To uninstall Microsoft Office on a Mac, Microsoft's own steps go further than dragging Word and Excel to the Trash. You remove the apps, then each app's folder in your Library's Containers folder, then three folders in Group Containers, then take the icons out of the Dock and restart.
Those Library folders are the hidden data. One of them, the group container named UBF8T346G9.Office, holds Outlook's profiles: its local copy of your mail, calendars and contacts. Microsoft warns that moving it to the Trash removes Outlook's data, and asks you to back it up first.
So start with Outlook. Mail in Microsoft 365, Exchange and IMAP accounts also lives on the server, but anything in On My Computer folders exists only on your Mac. Export or move it before you uninstall.
OneDrive, Teams and Microsoft AutoUpdate are separate apps with their own steps, and a Microsoft 365 subscription is cancelled in your Microsoft account, not by removing apps. All of it works in Finder; none of it needs Terminal.
What Office for Mac puts on your Mac
Office is a set of apps that share a lot behind the scenes: sign-in, licensing, settings, updates and Outlook's data. Each piece lives in a different place, which is why removing the apps alone leaves so much behind.
Which apps count as Office?
Microsoft's uninstall page names Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. Depending on the version you installed, Microsoft notes, Outlook or OneDrive may or may not be there; Microsoft's installer can add OneDrive alongside the Office apps.
Teams, OneDrive and Microsoft Edge are separate apps. Uninstalling Office doesn't remove them, and you don't need to remove them to remove Office.
Where does Office keep its data?
- Containers, in your Library: each Office app is sandboxed and keeps its own data, settings and caches in a container named after it.
- Group Containers, in your Library: folders the Office apps share, named with Microsoft's team ID, UBF8T346G9. Outlook's profiles live in one of them.
- The Library folder at the top of the disk: helpers for licensing and updates, started by launch daemons and agents.
The post on containers and group containers explains how those two kinds of folder work for every sandboxed app, not just Microsoft's.
Why isn't dragging the apps to the Trash enough?
Apple's guide says to use an app's own uninstaller when it has one, and drag it to the Trash otherwise. Office has no uninstaller app, so Microsoft documents the extra steps instead. Without them, the containers, group containers and background helpers stay.
They aren't all small. Outlook's profile can be many gigabytes on a Mac with large mailboxes, and it stays in your Library with nothing left to use it.
| Piece | Where it is | In Microsoft's steps |
|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook | Applications | Yes |
| Each app's data and settings | ~/Library/Containers | Yes |
| Shared data, Outlook's profiles | ~/Library/Group Containers | Yes, with a warning |
| Dock icons | The Dock | Yes |
| Licensing and update helpers | /Library | Only in the complete removal |
| OneDrive, Teams, Edge | Applications | No; separate apps |
Before you uninstall: Outlook's data and your files
Your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents are wherever you saved them, and uninstalling Office doesn't touch them. Outlook is different: its data lives inside the folders the uninstall removes.
What's in Outlook's profile?
The catalog's entry for Outlook for Mac profiles describes it: Outlook's local copy of your mail, attachments, calendars and contacts, in a folder for each profile. It's rated Review first, never something to remove without checking.
Microsoft's documentation explains why the copy exists. Outlook for Mac is a locally cached mail client, and keeps its profiles in ~/.
Is your mail safe on the server?
For most accounts, yes. Mail in Microsoft 365, Exchange and IMAP accounts stays on the server too, so removing Outlook's local copy doesn't delete it. To be sure, sign in to your mail provider's website and check that your folders and recent messages are there.
Items in On My Computer folders are the exception. They're stored only on this Mac, so they go when the profile goes. The same is true of anything you imported into Outlook from an archive file.
How do you keep what's only on this Mac?
In legacy Outlook for Mac, Microsoft's export steps save an archive file:
- On the Tools tab, choose Export. If it isn't there, look for Export in the File menu.
- Check the kinds of items you want to export, and choose Continue.
- Choose where to save the .olm file, outside your Library, and choose Save.
- When Outlook says it's done, choose Finish.
Microsoft says the .olm archive is the only export format, and that a later Outlook can bring it back with Import on the Tools tab, under On My Computer.
What if you use the new Outlook?
