Microsoft Working on Fix for Office Bugs in OS X El Capitan

Since OS X El Capitan was released to the public last week, Microsoft Office users have noticed some serious bugs when attempting to use the software. MacRumors has received multiple emails from people having issues with Office 2016, and there are several threads about the problem on our forums.

Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint are crashing for many Microsoft users who have installed Office 2016, and Office 2011 users are also noticing problems with Outlook.


Microsoft is aware of the problems with its software and has been responding to customer complaints. In a thread on the Microsoft forums, Microsoft Program Manager Faisal Jeelani said the company is working with Apple to resolve the issues, but said there is no timeline for a fix. Microsoft also gave Computerworld a similar statement:

"We know that some users may be experiencing issues with Office 2016 for Mac running on El Capitan," the statement read. "We are actively investigating the matter with Apple. Until there is a fix, we recommend people install the latest updates to Office 2016 for Mac using Microsoft AutoUpdate."

Customers who are running Office 2016 are running into a wide variety of problems. Some are seeing only occasional crashes with the software, while others are unable to open any Office 2016 apps at all. Many who use Outlook for email are unable to access their inboxes, and this particular issue affects both Office 2016 and Office 2011.

I even did a fresh install of El Cap and then did a fresh install of 2015 Office. The whole office suite just bounces when I try to load a file. The programs freeze when using them and then crazy. I just keep sending the crash reports to Microsoft. I thought it was more widespread but apparently it is just me. I uninstalled 2016 office and went back to 2011.

Microsoft's first support replies came shortly after OS X El Capitan was released, which means the company has been working on a fix for several days now, but it is not clear when a patch might be released. Many customers on the Microsoft forums are growing angry with the company because Microsoft had several months to work out crashing issues ahead of OS X El Capitan's release. Crashes and Office 2016 problems were first reported during the beta testing period but remain unresolved.

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson has told MacRumors that a fix is in the works.

"We know that some users of Office 2016 for Mac are experiencing issues as a result of upgrading to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan. We are actively working with Apple towards resolution."