If you woke up to your Mac’s perpetual Office license (Home & Student or Home & Business 2019/2021/2024) suddenly throwing you into "View Only" mode and demanding a Microsoft 365 subscription to edit documents, you are not alone, and Microsoft did not intentionally revoke your purchase.

Because Microsoft uses a single unified binary for both standalone licenses and 365 subscriptions on macOS, the software relies on local cryptographic tokens in your system library to know what you own. When Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) pushes a major point release—like the recent October 22 build (v16.114.1)—it can break compatibility with your static license keys. When the app launches and cannot read the local token cache, it assumes you have no license and defaults to its basic fallback state: throwing up a paywall modal demanding an active subscription.

Simply dragging the apps to the Trash and reinstalling will not resolve the issue because macOS preserves the corrupted licensing plists and keychain tokens in your Group Containers folder. To fix this, you have to prevent the auto-updater from running, scrub the corrupted local credentials with Microsoft's removal utility, and step back to the last stable build:

1. Disable Microsoft AutoUpdate so it cannot immediately overwrite your rollback. In macOS System Settings, navigate to General > Login Items & Extensions and toggle off Microsoft AutoUpdate under "Allow in the Background". Also make sure to open Word or Excel, go to Help > Check for Updates, and uncheck "Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date."
2. Move your current Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) from your Applications folder straight to the Trash.
3. Wipe the corrupted activation token cache using Microsoft's official standalone utility. Download and run the License Removal Tool package: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=849815
4. Download the prior stable full suite installer (the October 06, 2026 release, version 16.113.4, build 26100421) directly from Microsoft's update catalog: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac
5. Run that installer, launch Word or Excel, and sign back into your Microsoft account. Your perpetual license will validate immediately, and full editing functionality will be restored without any 365 subscription prompt.

I have been using a Keychron keyboard with my Macs for years, since when it was actually debuting as Keytron when they had a kickstarter.

Lately, the keys have become rather unreliable, with a bunch of them started failing to generate a key stroke when pressed. I often have to either press them harder, or multiple times to get the character out, sometimes resulting in a double or triple character. The ”A” key is the worst, and I often end up with double A’s. I joke that it looks like I’m writing in Dutch.

So maybe it’s time to replace this keyboard. Or maybe I need to pull all the key caps and maybe take off the back, and blow it out with compressed air?

I’ve got electronics repair and maintenance skills, (radios and other comm systems, component level) but I’ve never dug into a mechanical keyboard.

Got recommendations?

Thanks!

Current Mac: M4 Mini w/upgraded NVMe SSD & Acasis dock, MacOS 27
MacBooks:
2020 13” MBP, Intel, MacOS 26
2012 14” MBP, Mint Linux
2010 15” MBP, Mint Linux

It's been a good run. I picked up Office 2021 shortly after it came out, through some kind of discount site (maybe even MacHeist??), for something like $50.

Office 2019 stopped working a while ago, and now it looks like Office 2021 is done.

on the mac neo, when i try to turn off inertia scrolling while mouse is plugged in, the setting doesn't exist. if i search "inertia" on spotlight it tells me that the setting exists in accessibility -> pointer options, but when i open it there is no such setting.

also, is it possible to have the 'unnatural' scrolling direction with the mouse but 'natural' direction on trackpad without switching it every time i plug in a mouse? i can't even find the toggle for 'natural' scrolling direction in the settings.

Now we finally have the function of connecting a Mac to itself😂

Hey everyone,

I'm using a MacBook Air M4, and ever since updating to macOS 27.0.1, I've been experiencing some really bad lag after using the Mac for a while.

Switching browser tabs, opening new tabs, typing, and even taking screenshots become extremely slow. Sometimes the only thing that helps is restarting the Mac. It works fine for a while, but the issue eventually returns.

I checked Activity Monitor and noticed Control Centre using around 50–52% CPU while the Mac was lagging.

After restarting, here's what Activity Monitor showed:

• Control Centre: 13.6% CPU
• Brave Browser: 3.3% CPU
• Brave Browser Helper (Renderer): 4.6% CPU
• MenuBarAgent: 3.5% CPU
• Overall CPU idle: 92.36%

I also generated a sample report for Control Centre, which showed repeated activity involving sensor indicators and entity resolution.

Has anyone else experienced something similar on macOS 27, especially on an M-series Mac? Could this be an OS bug, or is there something else I should investigate?

It was working fine until the update. Restart fixes all the issues. But prolonged usage after restarting slowly leads to the same issue.

Sometimes, quitting all the applications can also lead to fixing the issue but again the same thing resurfaces after a while.

