How to update Microsoft Office 365 (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc)?

Office 365 updates (O365 updates) come with latest features, security patches, and bug fixes for Office 365 subscribers. These Office updates are important to keep your Office 365 apps up and running seamlessly. If you're looking for a guide on how to update office 365 on Windows 10 or 11, this Office update guide will provide you with all everything that you need to know.

Office Click-to-Run updates settings is available on Patch Manager Plus build version 10.1.2137.1 and above. Learn more

Contents

• Office 365 updates: An overview
• How to check for O365 updates
• How to enable automatic updates for Microsoft Office 365
• Manually update Office 365
• Microsoft 365 update using Patch Manager Plus
• How to update Excel?
• FAQs on how to update Office 365

What are Office 365 Updates? A guide to seamless Office update experience

Office 365 is a Microsoft online subscription service which lets you access all the Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive and more. Office is productivity software which can be used to store all your works in the cloud, and access it anywhere on your desktop or mobile phone. For the best performance, we need the latest version of the app and should update it whenever an update is available. You can either choose to install Office 365 Updates manually. or you can install the latest Office 365 updates using automated software.

How to check for Office 365 updates

If you are looking for a solution to install the Office 365 updates seamlessly, searching online for How to update Microsoft Office 365 or Office 365 check for updates will point you in the right direction. But, before discussing the various ways in which you can update office 365, let us take a look at how to check for updates in Office 365 or Microsoft Office 2016.

• Open an Office application, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, and click on File.
• Click on Account or Office Account under File. The Product Information window opens, click on Update Options next to Office updates.
• From the list of options, click on Update Now.>
• Microsoft Office then starts checking for updates. If updates are found, then they are downloaded and installed.

How to enable automatic updates for Microsoft Office 365

If you're wondering on how to update office 365 automatically, it is important to note that automatic updates for the Office 365 upgrade are enabled by default. To check, navigate to File --> Account in any of the Office apps, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Under Office updates, check if the statement Updates are automatically downloaded and installed is present. If it isn't present, that means the automatic updates are not enabled. To enable them, click on Update Options --> Enable Updates.

How to install Office 365 Updates manually

You can manually install the latest Office 365 Updates by following any of these methods:
There are five ways to manually update Office 365:

1. Install Office 365 updates using manual steps
2. Enable updates for installation
3. Check for updates and install Office 365
4. Automate Office 365 update installation
5. Office 365 Click-to-Run update settings

Install Office 365 updates using manual steps

To install Office 365 updates, follow these steps:

1. Open the Office app that you want to update.
2. Then, open a Blank document.
3. Click on File.
4. Click on the Account option, which is located on the left.
5. Click on the Update Options drop-down menu, and click on Update Now to install the Office updates.

Once you click on Update Now, that particular Office app will update to the latest release.

How to install Office 365 updates by enabling updates

This method to update Office 365 is exclusively for those users who aren't able to find the Update Now option under the Update Options drop-down menu. To learn how to install the latest Office 365 updates by enabling updates, follow these steps:

1. Open the Office app that you want to update.
2. Then, open a Blank document.
3. Click on File.
4. Click on the Account option, which is listed on the left.
5. Click on the Update Options drop-down menu, and select the Enable Updates option.

Once you click on the Enable Updates option, you'll be able to view the Update Now option under the Update Options drop-down menu. Now, you can follow the steps mentioned under the first method and install the Office 365 updates.

How to check for the latest Office 365 updates and install them

To check for the latest Office 365 updates, follow these steps:

1. Open the Office app that you want to update.
2. Then, open a Blank document.
3. Click on File.
4. Click on the Account option, which is listed on the left.
5. You'll find About (Office app name). This section gives you details on the current version that you're using.

If the version specified under this section matches with the version found on the Office support website, it means your Office app is up-to-date.

How to update Office 365 automatically

With the number of attacks on networks increasing every day, it's challenging and tedious to keep all the systems in your network updated regularly. This is where automation is vital. ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus, a user-friendly software patching tool provides complete automation with the Automate Patch Deployment (APD) feature. This feature covers all of your business requirements and suits organizations of varying sizes.

Besides automating the entire patching process, this software patching tool offers flexible deployment policies to meet all of your needs. You can customize and configure with the given options to deploy patches on your preferred time and day, choose when to reboot or shutdown, decide when to skip a deployment, and more. Also, you can tweak every minute detail to deploy the updates the way you prefer.
Let's dive into the APD feature and get to know it works.

• To create an APD task, log into the Patch Manager Plus console and navigate to the Deployment tab.
• Click on Automate Patch Deployment which is listed under Deployment.
• To automate a deployment task, click on Automate Task and choose the platform you want to deploy.
• Once you select the platform, you'll be taken to a page where you'll have to specify the required details for automating the deployment task. Give a suitable name and description for the APD task you're creating and click on Save.
  
  There are four stages of creating an APD task: Selection Applications, Choose Deployment Policy, Define Target, and Configure Notifications.
  
  
  1. Select Applications:
     • The first stage involves selecting applications based on the severity level and type of updates that you wish to deploy.
     • In this stage, you can choose to deploy all the selected applications, deploy only specific applications, or deploy all applications except a few. In this case, you can choose to patch your Office 365 applications specifically.
     • Under the Deployment section, you can choose when you want the approved patched to be deployed.

