July 3, 2026
Microsoft 365 Store Version Losing Support: What To Do
July 3, 2026
Most business owners don't think about how Microsoft 365 got installed on their computers. Someone set it up, it works, that's enough. But the way it was installed actually matters, and right now there's a specific installation type that Microsoft is cutting off from future updates.
If any machines in your office got Microsoft 365 through the Microsoft Store, those installs are on their way out. Microsoft is ending support for that delivery method entirely. No more feature updates, and more importantly, no more security patches. For a tool that handles your email, documents, and probably a good chunk of your sensitive business data, that's a real problem.
There are two ways Microsoft 365 apps end up on a Windows machine. The first is Click-to-Run, which is the standard method most IT folks use when deploying Microsoft 365 properly. The second is the Microsoft Store version, which some users installed themselves by searching the Store and clicking download. It looks identical once it's running, which is why a lot of people have no idea which one they have.
The Store version has always been a second-class citizen when it comes to update control. Click-to-Run is what Microsoft actually builds its update pipeline around. Intune, Microsoft 365 admin center, Windows Update for Business, all of that is designed for Click-to-Run. The Store version was a shortcut, and now Microsoft is closing the door on it.
Open any Microsoft 365 app, Word or Excel works fine. Go to File, then Account. Look at the "About" section. If you see something like "Microsoft Store" listed under the product name or update channel, that's the version being retired. If it says "Click-to-Run" you're fine.
On a single personal machine this takes two minutes. If you manage 15 or 25 employees, checking every machine manually is a real time cost. That's where a device management tool like Intune or even a basic RMM platform earns its keep. You can query the installed app type across your whole fleet in one shot.
You'll need to uninstall the Store version first. Go to Settings, Apps, find Microsoft 365, and remove it. Then reinstall using the Office Deployment Tool or by signing into office.com and downloading from there. The download from the Microsoft 365 portal gives you Click-to-Run by default.
Your files stay put. Your Outlook profile might need a quick re-setup depending on how it was configured. For most users it's a 20-minute process. The bigger risk is doing nothing and ending up with a version that stops getting patched sometime in the next few months.
Larger companies almost always deployed Microsoft 365 through their IT department using the Deployment Tool or Intune, so they're probably not affected. Small businesses are more likely to have a mix. Maybe the original setup was done right, but then a new hire installed it themselves on their laptop and grabbed it from the Store. These inconsistencies add up.
Unpatched Microsoft 365 apps are a real attack surface. Macro-based exploits, malicious Office documents, phishing attachments that rely on unpatched vulnerabilities. These aren't theoretical. They show up in incident reports every month. Running an outdated, unsupported version of Word or Outlook isn't the same risk level as skipping one Windows Update. It's worse.
Check at least a sample of machines today, especially any that were set up by employees rather than your IT person. If you find the Store version, plan the migration before the deadline hits. Don't wait for something to break.
If you're not sure how to check across your whole environment, or you want someone to handle the migration cleanly, that's exactly the kind of thing Exine helps NJ and NYC businesses with every day.
