Office 2016 and 2019: A Microsoft Update Is Deactivating Some Installs

If your business is still running Microsoft Office 2016 or Office 2019, this is worth two minutes of your attention today.

Over the past few days, IT teams and users have reported that a Microsoft update, KB5002907, is removing the licence from perpetual Office 2016 and 2019 installations. Affected machines suddenly show “Unlicensed Product”, drop into read-only mode, and in some cases Office is removed altogether. It has been reported across Professional Plus, Home & Business and workplace-discount licences, on both personal and organisation-managed devices.

A couple of important caveats, because the facts still matter:

• Microsoft’s own documentation describes KB5002907 as an optional update for out-of-date Microsoft 365 Apps, not as a deliberate switch-off of Office 2016 or 2019.
• At the time of writing, Microsoft has not officially acknowledged the impact on 2016 and 2019 licences. On its own support forum a moderator called it a possible “emerging issue”. So this is a live, developing situation, not a confirmed policy.

We are flagging it now rather than waiting, because whether it turns out to be a deliberate change or a bug, the practical risk to a business running old Office is the same: your team could lose the ability to edit and create documents with very little warning.

The bigger point most people are missing

Office 2016 and Office 2019 both reached end of support in October 2025. That means no more security updates, regardless of this particular issue. If you are still running them you are already on borrowed time, and KB5002907 is simply the moment that risk becomes visible.

What to do

1. Find out what you are actually running. Check whether any machines are on Office 2016 or 2019 rather than Microsoft 365 Apps.
2. If you already have Microsoft 365 licensing that includes the Office apps, the fix is straightforward: deploy Microsoft 365 Apps, the modern always-updating version, in place of the old install.
3. If you do not, plan the move now rather than after your team is locked out. Moving to Microsoft 365 gets you supported, updating apps and removes this whole class of problem.
4. If you have already been hit and see “Unlicensed Product”, do not panic and do not rush out to buy a new key. The licence can often be recovered, but the lasting fix is moving to a supported version.

If we look after your IT, you are already covered

This is exactly what an IT department is for. We are checking our clients’ estates for affected devices and licensing, and we will get in touch with anyone exposed. If you are not sure what your business is running, or whether you are protected, that is precisely the question we exist to answer. Ask us to check your Office estate, book a free IT review, or call us on 01452 701355. Better to find out today than on the morning nobody can open Word.