KB5021751 notifies Microsoft if an unsupported Office version is installed on Windows

[harlan4096]

Windows administrators and users may want to pay attention to the KB5021751 update, that is in distribution via Windows Update currently.



The update is distributed by Windows Update and is installed automatically. Its sole purpose is to check whether an unsupported version of Microsoft Office is installed on the system and to notify Microsoft about it.

The program checks if any version of Microsoft Office 2007, 2010 or 2013 is installed on the device. Microsoft Office 2013 is technically not unsupported yet, but it reaches end of support in April 2023.

Microsoft notes on the support page:
 

This update is intended to help Microsoft identify the number of users running out-of-support (or soon to be out-of-support) versions of Office, including Office 2013, Office 2010, and Office 2007. This update will run one time silently without installing anything on the user's device.

Microsoft makes no mention of it explicitly, but the information about unsupported Office clients is submitted to the company.

Windows administrators may hide the update so that it is not installed. One option to do so is to download the show or hide updates troubleshooter and use it to hide KB5021751. This prevents the installation of the update on the system via Windows Update.

Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 are not supported anymore by Microsoft. Microsoft Office 2013 reaches end of support in April 2023.

End of support has several consequences:

• Microsoft won't release security updates or any other type of update for the retired product anymore.
  
• Phone or chat support is no longer available.
  
• Support documentation and help files won't be updated anymore.
  

Microsoft Office continues to work after it reaches end of support. Microsoft recommends getting a Microsoft 365 subscription, but there are other options.

Besides purchasing a copy of Microsoft Office 2021, some users may also be able to switch to free and open Office products such as LibreOffice.

Now You: do you run older versions of Microsoft Office?
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