Upgrading Office 2019 to Microsoft 365 (Windows)

Overview

Learn how to upgrade your Windows computer from Office 2019 to Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise.

What is changing?

Mainstream support for Microsoft Office 2019 ends on October 10th, 2023. To ensure smooth operations all managed computers at the University of Oregon will automatically be upgraded to the newer subscription-based version of Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise.

Most users on managed computers are already using Microsoft 365 (M365), but users that remain on Office 2019 will be upgraded soon and will gain access to improved features that are only available in M365.

What happens if the software is not upgraded?

• Office 2019 will no longer be officially supported by Microsoft. As a result of this future bugs or security vulnerabilities may not be patched as quickly, or at all.
• Connectivity to Microsoft 365 online services, such as email may be interrupted.
• The feature disparity between Office 2019 and M365 will continue to grow and current workflows may cease to work in the future.

Differences between Office 2019 and M365

M365 includes enhanced cloud integration, and regular security updates and enhancements that will not be rolled out to Office 2019.

M365 Applications for enterprise includes exclusive intelligent capabilities like Ideas in Excel, Researcher in Word, real-time collaboration, Teams as the hub for teamwork, and advanced security features. For more information, see the Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise webpage from Microsoft. 

A few other examples of new features and enhancements that are only available in M365 are listed below: 

• Collaborate real-time Office content with M365 and support for @mentions in Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  
• Co-authoring in Excel PowerPoint, and Word (Co-authoring in word only is available for office 2021).
• Access to new Excel functions, such as XLOOKUP, LAMBDA, TEXTBEFORE and TEXTAFTER
• Excel connection to Microsoft Power Automate
• New AI / co-pilot features (as released), résumé assistant in Word, dictation in Word.  
• 3D embedded animation effects in Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  
• Enhanced meeting RSVP tracking and forwarding in Outlook.  

Access to the whole M365 suite, including Planner, Power BI, To Do, Sway, Whiteboard, and more.

What version of Office am I currently using?

To check whether you are using M365 or Office 2019 please do the following:

• Open any core Microsoft Office Suite application: Access, Excel, Word, Outlook or PowerPoint.
• Click on File in the upper-left corner and then select Account.
• If you are using Microsoft 365 it will read:
  • Subscription Product for <YOUR EMAIL>
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
  • 
• If there is no mention of M365 then you are using the 2019 version of Office and you will need to upgrade.
  • 

How do I upgrade to M365?

Managed Computers

If your machine is managed by User Support Services, your machine is likely already running M365. You can use the steps listed above to check. If an upgrade is needed it will happen automatically. 

If you want to update now:

1. Open Software Center and search for Office 365.
2. Press Install. Please note - Visio and Project users will need to upgrade their license to Visio 365/Project 365 version.

Please contact us if you need to purchase a license for Visio or Project.

Unmanaged Computers

• If your machine is not managed, please contact your local IT department for assistance.
• If this is your personal device, you can follow the instructions for installing Microsoft M365.

Need help?

Please visit our Contact Technology Help article.