When Is Corporate Greed Too Much? Microsoft Breaks Office for Mac

mk@insidemordecai.com (Mordecai Kipng'etich) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:33:33 +0300

In the past few days, Microsoft announced that it would end the support for Office for Mac. That seems all fine and dandy but there is a huge problem if you look deeper into this. Beyond 13th July, 2026, folks who bought Office 2019 for Mac will have the different applications enter reduced functionality mode essentially making them view-only.

At what point is corporate greed too much?

Microsoft are effectively killing these versions of their office suite that users made a one-time purchase for. With such an acquisition, I expect the product to continue getting updates during its period of support, but crucially, remain functional beyond end of support. Look at Windows 10, despite it being end-of-life (EOL), it continues working like a normal operating system. But here’s the same company nuking a product and nudging the same people towards another perpetual licence — Office 2024 — that might suffer the same fate. They’re also steering customers towards a subscription in the form of Microsoft 365. That’s the epitome of greed.

I’ve worked in Sales before and I know companies depend on Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) but at the scale of Microsoft you’d imagine this isn’t a huge problem. The literally print cash in other sectors, but no, they had to go after something people bought expecting to work forever.

What’s worse is they are blaming certificates on their decision and there lies the fix. They simply need to renew their certificates. Also, can’t the office suite work without it? And can’t they update it to not rely on a certificate for license validation? I mean I remember some old airtight computers in a previous workplaces had to use Office 2007 and 2013, and that worked flawlessly without phoning home. Unless I’m misunderstanding something here, in which case someone smarter should reach out and shed light on this matter.

Anyway, the news has sparked some discussion online and I’ve seen my fair share of differing views. There are some folks saying the affected users should simply switch to Google Docs, Apple iWork, LibreOffice, OnlyOffice and other options but that’s besides the point.

If you buy a perpetual license, it should work in perpetuity. Microsoft nerfing the product is basically stealing what the customer bought. It’s borderline fraudulent and sets a dangerous precedent that other companies might emulate.

They are pushing their customers so hard while actively tarnishing their already fragile reputation. It’s reached a point where it makes sense to sail the high seas, consider alternatives and even boycott the company altogether. I sure hope someone takes legal action on this, or that somehow Microsoft reneges on their decision.

Explore Further

Dr. Adrian Mallard (John Malkovich) “Fuck Microsoft” Scene on Space Force (Netflix) - well this scene continues being relevant.
Microsoft revokes Office 2019 perpetual licenses, then edits their website to gaslight customers - Louis Rossman goes over this announcement and how Microsoft quietly made changes to their initial end of support statement from October last year.
Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion (2026) on the Consumer Rights Wiki
Certificate update for Microsoft 365 apps on managed macOS and iOS devices - in case you need extra info on the certificates issue.
Microsoft is disabling Office 2019 for Mac on July 13, 2026 by JimmyTech

Microsoft on Mordecai Kipng'etich

When Is Corporate Greed Too Much? Microsoft Breaks Office for Mac

Explore Further