Microsoft's export page applies to legacy Outlook for Mac, and says support for legacy Outlook ends in October 2026. If your account is Microsoft 365, Exchange or Outlook.com, the server already holds your mail. If you're unsure where an item lives, move it into a server folder before uninstalling, and check it appears on the web.
How big is Outlook's profile?
In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder, type ~/, and select the Outlook 15 Profiles folder. Choose File › Get Info to see its size. On many Macs it's the largest thing Office leaves.
Only after space? You may not need to uninstall
If Outlook's profile is the problem, you can shrink it and keep Office. The catalog's entry gives Outlook's own steps: delete mail you don't need and empty Deleted Items, and remove accounts you no longer use with Tools › Accounts, then Manage › Remove Account. In legacy Outlook, click the minus button instead.
Removing an account deletes its local copy from this Mac; mail on the server isn't affected. The post on Mail and Outlook storage goes through both apps' options.
Other files people forget
Microsoft doesn't list everything inside UBF8T346G9.Office, and it can hold more than Outlook's data. Before you move it, open it and look through its folders for anything you made yourself, such as templates, and copy that somewhere you back up.
Very old Office versions kept data elsewhere. Microsoft's documentation says Outlook for Mac 2011 kept its identities in ~/, inside Documents, where no uninstall removes it.
| What | Where | Only on this Mac? | Before uninstalling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server mail and calendars | Outlook's profile, plus the server | No | Check them on the web |
| On My Computer items | Outlook's profile | Yes | Export to .olm, or move to a server folder |
| Documents you saved | Your folders | Yes, unless synced | Nothing; uninstalling doesn't touch them |
| Templates and other content | Office's group container | Possibly | Look inside and copy what's yours |
| Outlook 2011 identities | ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data | Yes | Keep them, or archive them |
How to uninstall Microsoft Office on a Mac, step by step
These are Microsoft's steps from its Uninstall Office for Mac page, in its order. They work the same on macOS 27 Golden Gate and macOS 26 Tahoe. You need to be signed in as an administrator, or know an administrator's name and password.
Step 1: Quit Office and remove the apps
- Quit every Office app, including Outlook.
- Open Finder and click Applications.
- Command-click to select all the Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook.
- Control-click the selection and choose Move to Trash.
If you want to keep OneDrive or Teams, don't select them here. They aren't part of Office's steps.
Step 2: Remove Office's containers
- In Finder, press Command-Shift-G, type
~/, and click Go.Library - Open Containers.
- Control-click each of these that's there, and choose Move to Trash: Microsoft Error Reporting, Microsoft Excel, com.microsoft.netlib.shipassertprocess, com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService, Microsoft Word, Microsoft OneNote.
Microsoft notes that some of these folders may not be present. That's normal; a Mac that never had OneNote has no OneNote container.
Step 3: Remove the group containers
- Go back to the Library folder and open Group Containers.
- Control-click each of these that's there, and choose Move to Trash: UBF8T346G9.ms, UBF8T346G9.Office and UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost.
Microsoft's warning about Outlook refers to three folders, and these are the three: Outlook data is removed when you move them to the Trash, so back them up first. UBF8T346G9.Office is the one with Outlook's profiles, as the catalog's entry says.
Step 4: Remove the Dock icons and restart
For each Office app you kept in the Dock, Control-click its icon and choose Options › Remove from Dock. Then restart the Mac to finish.
Leave the Trash full for a day or two. Until you empty it, File › Put Back returns anything you moved, including a group container you realise you still needed.
Check that nothing is left running
After the restart, open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. Look under Open at Login and App Background Activity for anything from Microsoft that belongs to an app you removed, and turn it off or remove it.
Then open Activity Monitor and search for Microsoft. With Office gone, anything still listed belongs to an app you kept, such as Teams or OneDrive, or to the background items in the next section.
Why do Microsoft's folder names look different from Finder's?
Microsoft's two uninstall pages list the same containers two ways: one by app names such as Microsoft Word, the other by folder names such as com.microsoft.Word. Since macOS Big Sur, Finder shows many containers by the app's name rather than the folder's real name, so both lists point at the same folders.
If you see two folders with the same name, one is usually the app's container and the other an extension's. Select one and choose File › Get Info to see more about it before moving it.