     

  2. Choose Deployment Policy:
     • You can either choose the existing policy, or create a new policy of your own by clicking on Create/Modify Policy to install office updates. You can select one or customize your own policy depending on your organization's needs. This deployment policy allows you to specify preferred week, day and time of deployment.
     • By enabling the Suspend Task After check box and specifying the date, your APD task will be suspended starting with that day.

     

  3. Define Target:
     • This stage enables you to choose the target computers where you want the patches to be deployed. You can choose the deployment to be either a Remote Office or a Domain.
     • You can also filter the target computers by using the filter option. You can choose to include computers of a specific category based on Remote Office, IP Address, IP Range, Operating System, and others. You can also choose to exclude computers based on the above-mentioned criteria. The computers which fall under the specified category will be included or excluded during deployment.

     

  4. Configure Notifications:
     • If you want to be notified about the status of the APD task, you can enable the required options. Configure them based on how often you want to be notified about the happenings of the APD task. These details will be sent to you with a detailed report to the specified e-mail address.

     

  Once you click on Save, your APD task is created. You can patch Office 365 updates automatically by following these steps. If you want to learn how to create an APD task in detail, review the Automate Patch Deployment document.

  With an automated patching tool like Patch Manager Plus, constantly checking for updates is no longer required. So enterprises can focus on actual business activities to bring in more revenue and benefit their organization. The APD feature has been designed to automate processes, and to save IT admins time and effort.

Office 365 Click-to-Run updates settings

In Patch Manager Plus, from build versions 10.1.2137.1 and above, the Office 365 Click-to-Run (C2R) settings can be configured to further streamline your Office update experience. This feature can be found under Admin > Patch Settings > Office Click-to-Run Settings. You can download the language packs and proofing tools automatically by configuring these settings. To learn more refer to this document.

Microsoft 365 update using Patch Manager Plus

While you are looking to update Office 365 with Patch Manager Plus, you might also be interested in knowing how to update Microsoft 365. As one of it's native capabilities, this solution lets you perfom Microsoft 365 updates as well - from a single console.

For a seamless and an automated Microsoft 365 update experience, follow the steps below:

• Navigate to Deployment -> Automate Patch Deployment
• You can either create a new APD task or modify an existing one
• In Select Applications, navigate to Microsoft Updates and choose the Security Updates and Non Security Updates based on the severity
• Click on Patch Specific Applications and search for Microsoft 365
• Choose the required applications from the drop-down, that need to be updated


How to update Excel?

You can update Excel to the latest version in two different ways. Either go with the tedious manual ways, or choose to automate the process with Patch Manager Plus. Let's discuss both of these methods in detail.

How to update Excel manually?

Excel 2010

To update Microsoft Excel 2010 to the latest version, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Open an Excel worksheet and click on File from the top menu.
2. Click on Help from the left-pane.
3. Click on Check for Updates (under Tools for Working With Office).

Any available updates will begin getting installed in the system.

Excel 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2021

To update any of these versions of Excel, follow these steps:

1. Open an Excel worksheet and click on File from the top menu.
2. Click on Account from the left-pane.
3. Click on Update Options (under Product Information) and select Update Now.

Any available updates will start installing in the system. To check for the latest Excel 365 and O365 updates, refer to this section.

How to update Excel automatically?

Automating Excel updates with Patch Manager Plus doesn't just save time, it also prevents security exploits. With an Automate Patch Deployment (APD) task, patching and updates happen almost seamlessly.

Follow these steps to automate Microsoft Excel updates with Patch Manger Plus:

1. Log in to the Patch Manager Plus console and click on Deployment.
2. Navigate to Automate Patch Deployment > Automate Task.
3. Under Microsoft Updates, select the type of updates, i.e., Security Updates and Non Security Updates based on their severity, Feature Packs, and Service Packs, that you want to deploy automatically.
4. Click on Patch Specific Applications and select the required application(s), in this case Excel.
5. Under the Deployment section, you can choose when you want the approved patches to be deployed. Once done, click Next.

6. Refer to this section for the next steps.

FAQs

1) How to update Office 365?

To install Office 365 Updates, follow these steps:

1. Open the Office app that you want to update.
2. Then, open a Blank document.
3. Click on File.
4. Click on Account, which is listed on the left.
5. Click on the Update Options drop-down menu, and click on Update Now to install office updates.

2) How do I update my version of Excel?

To update Excel, follow these steps;

1. Open an Excel worksheet and click on File from the top menu.
2. Click on Account from the left-pane.
3. Click on Update Options (under Product Information) and select Update Now.

3) Does Office 365 update automatically?

Yes, automatic updates for Office 365 upgrade are enabled by default.

4) Is Office update free?

For users with Microsoft 365 Family or Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, the latest version of Office will be available for free. However, if you are using a one-time purchase of Office version (non-subscription e.g. Office Home & Business), you need to buy a Microsoft 365 subscription to upgrade to the latest version.

5) How to update Office 365 on Windows 10?

To update Office 365 on Windows 10 systems seamlessly, follow the steps below:

• Open an Office app (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, etc.) and create a new document.
• Navigate to File > Account > Product Information
• Click on Update Options > Update Now

6) How do I update Office 365?

Follow the steps mentioned below, for performing an Office 365 update on your systems:

• Open any Office app that needs to be updated.
• Open a blank document and navigate to File > Account
• Click on the Update Options drop-down menu, and click on Update Now to update office to the latest version.