REMOVAL GUIDE · MICROSOFT 365 AND OFFICE

Office won't uninstall? Use Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter

Start by checking how Office was installed: in any Office app, open File, Account and select About. A Click-to-Run or MSI installation is removed from Control Panel, Programs and features. If that fails, Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter, the tool people look for as the Office uninstall tool, opens in the Get Help app and removes Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019 and Office 2016; Microsoft states that it currently can't uninstall Office 2024. A Microsoft Store installation has its own PowerShell route. In every case your work stays: Microsoft says uninstalling only removes the applications, not the files, documents or workbooks you created with them.

Updated 11 November 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Check	What it means	Reversible?
File, Account, About mentions Click-to-Run or Microsoft Store	Microsoft's way to tell how Office was installed, which decides the removal route	Read-only check
Your Microsoft 365 or Office product gone from Programs and features	The standard uninstall finished	Yes: Microsoft's Install or reinstall Office on a PC steps
The uninstall troubleshooter finished and the PC restarted	Microsoft's fallback removed Microsoft 365, Office 2021, 2019 or 2016	Yes, by reinstalling
Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop" returns nothing	A Microsoft Store installation of Office is removed	Read-only check
Your documents still open	Microsoft states that uninstalling does not remove files, documents or workbooks	They are your files, not part of the removal

The official way: Control Panel, then Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter

Microsoft documents every route on one support page, grouped by installation type. The troubleshooter is reached from the Uninstall button on that page; the short address aka.ms/SaRA-officeUninstallFromPC opens the same troubleshooter in the Get Help app (checked 11 November 2026).

Check how Office was installed
Open any Office app, go to File, Account (or Office Account) and select About under Product information. Microsoft says a Click-to-Run installation shows a version and build number with the phrase Click-to-Run, and a Microsoft Store installation shows the phrase Microsoft Store.
Click-to-Run or MSI: uninstall from Control Panel
Open Control Panel, go to Programs, then Programs and features, select your Microsoft 365 or Office product and choose Uninstall. Follow the prompts to the end.
If that fails: the uninstall troubleshooter
On Microsoft's Uninstall Office from a PC page, select the Uninstall button in the troubleshooter option. If the browser says the site is trying to open Get Help, select Open, follow the prompts and restart when asked. Run it on the PC that has Office installed. It needs Windows 10 or higher, it removes Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019 and Office 2016, and Microsoft states that it currently can't uninstall Office 2024.
04
Microsoft Store installation: PowerShell
Microsoft's steps for a Store installation start in Programs and features too. If that does not work, it documents this manual route: open PowerShell as administrator, run the first line to remove the package, then the second to verify. If the second line returns nothing, the removal worked.
```
Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop" | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop"
```
PowerShell
Still not fully removed
Microsoft's page links a separate article, manually uninstall Office, for installations that neither route removes. Follow that article rather than deleting Office folders or registry keys on your own.

What stays on the PC, and what is yours

Microsoft states that uninstalling Microsoft 365 only removes the applications: it does not remove any files, documents or workbooks you created with them. Those are your data, not leftovers. Microsoft also notes that uninstalling Office removes Teams with it. These read-only PowerShell commands show whether an Office product is still registered, as a classic program or as a Microsoft Store package.

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' |
  Where-Object DisplayName -match 'Microsoft 365|Office' | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion
Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop" | Format-Table Name, Version

Usually safe to act on

An Office entry still listed after the Control Panel uninstall and a restart: run Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter before removing anything by hand.
Office 2024 that Control Panel cannot remove: the troubleshooter does not cover it, so use the manual uninstall article Microsoft links.

Your data and settings: keep

Your documents, workbooks and presentations, wherever you saved them.
Your Microsoft 365 subscription: the uninstall page only removes the apps. Cancelling is a separate step with its own Microsoft article.
Microsoft OneDrive: it has an entry of its own, and its own safe removal order.

What a restore point does and does not cover

Microsoft describes restore points as snapshots of system files, installed applications, the Windows registry and system settings, taken without affecting personal data. That also means a restore point is not a backup of your files. System Protection is not enabled by default, so on a PC where nobody switched it on, a request for a restore point fails; you turn it on under Create a restore point, Configure. And when an app asks for a restore point while one made in the previous 24 hours already exists, Windows skips the new one and still reports success. For Office, a restore point does not contain your documents, and it is no substitute for Microsoft's troubleshooter when the standard uninstall fails.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller helps

It shows the Office entry Windows registered, a classic program or a Microsoft Store app in the same list, and says how many other programs from the same publisher are installed. For a classic entry the brief shows the exact command it registered, which is the one Control Panel starts, and whether it needs administrator rights; the Removal Ledger records the method and the result. It does not replace Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter when that uninstaller fails. Its leftover scan looks at folders and shortcuts named exactly after the program, and it never offers your user profile or its Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music or Videos folders, so your files are not among the things it can remove. Cleaning leftover files and folders is free; cleaning registry keys and startup entries is Pro. Before an elevated removal it asks Windows for a restore point and records the outcome in the Removal Ledger. Because of the 24-hour rule above, Windows sometimes keeps an earlier point instead of making a new one. From version 0.13.8 the receipt says created only when it has verified a new point, and otherwise says that Windows reused the one from a given date; earlier versions could report created in that case.

Keep reading

uninstalling Microsoft Teams — The app that goes with Office, and comes back when Office is reinstalled or repaired.
uninstalling OneDrive without losing files — The Microsoft app where the order of the steps protects your files.
msiexec.exe, the Windows Installer — The process you see while an MSI program installs, repairs or uninstalls.
how to completely uninstall any Windows program — The general order, and what to do when an uninstaller fails.
what PC Tweaker Uninstaller shows before a removal runs — The rating, the command and the permissions, before anything changes.

Common questions

What is the Office uninstall tool?

It is Microsoft's uninstall troubleshooter, started from the Uninstall button on the support page Uninstall Office from a PC, or from the short address aka.ms/SaRA-officeUninstallFromPC. It opens in the Get Help app, needs Windows 10 or higher and removes Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019 and Office 2016. Run it on the PC that has Office installed and restart when it asks.

Does uninstalling Office delete my documents?

No. Microsoft states that uninstalling Microsoft 365 only removes the applications from the computer: it does not remove any files, documents or workbooks you created using the apps.

Can the uninstall troubleshooter remove Office 2024?

Not currently: Microsoft states that the uninstall troubleshooter currently can't uninstall Office 2024. Use Control Panel, Programs and features, and if the product is still not fully removed, the manual uninstall article Microsoft links from the same page.

How do I uninstall Office installed from the Microsoft Store?

Check first: File, Account, About shows the phrase Microsoft Store for that installation type. Microsoft's steps start in Programs and features; if that does not work, open PowerShell as administrator and run Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop" | Remove-AppxPackage. Running Get-AppxPackage -name "Microsoft.Office.Desktop" afterwards should return nothing.

Does uninstalling Office cancel my Microsoft 365 subscription?

Microsoft treats them as separate things: its uninstall page only removes the apps from the PC, and cancelling has its own article, Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you want to stop paying, cancel in your Microsoft account as well.

Try PC Tweaker Uninstaller

Single uninstalls are free, for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What it shows before a removal Download PC Tweaker Uninstaller