Quick answer: In Word for Windows, check File > Account > Update Options > Update Now. On a Mac installed from Microsoft, use Help > Check for Updates; a Mac App Store installation updates through the App Store. Managed work or school installations may use an administrator-controlled update path.
Update Word on Windows
- Open Word and a blank or existing document.
- Choose File > Account.
- Under Product Information, choose Update Options > Update Now. If you do not see Update Now, you may need to choose Enable Updates first.
- Let Office check and install any available updates. Close and reopen Word if prompted, then return to File > Account to confirm the result.
If Update Options is missing and only an About button appears, Microsoft says the installation may be volume-licensed or managed by Group Policy. Ask your organization’s help desk or use its approved update process rather than assuming Word is broken.
Update Word on a Mac
If you installed Word from Microsoft, open Word and choose Help > Check for Updates. Microsoft AutoUpdate will offer available updates; choose Update or Update All. You can also enable automatic Microsoft app updates there.
If Word came from the Mac App Store, open the App Store, select Updates, and update Word or all apps there. Using the wrong updater for the installation source can make it seem that no update is available.
Confirm which updater applies and whether it finished
On Windows, the File > Account page identifies the installed Office product and provides its update controls. Use View Updates there if you need to review the update history. After Update Now finishes, reopen Word and check the Account page again instead of assuming that clicking the button installed something. Microsoft’s updater may report that you are already up to date.
On a Mac, the installation source decides the updater: Word downloaded from Microsoft uses Microsoft AutoUpdate, while a Mac App Store copy uses App Store updates. If AutoUpdate offers Automatically keep Microsoft apps up to date, turn it on if you want future updates installed through that channel. If an employer manages the device, follow its update policy and ask IT when a release is blocked.
When an update does not solve the problem
First separate an update failure from a missing feature. A feature may depend on your product, account, or the desktop versus web version; an update cannot change those entitlements. If Word for Windows cannot open at all, Microsoft’s Windows update instructions suggest repairing Office. If Word opens but the update repeatedly fails, note the message shown and the product listed on the Account page before contacting Microsoft support or your administrator.
If you updated Word to get Copilot and the button still isn’t there, see enabling Copilot in Word for the license and privacy checks that also apply.
Update Word on iPhone, iPad, or Android
The Word mobile app updates through your device’s app store, not through a command inside Word.
- On an iPhone or iPad, open the App Store, tap your profile picture, and scroll to the list of available updates. On Android, open Google Play, tap your profile picture, and choose Manage apps & device.
- Find Microsoft Word (or the Microsoft 365 Copilot app if you use Word inside it) and tap Update.
- Reopen the app after the update installs.
Word for the web
Word for the web runs in your browser and does not have a separate desktop Update Now command. If a feature is missing, refresh the page, check the signed-in account and license, and compare the web and desktop feature availability.
For account and license checks after an update, see our Word activation guide.
Microsoft’s instructions: update Office for Windows and update Office for Mac.
Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com