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To remove Microsoft Office from Windows 11, first uninstall it from Settings > Apps > Installed apps. If that fails, use the method for its installation type: PowerShell for a Microsoft Store package, the Office Deployment Tool for Click-to-Run, or Settings or Control Panel for MSI. Manual folder, task, service, and registry cleanup is a last resort because incorrect registry changes can cause serious Windows problems.

Uninstalling Office removes the applications, not documents you created, and it does not cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription or remove its license from your Microsoft account.

Before removing Office

Save your work and close Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Project, Visio, and other Office-related programs. Have access to an administrator account because removal tools and several cleanup steps require elevation.

1. Identify the Office installation type

The installation type determines which removal method to use.

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  1. Open Word, Excel, or another installed Office desktop application.
  2. Select File > Account. Some versions label this File > Office Account.
  3. Under Product Information, select About and inspect the installation details.
What you see Installation type
A version and build number, with the words Click-to-Run Click-to-Run
A version and build number, with the words Microsoft Store Microsoft Store
No version or build number beside About Office MSI, also called Windows Installer

2. Uninstall Office from Windows 11 Settings

For a normally registered installation, Settings is the simplest method.

  1. Open Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  2. Search for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, Office Home and Student, Office Home and Business, or the standalone product name.
  3. Select the … button beside the Office entry.
  4. Select Uninstall, then confirm by selecting Uninstall again if prompted.
  5. Complete the removal wizard and restart Windows.

If Office was installed as a suite, remove the suite entry rather than trying to uninstall Word, Excel, or PowerPoint separately. Microsoft generally does not support removing individual applications from a Click-to-Run suite. Individual removal is normally available only for standalone products.

Microsoft’s Office support page has a section titled “Uninstall Microsoft 365 from Settings,” but its instructions may send you to Control Panel. The current Windows 11 Settings route is Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

3. Use Control Panel if Settings does not show Office

Some desktop installations expose their uninstaller through Programs and Features.

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  1. Open Windows Search and type Control Panel.
  2. Open Control Panel and select Programs > Programs and Features.
  3. Select the Office suite or standalone product.
  4. Select Uninstall or Uninstall/Change.
  5. Follow the wizard, then restart Windows.

Look for a suite name such as Microsoft 365, Office Home and Student, or Office Home and Business. Standalone products may appear as Microsoft Project or Microsoft Visio.

4. Remove a Microsoft Store installation with PowerShell

Use this only when Office is identified as a Microsoft Store installation and Settings cannot remove it. The command removes the AppX package for the current user; it is not for Click-to-Run or MSI Office.

  1. Right-click Start.
  2. Select Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  3. Run: Get-AppxPackage -name “Microsoft.Office.Desktop” | Remove-AppxPackage
  4. Wait for PowerShell to finish, then verify removal by running: Get-AppxPackage -name “Microsoft.Office.Desktop”

If the verification command returns no package information, the Store installation has been removed for that user.

5. Use Microsoft’s Office uninstall troubleshooter

Microsoft provides an automated removal troubleshooter through the Get Help app. It is intended for Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016.

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  1. Open Microsoft’s Office uninstall page.
  2. Select Uninstall.
  3. If Windows says, “This site is trying to open Get Help,” select Open.
  4. Follow the prompts and select the Office version requested by the tool.
  5. Restart the computer when prompted.

The troubleshooter must run on the same Windows computer that contains the installation. Microsoft states that it cannot uninstall Office 2024. If it reports that no Office product is present, try Settings or Control Panel first, then use the Office Deployment Tool for a Click-to-Run installation.

6. Remove Click-to-Run Office with the Office Deployment Tool

The Office Deployment Tool (ODT) can remove Click-to-Run products and languages when the normal uninstaller is damaged or unavailable. Download the current ODT from Microsoft, extract it to a folder, and create a file named uninstall.xml in that folder.

To remove all Click-to-Run Office products and languages, put this configuration in the file: <Configuration> <Remove All=”TRUE” /> </Configuration>

Open Command Prompt as administrator, change to the folder containing setup.exe and uninstall.xml, and run: setup.exe /configure uninstall.xml

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Remove All=”TRUE” removes Microsoft 365 Apps Click-to-Run products and languages, including Click-to-Run versions of Project and Visio. Do not confuse it with RemoveMSI:

  • <Remove All=”TRUE” /> removes Click-to-Run Office.
  • <RemoveMSI /> removes eligible MSI-based Office, Visio, and Project installations.

RemoveMSI does not remove Click-to-Run versions. It covers eligible MSI versions from Office, Visio, and Project 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 when used with a sufficiently recent ODT. Microsoft requires at least ODT version 16.0.12827.20268 and recommends using the newest version available.

