Office Not Opening or Crashing After Windows Update? Here’s How to Fix It (2025 Guide)

Introduction

Are Word, Excel, or Outlook not responding?

Have you recently tried to open Microsoft Word, Excel, or Outlook—only to find that they crash, freeze, or don’t launch at all?

You’re not alone. Since April 2025, many users around the world have reported serious issues with Microsoft Office apps no longer working after applying the Windows Update KB5002700.

This article will walk you through the confirmed causes and step-by-step solutions to help you fix the problem. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, don’t worry—we’ll break everything down in a clear and detailed way.

Cause: The KB5002700 Windows Update Is Breaking Office 2016

What happened?

The April 9, 2025 cumulative security update (KB5002700) for Windows triggered widespread compatibility issues—especially for users running Office 2016 (MSI version).

After installing KB5002700, many users experienced:

• Word or Excel freezing or crashing on launch
• Outlook crashing immediately after opening
• Office apps becoming completely unresponsive

How to check if you have KB5002700 installed

1. Open the Start Menu and search for Update History
2. Click “View Update History”
3. Look under the Security Updates section
4. If KB5002700 is listed, you are affected

Fix 1: Install the Hotfix KB5002623 for Office 2016 (MSI Version)

Microsoft released a dedicated fix (KB5002623) to resolve the issues caused by KB5002700.

You do not need to uninstall KB5002700—just install the additional update.

How to apply the fix:

1. Go to the official Microsoft Update Catalog
2. Download the appropriate file based on your Office installation (32-bit or 64-bit)
3. Run the installer
4. Restart your PC

After installing KB5002623, most users report that Word, Excel, and Outlook function normally again.

Fix 2: If Outlook Keeps Crashing, Disable the Weather Bar in Calendar

Some users report that Outlook crashes when switching to the Calendar view—and the culprit might be the weather forecast feature.

How to disable the weather bar:

1. Open Outlook (or run in safe mode if it crashes—see next fix)
2. Go to File → Options → Calendar
3. Scroll to the bottom
4. Uncheck the option “Show weather on the calendar”
5. Click OK and restart Outlook

Tip: You can also launch Outlook in Safe Mode with this command:

Win + R → outlook /safe

Fix 3: Use Safe Mode to Bypass Crashes and Troubleshoot

Safe Mode allows you to start Office apps without any third-party add-ins or extensions, which is helpful if crashes are related to extra tools like Adobe PDF Maker.

How to launch apps in Safe Mode:

If the app works normally in Safe Mode, you likely have a problematic add-in. Try disabling it via:

• File → Options → Add-ins
• Choose “COM Add-ins” and click “Go…”
• Uncheck suspicious entries (especially Adobe, plugins, or antivirus tools)
• Restart the app normally

Fix 4: Registry Hack for Protected View Issues (Advanced)

Some users can’t open documents in Protected View—a read-only mode used for email attachments or files from the web.

This may be caused by a corrupted registry entry:

How to fix it via registry:

1. Press Win + R → type regedit and press Enter
2. Navigate to:

3. Right-click the ConfigContextData key and select Delete
4. Restart your computer

⚠️ Warning: Always back up your registry before making changes. This fix has helped many users restore Protected View functionality.

Fix 5: Use Quick Repair or Online Repair for Office

If your Office apps still don’t open or behave oddly, try using the built-in repair tools.

How to use Office Repair:

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps
2. Select Microsoft Office → Click Modify
3. Choose Quick Repair first
4. If that fails, try Online Repair (requires internet access)

This method can repair corrupted Office components caused by updates or conflicts.

Bonus Tip: Temporarily Disable Office Updates (MSI Version)

If you want to avoid risky updates in the future (like KB5002700), you can pause Office updates—especially for Office 2016 (MSI).

How to pause updates:

1. Open Word or Excel
2. Go to File → Account
3. Click “Update Options”
4. Choose “Disable Updates”

👉 Not recommended as a long-term solution, but useful if you’re actively troubleshooting.

Bonus Tip: Clear Office Cache and Temporary Files

Sometimes, Office apps break due to damaged temporary files. Clearing them can restore normal behavior.

How to delete Office cache:

1. Open File Explorer
2. Navigate to:

3. Find and delete or rename the OfficeFileCache folder
4. Restart your computer

This won’t affect your saved documents but may reset some app behaviors.

Conclusion: Don’t panic—there is a fix!

If your Microsoft Word, Excel, or Outlook apps suddenly stop working after the April 2025 Windows update, the culprit is likely KB5002700.

Fortunately, Microsoft has released KB5002623, a hotfix that resolves most of these issues.

For stubborn cases, Safe Mode, registry tweaks, or repairing Office can provide a way forward.

Take each step patiently, and you’ll likely have your Office suite running smoothly again in no time.

✔️You might also find these helpful:

▶︎[Warning] Graphics Driver Broken After Windows Update? Here’s How to Fix It

▶︎Excel Status Bar Text is Cut Off? Here’s How to Fix It (2025 Guide)

▶︎Wireless Earphones Not Detected on Windows PC? Try These Simple Fixes

タグ: Windows Update problems, KB5002623, KB5002700, Word crashes, Excel freezes, Outlook crashing 2025, Office not opening, Office 2016 issues