Why is UBF8T346G9.ms on the list?
It's a group container that Microsoft's apps share more widely. Homebrew's record of Microsoft AutoUpdate, which notes where it leaves files, lists UBF8T346G9.ms among AutoUpdate's leftovers too. If you're keeping Teams, Edge or another Microsoft app, it's reasonable to leave this one and remove the other two.
When the simple steps aren't enough: Microsoft's complete removal
Microsoft has a second, longer page for one case: you've done the usual uninstall and Office still won't reinstall or start properly. It removes everything the short page does, plus background items, licensing files and OneDrive's pieces.
What else does the complete removal take out?
In the Library folder at the top of the disk, Microsoft lists these, each to be moved to the Trash if present:
- in
/: com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist, com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist and com.microsoft.onedriveupdaterdaemon.plistLibrary/ LaunchDaemons - in
/: com.microsoft.update.agent.plistLibrary/ LaunchAgents - in
/: com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper and com.microsoft.autoupdate.helperLibrary/ PrivilegedHelperTools - in
/: com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plistLibrary/ Preferences
To get there, choose Go › Go to Folder in Finder and type the folder's path. macOS asks for an administrator's password to move these.
More containers and group containers
The complete page adds com.microsoft.onedrive.findersync to the containers, two OneDrive cookie files in ~/, and two more group containers: UBF8T346G9.OfficeOneDriveSyncIntegration and UBF8T346G9.OneDriveStandaloneSuite. It repeats the warning that Outlook data is removed with these folders.
All the OneDrive items are OneDrive's, not Office's. If you still use OneDrive, skip them, along with the OneDrive updater daemon in the first list.
The license removal tool
The complete page's third step is Microsoft's license removal tool, a package you download from Microsoft that removes all Office licenses from the Mac. Microsoft also suggests it when a Mac keeps using an old one-time-purchase license instead of a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Have your Microsoft account email and password ready before running it, Microsoft says, because you'll need them to activate Office again. When it's done, drag the tool's file from Downloads to the Trash.
What about keychain entries?
Neither of Microsoft's uninstall pages lists keychain items. Office does store sign-in data in your login keychain: Microsoft's support article on repeated sign-in prompts in Outlook 2016 names items such as Microsoft Office Identities Cache 2 and Microsoft Office Identities Settings 2, and the names vary by version.
They're tiny and do nothing once Office is gone. If you want them gone, open Keychain Access, search for Microsoft Office, and delete only items with those names. Deleting a keychain item can't be undone, so leave anything you're unsure about.
| Extra item | Where | Skip it if |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing helper and its launch daemon | /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools, /Library/LaunchDaemons | You'll reinstall Office soon |
| AutoUpdate's helper, daemon and agent | /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools, /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/LaunchAgents | You keep other Microsoft apps |
| OneDrive's updater, containers and cookies | /Library/LaunchDaemons, ~/Library | You keep OneDrive |
| OneDrive's group containers | ~/Library/Group Containers | You keep OneDrive |
| Office licenses | Removed by Microsoft's tool | You only want the apps gone |
Office from the Mac App Store vs Microsoft's installer
Office comes two ways on a Mac, and the difference matters for updates, licenses and leftovers.
What's different about the App Store versions?
Microsoft says Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and OneDrive have been in the Mac App Store since January 2019. Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the App Store need a Microsoft 365 subscription to activate, and Microsoft says they don't work with Office 2019 or perpetual Office 2016 licenses.
App Store copies get updates from the App Store, not from Microsoft AutoUpdate. Microsoft adds that the versions can't sit side by side, because they use the same app and file names.
How do you tell which one you have?
Microsoft suggests the About dialog of any Office app: the license text there shows which version you're using. If your apps update through the App Store's Updates list, they came from the App Store.
Uninstalling the App Store versions
Remove them the way Apple's guide describes for any app: drag them from Applications to the Trash. Apple notes that an app you delete is removed for good when the Trash is emptied, and that you can choose File › Put Back until then.
The data is the same either way. App Store copies keep the same containers and group containers in your Library, so Steps 2 to 4 above still apply, Outlook's warning included.
Switching from one version to the other
Because both versions use the same app names, Microsoft says they can't coexist. To switch, uninstall the apps you have first, then install the others. For a switch, removing the apps is the step that matters. Keep Outlook's profile, and the export from earlier, until the new Outlook shows your mail.
