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How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

William Shakespeare
William ShakespeareOriginal
2025-03-08 10:25:10229browse

Mac systems are known for their smooth user experience, but some applications (we call it Mac performance suppressors) can ruin this experience. These applications run in the background, which slows down your Mac. Microsoft AutoUpdate is such an application. It interrupts your workflow and efficiency, which you may have confirmed by checking Activity Monitor. Therefore, we recommend that you stop the automatic update of the application.

The following are the reasons you might want to prevent Microsoft AutoUpdate from running on your Mac:

  • It slows down the Mac and causes it to freeze.
  • You prefer to manually update Microsoft applications based on your schedule.
  • The update can be unexpected and therefore annoying.
  • The program interrupts you when you use your Mac, even if there is no update to implement - yes, even if you are streaming or watching content on your device.
  • While it runs in the background, pop-up notifications can be frustrating.
  • It uses too much CPU resources.

Luckily, Microsoft AutoUpdate can be stopped. Of course, there are some consequences that you should understand, such as missing important application updates, new features, and slow Microsoft applications running. If you are ready to deal with this situation, read on. We will show you how to do it.

Disable Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac

Microsoft AutoUpdate usually works well, but in some cases it can cause some problems. While it runs in the background and does not interrupt, sometimes it may require you to close the application during updates, or stop working when switching the network while downloading content. In this case, Microsoft AutoUpdate can be disabled.

Please follow these steps to close Microsoft AutoUpdate on your Mac.

  1. Navigate to Dock on your Mac, right-click Finder, and select the Go to Folder option in the list.
  2. Enter the path /Library/Application Support/Microsoft and click the "Go" button on the pop-up window.
  3. Find and open a folder starting with "MAU" and then open a file named "Microsoft AutoUpdate".
  4. If the box next to Automatically keep Microsoft Application Updated is selected, click it to uncheck and disable this option, and then click Close.

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

So, what happens when you need to update Microsoft applications in the future? It's simple; just update them in Microsoft AutoUpdate. The method is as follows:

  1. Go to Microsoft AutoUpdate and click Check for updates.
  2. Find the app you want to update and click the "Update" button next to it. Alternatively, you can select Update All to update any other Microsoft applications with available updates to save time.

You can also find options in the app to update individual applications, which usually allow you to find available updates. Find the Menu bar in a specific application, select Help, and click Check for updates.

If you change your mind and don't want to disable automatic updates for Microsoft applications, you can easily enable them again. Follow the steps above to Microsoft AutoUpdate and enable Automatically keep Microsoft Application Updated.

Disable notifications for Microsoft AutoUpdate

Microsoft AutoUpdate notifications can drive you crazy. This is especially true when notifications keep popping up when you are busy working, doing important things, or watching interesting content.

In this case, especially if you want to focus and stay undisturbed for a while, we recommend that you disable notifications for Microsoft AutoUpdate.

The following is how to block Microsoft AutoUpdate messages:

  1. Click the "Apple Menu" at the top of the laptop and select "System Preferences > Notifications".
  2. Close Microsoft Update Assistant.

When you want to receive notifications from Microsoft AutoUpdate again, follow the steps above and enable "Allow Notifications" to complete.

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

Microsoft AutoUpdate may remove old features in new updates, which is not ideal and may prompt you to return to use the old version. But this problem is not limited to Microsoft AutoUpdate; other applications installed on your Mac may also encounter this. Learn how to uninstall updates on your Mac.

Remove Microsoft AutoUpdate from Mac

In the previous section, we walked you through the process of disabling Microsoft AutoUpdate and provided you with an alternative way to prevent programs from interrupting you while you are busy. But maybe it's best to remove Microsoft applications because you don't need them or use them very little. In this case, your best bet is to remove Microsoft AutoUpdate from your Mac.

The method is as follows:

  1. Double-click on Finder and select "Go to Folder" in the list.
  2. Input path /Library/Application Support/Microsoft and press the "Enter" key on the keyboard.
  3. Find a folder that starts with "MAU" and drag it to "Trash". You may be prompted for a password.
  4. Return to the "Go to Folder" text box, enter the path /Library/LaunchAgents/ this time, and press the "Enter" key.
  5. Find the plist file named Com.microsoft.update.agent.plist and drag it to the Trash.
  6. Go back to "Go to Folder" again, enter the path /Library/LaunchDaemons/, and move it to "Trash".
  7. Finally, find the file named com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper and drag it to the Trash.

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

How to Stop Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac? How to Disable It?

Are you having problems with other apps on your Apple device? Learn how to delete applications on your Mac to help correct problems. Have you changed your mind and didn't want to delete Microsoft AutoUpdate? no problem. Just download and install it from the Microsoft website.

What is Microsoft AutoUpdate?

Microsoft AutoUpdate is a program that maintains Microsoft applications. As the name implies, it represents your implementation of automatic updates for Microsoft applications. Users do not always update applications in a timely manner, so Microsoft AutoUpdate is very useful.

These Microsoft applications include:

  • OneNote
  • Teams
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Microsoft Office
  • Outlook
  • OneDrive
  • PowerPoint
  • Edge
  • Excel.

This program is responsible for keeping these applications updated to maintain a good user experience. After all, Microsoft is a large tech company, and many people use their applications for a reason—user experience. This is why you discover new features when you launch Microsoft applications from time to time, even if you don't update them yourself. Microsoft AutoUpdate adds these features regularly.

Microsoft AutoUpdate lets you know it has been checked for updates and will notify you whether it has updated the application or has not performed an update. This means you will be disturbed anyway. (Oops!) Because it's running in the background all the time, it takes up a lot of resources on your Mac (the CPU of your Mac), as you might see in Activity Monitor.

Developers and companies are constantly improving their applications and services, and they implement these changes through application updates. So, what can application updates achieve?

  • They keep the application in good working condition and running smoothly.
  • They fix any bugs in the application and patch security vulnerabilities to protect you from hackers and cybercriminals.
  • Application updates also add new features to the application, which will give you a better application experience to meet the standards of developers.

Not everyone likes automatic app updates. Some people prefer a more straightforward approach, especially if they don’t mind setting aside time to update their Mac apps.

You want to try it out, but are not sure how to do it? Read information on how to update macOS to get started.

Why does Microsoft AutoUpdate keep popping up on Mac?

Microsoft AutoUpdate is designed to run in the background in your daily life, but sometimes it keeps popping up on your Mac. This is a problem with multiple Microsoft AutoUpdate on your Mac.

The reason for this happening is as follows:

  • You have a Microsoft application on your Mac.
  • Microsoft AutoUpdate has checked for updates and notified you of the results.
  • Microsoft AutoUpdate An available update or fixed error was found.
  • Microsoft AutoUpdate No applications were updated.

Proactively update your application

Microsoft is a safe and reliable company, and so is its applications. You can use Microsoft AutoUpdate with confidence because you know its security is complete. However, automatic updates are not for everyone. They can be annoying and destructive, and sometimes slow down your Mac. You may also make this decision out of your preference – update the application at your convenience.

For these reasons, you may want to disable or uninstall Microsoft AutoUpdate on your Mac. Disabling updates can be used as a temporary fix to avoid being interrupted when you are busy or want to focus on working for hours. If you no longer want to deal with application updates, especially if you don't use Microsoft applications as often as you used to or don't need them for work, removing Microsoft AutoUpdate is a better choice.

Whatever your decisions are made, our team recommends that you take a more effective approach to managing application updates on your MacBook device. MacKeeper's update tracker can help you achieve this - it reminds you about updates and starts the update when the button is clicked. This is the best option because you can bundle updates instead of implementing them one by one – all in one place.

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