Users of **Microsoft Office 2016** and **Office 2019** with perpetual licenses have reported issues after applying an optional update, **KB5002907**, from **Microsoft 365**. Some users encountered a message stating "product without license" in **Word** or **Excel**, while others found their entire **Office** suite missing from their computers. The issue was first reported by **Bleeping Computer**, which noted that within ten minutes on September 24, five companies in Belgium contacted Christian Van Hautte, a managed IT services provider, after **Office 2016** or **Office 2019** licenses were no longer recognized on dozens of PCs. Microsoft has faced update-related problems this month, including issues with **Windows 11** blocking enterprise **VPN** connections after the September Patch Tuesday update. However, **Office 2016** and **Office 2019** are no longer supported, with Microsoft ending support on October 14, 2025. No further updates are planned for these versions. As a result, users who purchased these licenses outright have lost access to **Word** and **Excel** due to a fix intended solely for **Microsoft 365** subscribers. In its support bulletin, Microsoft specifies that **KB5002907** is intended for **Windows PCs** with **Microsoft 365** applications that are more than 90 days behind on updates and are on the current or monthly Enterprise channel. The update is available via **Windows Update**, but installation is not automatic. According to Van Hautte, applying **KB5002907** deletes the existing **Office** installation and attempts to reinstall or migrate it. However, on PCs with both **32-bit** and **64-bit** versions of **Office 2016** or **2019** and a **64-bit Microsoft Access** runtime, the reinstallation step fails. Microsoft’s installation program does not allow mixing **32-bit** and **64-bit** versions of **Office**, leaving these systems without any **Office** version installed. The cause of this behavior has not been confirmed by Microsoft. Microsoft acknowledged in its updated bulletin that the update was intended to resolve issues with **Microsoft 365** applications not updating on certain devices. It also noted that some devices ended up without functional versions of **Microsoft 365** or **Office** applications after the update. For users affected, Microsoft suggests two options: in some cases, **Office 2016** or **Office 2019** is still installed but without a license, requiring reactivation with the original product key. Others have reported complete uninstallation, requiring users to download and reinstall their purchased **Office** copies. Some users have shared their experiences on **Reddit**, describing how legitimate **Office** installations were suddenly deleted, even though the keys were valid and purchased long ago. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that additional instructions would be communicated to affected users through appropriate channels.