Microsoft also says that if you already have Office from Microsoft, there's no reason to change: the App Store apps don't add anything. One difference runs the other way. App Store copies are production releases, so Microsoft's Insider builds need the version from Microsoft.
Subscriptions bought through Apple
If you started Microsoft 365 with an in-app purchase from the App Store, the subscription runs through Apple. Microsoft's App Store page says to manage or cancel it with Apple's subscription instructions, on a Mac, iPhone or iPad. Uninstalling the apps doesn't cancel it.
Microsoft AutoUpdate, OneDrive and Teams
Three Microsoft apps often arrive with Office but aren't part of it. Decide about each one on its own.
Microsoft AutoUpdate
AutoUpdate keeps apps you download from Microsoft up to date. Microsoft says it updates apps you got directly from Microsoft, and continues to update other Microsoft apps on your Mac, so it's still useful if you keep Teams or another Microsoft app.
It isn't in Applications, and Microsoft's uninstall pages don't describe a separate uninstaller for it. Its background pieces are in Microsoft's complete-removal list above: the helper, its launch daemon and the update agent. Remove those only when no Microsoft app you downloaded from Microsoft is left, then restart.
OneDrive is its own app
OneDrive keeps its own folder, normally in ~/, listed in Finder's sidebar under Locations. The catalog's entry for the OneDrive folder explains the risk: deleting a file there deletes it from OneDrive too.
To remove OneDrive, Microsoft's steps are short. Click the OneDrive icon in the menu bar, click Help & Settings, choose Preferences, open Account, and select Unlink this Mac. Then drag OneDrive from Applications to the Trash. Microsoft says neither step loses files: they stay on OneDrive.com.
Don't delete the OneDrive folder's contents to save space
Use OneDrive's own control instead. In Finder, open OneDrive, Control-click the files or folders you don't need on this Mac, and choose Free up space. They stay in OneDrive and download again when you open them.
Microsoft's page doesn't say what happens to files already downloaded once you unlink. Before you remove anything from that folder by hand, check that your files are on OneDrive.com.
Teams is separate too
Microsoft's Mac steps for Teams: Control-click Teams in the Dock, hold down Option, and choose Force Quit. Then open Applications and move Microsoft Teams to the Trash. Your chats, channels and files are stored in Microsoft 365, not on the Mac.
Teams leaves two folders, which the catalog's entry for the Teams cache rates Usually safe: com.microsoft.teams2 in Containers and UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams in Group Containers. Once Teams is gone, they hold nothing you need. The post on chat apps' caches on a Mac covers Teams alongside Slack and Discord.
Should you clear Teams' cache instead of uninstalling?
Only for a problem with the app itself. Microsoft says not to clear the cache for missing messages or chat history that won't load, because it doesn't fix those and deletes the logs support needs. Clearing it also resets your Teams settings.
Microsoft Edge
Edge is a browser, not part of Office, and Office's steps don't touch it. If you're removing it too, or only want its space back, the post on Edge, Firefox and Brave's storage covers what it keeps and how to clear it in the browser.
How much space do these take?
Outlook is usually the big one, and only on Macs with large mailboxes. The apps themselves take more than their leftovers on most Macs.
- Outlook profiles5–70 GB · Review first
- Teams cache and app data1–10 GB · Usually safe
- Everything one removed app leaves0.1–15 GB · Review first
Typical ranges on Macs that have these apps, from the research behind the app's catalog. A Mac with a small mailbox or no Teams has far less.
Licenses, signing out and reinstalling
Uninstalling deals with the Mac. Your license and subscription live in your Microsoft account, and a little housekeeping there saves trouble later.
Should you sign out of Office first?
If you have Microsoft 365, yes. Microsoft says you can sign in to Office on five devices at the same time, and that signing out removes your license from that device. In any Office app, choose the app's name in the menu bar, choose Sign Out, then quit all Office apps.
Signing out also disconnects the app from services like OneDrive, removes your settings and clears the list of recent documents, Microsoft says. It doesn't affect the OneDrive app, which has its own sign-out.
What if you've already removed Office?
