  10. Please read and select continue on the Software License Agreement page.
    Software License Agreement
  11. An additional prompt will present to agree to the terms of the Software License Agreement. Select Agree.
    Software license prompt
  12. The default installation location will place the Office 365 applications in the Applications folder. Select Install.
    Choose install location
  13. The install will begin and progress will be displayed.
    Install progress
  14. You will be notified when the installation is successful. Click Close.
    Successful installation
  15. The new Office 365 icons will display in the Applications folder. Open the Office application of your choice to complete activation.
    MacOS Applications folder
  16. Upon opening an Office 365 application for the first time after installation, you will be prompted on whether or not you would like to share your data with Microsoft. Select your preferred option and click Accept.
    Microsoft data sharing request
  17. Office 365 introduces a new feature called Connected Experiences that offer convenient features but may require Microsoft to analyze your data. If you would like to disable Connected Experiences, you may do so in the Office application privacy settings. Select OK.
    Microsoft Office 365 Connected Experiences
  18. The Office 365 application will open and the Activation prompt will appear at the top of the window. Select Activate.
    Activate Office 365
  19. You will be prompted to Sign In to Office. Select Sign In.
    Sign in to Office 365
  20. Enter your Andrew email in the sign in field and select Next.
    Sign in to Microsoft
  21. You will be redirected to Andrew SSO authentication. Enter your Andrew ID and password and select Login.
    Andrew authentication
  22. Complete the Duo Push prompt.
    Duo push prompt
  23. You are now ready to start using Office 365.
    Start Using Word
If you require assistance with this process, please contact the SCS Help Desk at help@cs.cmu.edu or 412-268-4231.