4 Ways to Disable Office Updates on Windows 11

Key Takeaways 

• The easiest way to disable Office updates is to disable them from any Office apps, such as Word.
• You may also disable all Microsoft app updates from the Windows 11 settings.

Method 1: Using an Office App

You can use any Microsoft Office app to turn off automatic updates for all Office applications. In the steps below, we’ll use Microsoft Word.

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.

Step 2: Type Word and press Enter.

Step 3: Click the Account option in the left sidebar.

Step 4: Click Update Options > choose Disable Updates from the context menu.

Step 5: Click Yes to the Universal Access Control prompt.

Now, Windows will not update Office applications automatically.

Method 2: Using the Settings App

A quick way to handle updates on a Windows PC is through the Settings app. You can use it to manage Windows, drivers, and even Microsoft Office updates. Here’s a step-by-step instruction to disable Microsoft Office updates on Windows using the Settings app:

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Choose Windows Update from the left sidebar and Advanced options in the right pane.

Step 3: Turn off the toggle for the Receive updates for other Microsoft products option.

Method 3: Using the Registry Editor

The Registry Editor in Windows tool is an important utility that enables you to manage crucial registries. You can access and configure the Microsoft Office registry so it does not update automatically. You may back up the registry and create a restore point before proceeding with the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, type Registry Editor in the search bar, and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft

Step 3: Right-click on the Microsoft key in the left sidebar, hover the cursor to New, and choose Key.

Step 4: Name the key Office.

Step 5: Right-click on the Office key in the left sidebar, hover the cursor to New, and choose Key.

Step 6: Name the key 16.0.

Step 7: Right-click on the 16.0 key in the left sidebar, hover the cursor to New, and choose Key.

Step 8: Name the key Common.

Step 9: Right-click on the Common key in the left sidebar, hover the cursor to New, and choose Key.

Step 10: Name the OfficeUpdate.

Step 11: Right-click the OfficeUpdate key, hover the cursor to New, and choose DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 12: Name the value EnableAutomaticUpdates.

Step 13: Double-click the EnableAutomaticUpdates value, type 0 in the Value data, and click OK.

Next, reboot your system. Following that, Microsoft Office will not download any updates on its own.

Method 4: Using the Local Group Policy Editor

Another way to stop Microsoft Office from updating automatically is by using the Local Group Policy Editor. Simply access the Enable Automatic Updates policy and set it to Disabled. You should download Administrative Templates files (ADMX/ADML) for Office apps and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Open the downloaded EXE file.

Step 2: Select the location where you want to extract the content and click OK.

Step 3: Head to where you’ve extracted the content and open the admx folder.

Step 4: Press the Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut to select all the files inside the admx folder and press Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut to copy them.

Step 5: Press the Windows + E keyboard shortcut to open the File Explorer.

Step 6: Open the C drive.

Step 7: Double-click on the Windows folder.

Step 8: Open the PolicyDefinitions folder.

Step 9: Press the Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut to paste the copied content into the PolicyDefinations folder.

Step 10: Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run tool.

Step 11: Type gpedit.msc in the search bar and press Enter.

Step 12: In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following location:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Updates

Step 13: Double-click on the Enable Automatic Updates policy in the right pane.

Step 14: Select Disabled. Then, click Apply and OK.

Note: The Local Group Policy Editor is exclusive to Windows Pro and Enterprise editions. You’ll get the “gpedit.msc missing error” when accessing it on Windows Home. To eliminate this error and access the Local Group Policy Editor on Windows Home, check our guide on fixing gpedit.msc missing error.