You can sign out remotely. Microsoft says to open the Installs page of your Microsoft account in any browser, find the Mac under Devices, and choose Sign out of Microsoft 365 or Office. It can take up to 72 hours to take effect.
You often don't need to. Microsoft also says that if you go over five devices, it signs you out of devices automatically to stay within the limit.
Does uninstalling cancel Microsoft 365?
No. A subscription belongs to your Microsoft account, not to the apps on your Mac, and keeps renewing until you cancel it there. If you subscribed through the App Store, cancel through Apple, as above.
Reinstalling Office later
Microsoft's install page sends you to m365.cloud.microsoft/apps. Sign in with the account tied to your copy of Office, choose Install apps, open the downloaded installer, and sign in again in any Office app to activate.
If you uninstalled to fix a problem, the complete removal above, then a fresh install, is Microsoft's own sequence. Outlook downloads server mail again when you add your accounts; anything you exported comes back with Import.
A worked example: removing Office but keeping OneDrive and Teams
Here's the whole process on one Mac. Say it has Microsoft 365 with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook from Microsoft's installer, plus OneDrive and Teams. The owner is moving to other apps for documents and mail, but their employer uses Teams, and their files are in OneDrive.
Before uninstalling
They check Outlook's folders. Their work account is Microsoft 365, so its mail is on the server; they confirm it in a browser. One folder under On My Computer holds old receipts, so they export it to an .olm file in Documents.
They sign out of Office from Word's menu, so the Mac stops counting toward their five devices.
Uninstalling
They quit every Office app and move Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to the Trash, leaving OneDrive and Microsoft Teams in Applications. In Containers, they move the Office apps' folders that are there. In Group Containers, they move UBF8T346G9.Office and UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost.
They leave UBF8T346G9.ms, because Teams and AutoUpdate stay, and every folder with OneDrive or teams in its name. Then they remove the Dock icons and restart.
What they don't touch
AutoUpdate stays, since Microsoft says it keeps updating other Microsoft apps. The licensing helper in / belongs to Office, so with Office gone for good, they move it and its launch daemon to the Trash with an administrator's password, then restart again.
The result
Office's apps and Outlook's local mail are gone, the receipts are safe in an archive file, and OneDrive and Teams work as before. A week later, with nothing missing, they empty the Trash.
What if more than one person uses the Mac?
Containers, group containers and Outlook profiles belong to each user. Log in to each account that used Office and repeat Steps 2 to 4 there, after checking that person's Outlook data. The apps and the items in / are shared, so they're handled once.
Leftovers and mistakes to avoid
Small leftovers outside Microsoft's lists
Homebrew's record of the Office installer, which lists where it leaves files, names more small items in your Library: folders in Application Scripts, each app's preferences file in ~/, a few items in Saved Application State, and update caches.
They're tiny. Since you asked to remove Office, its own preferences files can go too. Leave preferences of any Microsoft app you're keeping. The post on leftover files after uninstalling apps explains how to tell whose a file is.
Proofing tools and language files
Microsoft's installer includes a separate package of proofing tools, according to Homebrew's record of it. Whether trimming language resources from apps you keep is ever worth it is covered in the post on language files in Mac apps.
Is a third-party uninstaller enough?
A good uninstaller finds Office's containers, group containers and background items the way Microsoft's steps do, and shows them before anything moves. It can't decide for you whether Outlook's data is safe. The comparison of uninstallers for Mac explains what each kind handles well.
Adobe's suite has the same shape: a manager app, shared folders and data that's easy to lose. The post on uninstalling Adobe Creative Cloud walks through its own order.
Mistakes to avoid
- Moving UBF8T346G9.Office before checking Outlook. It holds Outlook's profiles, and On My Computer items exist nowhere else.
- Removing OneDrive's items while you still use OneDrive. The complete removal includes them; skip them.
- Deleting files in the OneDrive folder to save space. They're deleted from OneDrive too; use Free up space.
- Moving whole folders such as Containers or Group Containers. Remove only Microsoft's folders inside them.
- Running the license removal tool without your account details. You'll need them to activate again.
- Pasting removal scripts from a web page. Commands that delete files skip the Trash and can't be undone.
- Emptying the Trash at once. File › Put Back works until you do.
