Microsoft has halted the rollout of KB5002907, an optional Windows update for outdated Microsoft 365 Apps installations, after some users reported that it disabled licenses for Office 2016 and Office 2019, with a smaller number of PCs losing their Office installations entirely.

The problem is unusual because KB5002907 was intended for outdated Microsoft 365 Apps installations, not the perpetual Office 2016 and Office 2019 installations that encountered the licensing problems. Microsoft released the update for Windows PCs running Microsoft 365 Apps installations that were more than 90 days behind on updates and using either Current Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel.

Instead, some customers with perpetual Office licenses were affected. These are one-time purchases rather than Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

While it investigates, Microsoft has now stopped distributing KB5002907. Microsoft acknowledged that the repair action performed by the update left some devices without functioning versions of Microsoft 365 Apps or Office.

The company lists two possible outcomes for Office 2016 and Office 2019 users: the software can lose its licensed status or, in what Microsoft calls rare cases, it can disappear from the PC.

For enterprise IT departments and managed service providers, the incident creates a headache. Restoring a license may require entering an existing product key or signing into the Microsoft account associated with the purchase. A machine that has lost Office altogether requires a new installation.

Immediate Problems

Reports of problems began surfacing September 24, shortly after KB5002907 was released. Christian Van Hautte, who operates an MSP in Belgium, reported that five customers contacted his firm within about 10 minutes. Dozens of PCs across the customers were affected.

Van Hautte said the affected installations at his customers were Office 2016 or Office 2019 Home & Business purchased under perpetual licenses. Some installations suddenly displayed an “Unlicensed Product” notice. Entering the original product key restored activation on affected machines, according to Van Hautte.

Other users reported that restoring Office was more complicated and required signing into a Microsoft account and selecting the appropriate license.

The more disruptive problem involves PCs where Office was removed. Van Hautte found a possible connection to systems running Office products with different architectures. One example is a PC with a 32-bit version of Office 2016 or 2019 and a 64-bit Microsoft Access Runtime.

Office setup does not support mixing 32-bit and 64-bit Office products. If KB5002907 attempts to remove and reinstall or migrate an existing installation on one of these systems, the process can fail after the original Office suite has already been removed. Microsoft has not confirmed that this configuration is the cause of the reported uninstallations.

There’s also a question about how an optional update reached some affected machines. Microsoft describes KB5002907 as an update offered through Windows Update that does not install automatically. But Van Hautte reported that it appeared without users manually selecting it on customer PCs.

Office 2016 and Office 2019 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. The products can still be used, but Microsoft no longer provides the standard support and security updates available during their supported lifecycle.

For organizations still running these perpetual Office releases, the first task is to determine whether KB5002907 reached their PCs and check Office licensing and installations. Microsoft advises users whose software shows as unlicensed to reactivate the purchased product. If Office has been removed, the company recommends downloading and reinstalling the purchased copy.

Microsoft has not announced when distribution of KB5002907 will resume or what changes it may make before releasing the update again.