Microsoft to disable features in outdated Office apps

Microsoft is always keen for people to use the latest versions of its software, and things are no different with Office. The company has just announced that if users of Microsoft 365 Office apps will need to be fully updated or they will lose access to some key features.

The announcement indicates that Microsoft is upgrading backend services that power some features and that as a result of this, older versions of apps will no longer be supported. But just what does this mean and when will users be affected?

Microsoft is making changes to the Office Intelligent Services. This is behind features such as Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation.

This is not something that affects all of the Office apps that make up Microsoft 365, but Word, Outlook, OneNote and PowerPoint are all impacted.

A message posted in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center reads:

To ensure continued high-quality performance of the Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation features in Microsoft 365 Office apps, we’re upgrading the backend service that powers these capabilities. As a result, these features will no longer function on Office clients running versions earlier than 16.0.18827.20202 after January 2026.

The changes that Microsoft is making in the background are significant – the company labels them as being a “major change”, and this is why it is giving a decent notice period.

In order to avoid losing access to the features that have been mentioned, there should be no financial burden to bear. All users need to do is to is install the most recent updates and everything should continue to work as normal.

Or, as Microsoft puts it:

To avoid service disruption, ensure that all Office clients are updated to version 16.0.18827.20202 or later before the applicable deadline.

The impact of the announcement will be felt most keenly by system administrators who have a suite of systems to update. Individuals are unlikely to find the changes or update process problematic.

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