How the app does it
Wombit explains Microsoft's folders like everything else on the disk. Select one in the map or the list, and it says what the folder is, how safe it is to remove and what removing it costs. It reads only names, sizes and dates, and file names and paths never leave your Mac.
Outlook's profiles are Review first. The app doesn't move them; it explains what they hold, warns that On My Computer items exist only on this Mac, and points to Outlook's own steps. Containers and group containers are Review first too, and Teams' folders are Usually safe, so nothing here starts checked. The OneDrive folder is explained, with OneDrive's own Free up space.
~/
Library/ Group Containers/ UBF8T346G9.Office/ Outlook/ Outlook 15 Profiles Outlook's local copy of your mail, attachments, calendars and contacts, in a folder for each profile.
Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Group Containers/ * Shared folders where apps from the same developer, and their extensions and widgets, keep data they all use.
Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Containers/ * The private folder a sandboxed app, such as most apps from the App Store, uses as its own home for data, settings and caches.
Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Containers/ com.microsoft.teams2 Microsoft Teams cache and app data
The new Microsoft Teams app's local cache, settings and diagnostic logs.
Usually safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ CloudStorage/ OneDrive* Your OneDrive folders, with the OneDrive files that are downloaded to this Mac.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
The Applications section lists every app with its size, what it has left around the Mac and when you last opened it, with Uninstall…. For each leftover it shows why the file belongs to the app, such as its identifier or one of its app groups. Folders that may hold your data start unchecked.
The review asks the app to quit, stops its background jobs and moves everything to the Trash, where Undo and Put Back work.
Seeing all of this is free. Cleanup and the uninstaller are PRO, one $4.99 payment with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open, so you see what would go and why before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Will uninstalling Office delete my Outlook email?
It deletes Outlook's local copy when you remove Office's group containers, which Microsoft warns about. Mail in Microsoft 365, Exchange and IMAP accounts also stays on the server, but items in On My Computer folders exist only on your Mac. Export or move those before you uninstall.
Is dragging Word and Excel to the Trash enough?
It removes the apps, not their data. Microsoft's steps also remove each app's folder in Containers and three folders in Group Containers, then remove the icons from the Dock and restart. Without those, Office's settings and Outlook's data stay in your Library.
What is the UBF8T346G9.Office folder?
It's the group container the Office apps share, named with Microsoft's team ID. Outlook keeps its profiles there, with your mail, calendars and contacts, so Microsoft warns that moving it to the Trash removes Outlook's data. Remove it only when every Office app is gone and Outlook's data is safe.
Do I need to remove Microsoft AutoUpdate?
Only if no Microsoft app stays on the Mac. Microsoft says AutoUpdate updates the apps you download from Microsoft, including apps other than Office. Microsoft's complete-removal steps take out its helper and launch items; App Store copies of Office don't use it.
Does uninstalling Office remove OneDrive and Teams?
No. OneDrive and Teams are separate apps with their own steps. Microsoft says to unlink OneDrive and then drag it to the Trash, and to quit Teams and move Microsoft Teams to the Trash. Your OneDrive files stay in OneDrive and your Teams chats in Microsoft 365.
Does uninstalling Office cancel Microsoft 365?
No. The subscription belongs to your Microsoft account. Cancel it there, or through Apple if you subscribed in the Mac App Store. Signing out of Office on the Mac frees that device from your sign-in limit but doesn't cancel anything.
What does Microsoft's license removal tool do?
It removes all Office licenses from the Mac, which Microsoft suggests when activation goes wrong or a Mac keeps using an old one-time license. Have your Microsoft account details ready, because you'll need them to activate again. It isn't needed for a normal uninstall.
How do I reinstall Office later?
Microsoft's install page sends you to m365.cloud.microsoft/apps: sign in with the account tied to your copy and choose Install apps. If you had the App Store versions, download them again from the App Store. Outlook rebuilds its profile from the server when you add your accounts again.
Sources
- Uninstall apps on your Mac · Apple
- Uninstall Office for Mac · Microsoft
- Troubleshoot Office for Mac issues by completely uninstalling before you reinstall · Microsoft
- Microsoft Office and the Mac App Store · Microsoft
- Outlook for Mac is a locally cached email client · Microsoft
- Clear the Teams client cache · Microsoft