If you still run Office 2016, 2019 or 2021 on your devices, and there is little reason not to use these versions, then you may have experienced a rather odd issue.
Microsoft released KB5002907 recently, an optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 apps installations. The main purpose of the update was to “address issues with devices not receiving updates to Microsoft 365 Apps”.
However, on some devices the update was installed on, it caused issues with the Office installation. Microsoft writes:
As part of the repair action applied by this update, some devices were left without functioning versions of Microsoft 365 Apps or Office.
- In some cases, the product may appear to be unlicensed.
- In rare cases, the product may have been removed.
In other words, installation of the optional update for Office may have caused the activated program to deactivate itself or, in rarer cases, uninstall entirely.
Microsoft says that it has stopped the distribution of the update to investigate the issue. It has published instructions for affected customers, suggesting to either activate Office again or download and reinstall it.
The number of affected customers is not mentioned, which makes it difficult to determine its impact on the Windows community that run perpetual versions of Office. Considering that Microsoft stopped the update from being pushed via Windows Update, it is likely that the number is not insignificant.
Granted, the update does not install automatically via Windows Update, but many customers are probably installing all the updates that Microsoft is delivering to their devices.
So, if you are affected, follow the two links above to either re-activate the Office installation, if it has just been deactivated by the update, or download and install it anew.