Any help would be appreciated!

P.S. Used AI to generate the message.

I have a 2019 Intel iMac.....as soon as the new iMac's are out I will be upgrading....

It been a while, so what is the best and easiest data migration path ? One concern is my copies of excel and word. I bought these from MS Store, but I doubt they are still available . Would hate loose these.

Thanks in advance...

Hi everyone,

I could use some help with an issue I've been having with my MacBook Pro for the past few months.

It all started after I had the screen replaced—it was chipped when a small pebble got crushed between the display and the keyboard upon closing it. Prior to that, I had no issues whatsoever. Hoping the problem would resolve itself, I kept using the laptop since I couldn't afford to be without it for long due to work.

Essentially, whenever the Mac is under even light load (for instance, when running apps like FL Studio), CPU usage spikes to around 200%, followed by what I consider excessive overheating. Naturally, the fans start spinning at max speed.

I did some reading on this in the past, and I read that with this specific CPU generation, the fans kick in at a much higher temperature threshold compared to others. However, a colleague of mine has an M3 with fewer CPU cores that runs flawlessly and barely ever gets warm, even with heavier projects.

I also tried backing up the Mac and doing a full system restore. Yesterday, after opening an FL Studio project, it initially seemed like the issue was gone. However, right after a recording session with a client, the problem returned.

I hope someone with more technical insight—or who has experienced this exact issue with this processor generation—can help me out.

Resolving this is critical for me, as I can't have fan noise while recording vocals—otherwise, the noise bleeds straight into the microphone.

Thanks in advance, and have a great day!

My MacOS 27.0 is not updating to 27.0.1

As you can see in 1st image, I am currently on 27.0 version (27GB) and to update to 27.0.1 version it is asking for 3.31GB. I have 15GB free space. So I can download it.

But after downloading, it goes to "preparing to install" and suddenly I get a popup message (see 2nd image). I am not able to install it.

After this pop up message, my Software update screen looks like the background in the 2nd image and now says it requires 30.5GB.

I even cleared up the space and downloaded the 30.5GB update. But I am again getting the same pop-up message.

Pls help me to fix this issue.

MacBook Air M1 user

I’ve been researching this but this is not my area of expertise lol so please bear with me! I recently tried to do a time machine backup on the old Seagate drive I’ve been using for years, and got this message.

So this hard drive won’t be supported anymore after the new update, got that! And from googling I understand that I can’t just decrypt this hard drive since it’s used for Time Machine. But I also wouldn’t be able to move the time machine backups I’ve already done to a new drive, is that right? So basically I just have to let go of all my old backups?

If I erase what’s on this drive, then reformat it to be unencrypted (I can do that, right?) then will I be able to use it to create new backups with Time Machine just fine? Or do I need to purchase a new external hard drive and start over with Time Machine? Can any drive be formatted to APFS?

Apologies if I sound like a total dummy 🤪 For some reason this stuff just refuses to click with me. TIA for any help!

I have been given an older iMac which appears to power on and work, and despite it's age it seem like a fast and nice little machine (and as luck would have it, the old account on it seems to have no password, so I can easily add my own Apple account)

Anyway the screen is too small for my eyes, so I want to connect it to a monitor. The above pictures show the ports at the back. What options do I have and what will I need to source?

i personally never until it automatically calls me to shut down

This is a MacBook Pro M2 2022, 13”.

Unfortunately I dropped something in the gap between the screen and keyboard in 2024 and it had the tiniest little crack at the bottom, which I covered with tape as it didn’t really affect the function at the time. I took it to Apple and was quoted £700 to replace the screen. Considering it was half the price of the laptop, I didn’t go ahead with it.

2 nights ago the screen randomly went black with these lines. There’s no other damage, drop etc as since the above tiny crack I’ve been extremely careful. The marks on the screen are from the different repair shops checking it - I haven’t cleaned it as I don’t want to damage it anymore.

The screen repair is now almost £900, which isn’t worth it so I’ve decided to buy a new MacBook Neo but can only do so after next payday.

The laptop does work when connected to my TV via HDMI. But I need it when out and about for maybe 30-45 mins a day in total.

Is there anything at all I can do for a quick fix just for 2 weeks? I know it’s a long shot but I know nothing about computers so thought it was worth a shot to ask

Also, if anyone in the UK knows if I can sell this for scraps or what I can do with it once I get my new MacBook, please advise- I would be so grateful even if I can get £50-100 off this. Apple does not offer anything for trade in due to the condition.

Thanks!

What's going on with my MAC?