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All Microsoft Apps Crashing on Mac Despite Updates/Deleting and Redownloading

Burton, Audrey 15 Reputation points
2026-03-18T17:59:47.9566667+00:00

In the last couple of days, all of my Microsoft apps have been randomly crashing on my Macbook, including Outlook, Word, To Do, OneNote, etc. So far I've attempted to: Update my Macbook to Tahoe 26.3.1, updated all of the Microsoft apps, deleted the Microsoft apps and redownloaded from Microsoft's website instead of the app store, and restarted my computer multiple times. I'm at my wits end with it at this point. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

Outlook | MacOS | New Outlook for Mac | For home
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  1. D. J. Sullivan 0 Reputation points
    2026-06-05T01:12:27.4733333+00:00

    I have this same issue as well, and so do a bunch of other commenters. There is clearly a massive memory leak in office 365 for mac. It doesn't release the memory. It just keeps building and buidling until the app crashes.

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  2. Alice-N 10,035 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-03T04:30:03.6366667+00:00

    Hi Burton, Audrey

    I understand you are having problem with multiple Microsoft apps (Outlook, Word, To Do, OneNote, etc.) randomly crashing on your Mac even after updating macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, updating the apps, reinstalling, and restarting. Are you running any third‑party Office add-ins/integrations (especially PDF/Adobe tools), and does the crashing still happen if you sign into a fresh macOS user account? 

    I would love to hear from you. Have a lovely day! 

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  3. AI answer

    2026-03-18T18:00:01.2966667+00:00

    Use a full clean removal of Microsoft 365 for Mac and its data, then reinstall, as this has resolved similar “all Office apps quit unexpectedly” issues on macOS.

    Follow these steps in order:

    1. Quit all Office apps
    • Make sure Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, To Do, and any other Microsoft apps are closed.
    • Use Apple menu → Force Quit if any are frozen.
    1. Remove all Microsoft 365 apps
    • Open Finder → Applications.
    • Use Command+click to select all Microsoft 365 for Mac apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, etc.).
    • Ctrl+click the selection and choose Move to Trash.
    1. Remove Office app data and containers
    • In Finder, on the menu bar select Go → Go to Folder….
    • Enter: ~/Library/Containers/
    • In this folder, move to Trash the folders that start with:
      • com.microsoft.Word
      • com.microsoft.Excel
      • com.microsoft.Powerpoint
      • com.microsoft.Outlook
      • com.microsoft.OneNote
    • Go back to ~/Library and open Group Containers.
    • If present, move these to Trash:
      • UBF8T346G9.ms
      • UBF8T346G9.Office
    1. Empty Trash and restart macOS
    • Empty the Trash to fully remove the old binaries and data.
    • Restart the Mac to clear anything still loaded in memory.
    1. Reinstall Microsoft 365 apps
    • Sign in to the Microsoft account that holds the Microsoft 365 subscription at the services page (as in the referenced guidance).
    • Download and install the Office/Microsoft 365 apps from there.
    • After installation, start one app (for example Word) and sign in when prompted so activation completes, then test the others.

    If crashes persist after this full reset, check for any additional macOS updates and, if the issue continues, contact Microsoft Support with crash logs, as the core app and profile reset has already been performed.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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