7. Remove MSI-based Office

For MSI installations, use Settings > Apps > Installed apps or Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Select the Office product and choose Uninstall.

If the MSI entry is damaged or missing, Microsoft documents a manual removal procedure. It involves removing Windows Installer packages, folders, services, scheduled tasks, shortcuts, files, and registry entries, so use it only after standard uninstall methods fail.

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Last resort: manually clean up Click-to-Run Office

Microsoft describes manual removal as long and complex. Incorrect registry changes can cause serious Windows problems, including a need to reinstall Windows. Back up the registry and use this procedure only after supported uninstall methods fail.

Delete the remaining installation folder

After attempting the normal uninstall, check C:\Program Files\ and delete the Microsoft Office 16 folder if it remains.

Delete Office scheduled tasks

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run these commands:

schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office Automatic Updates”

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schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office Subscription Maintenance”

schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office ClickToRun Service Monitor”

schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\OfficeTelemetryAgentLogOn2016”

schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\OfficeTelemetryAgentFallBack2016”

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A message saying a task does not exist is expected if that task has already been removed.

Stop Office processes and remove its service

Open Task Manager and use End task on these processes if they are running:

  • OfficeClickToRun.exe
  • OfficeC2RClient.exe
  • AppVShNotify.exe
  • setup*.exe

Then open an elevated Command Prompt and run: sc delete ClickToRunSvc

Delete remaining Office folders

Check each location and delete it if present:

  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office 16
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office
  • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office
  • %CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
  • %ProgramData%\Microsoft\ClickToRun
  • %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRunPackagerLocker

If Windows reports that a file is in use, restart the PC and try again. If it remains locked, continue to the next cleanup step rather than forcing deletion.

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Remove only the specified registry keys

Back up the registry before editing it. Microsoft’s Click-to-Run cleanup procedure identifies these keys:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppVISV
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Microsoft Office <Edition> – en-us
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office

<Edition> – en-us is a placeholder for the actual Office edition and language on the computer. Do not delete broad parent keys simply because they contain the word “Office.” Remove only keys associated with the installation being cleaned.

Remove leftover Start menu shortcuts

Run this command from an elevated Command Prompt: explorer %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Delete leftover shortcuts or folders belonging to the removed installation, such as Microsoft Office 2016 Tools, Word 2016, Excel 2016, and PowerPoint 2016.

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Check for remnants and installation conflicts

After restarting, search Installed apps, Control Panel, and the Start menu for the Office suite, Project, and Visio. A Start-menu icon by itself may be only a stale shortcut; it does not prove that the program is still installed.

If you are preparing to install Microsoft 365, remove incompatible older MSI installations first. Microsoft does not support certain combinations of MSI and Click-to-Run Office on the same computer. ODT’s RemoveMSI option can remove eligible MSI products, but not Click-to-Run products.

MSI cleanup can also remove Access Database Engine. Check whether other applications rely on that component to connect to Access data sources before removing an old MSI installation.

FAQ

Will uninstalling Microsoft Office delete my Word and Excel files?

No. Uninstalling Office removes the applications, not documents, workbooks, presentations, or other files you created. Save open work before starting.

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Why is Office in the Start menu but not in Windows 11 Installed apps?

The Start-menu item may be a stale shortcut, or Office may be registered under the suite name rather than Word or Excel. Search Installed apps and Control Panel for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, the specific suite name, Project, and Visio.

Why is Office missing from Control Panel?

It may be a Microsoft Store installation. Try Settings > Apps > Installed apps first. If that fails, use the Microsoft.Office.Desktop PowerShell command from an elevated Terminal.

Does Get-AppxPackage remove every Office installation?

No. It removes the Microsoft Store AppX package only. It does not remove Click-to-Run or MSI desktop installations.

Does deactivating Office uninstall it?

No. Deactivation removes activation for that computer but leaves the Office applications installed.

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Can Microsoft’s uninstall troubleshooter remove Office 2024?

Microsoft states that the troubleshooter cannot uninstall Office 2024. Use Settings or Control Panel, and for Click-to-Run installations try the Office Deployment Tool instead.

What should I do if uninstall fails because Office is open?

Save your work, close all Office applications, and check Task Manager for Office processes. End relevant processes only after saving, because forcibly closing applications can cause data loss.

Sources

The Bottom Line

Use Settings > Apps > Installed apps first, then try Control Panel. If the installation is Microsoft Store, use the AppX PowerShell command; if it is Click-to-Run, use the Office Deployment Tool. Reserve manual service, folder, scheduled-task, and registry removal for a broken installation, and restart Windows after cleanup.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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