A different version of Office is installed than the one downloaded
You downloaded the installer for a specific version of Office (for example, Office 2024), but the installation installs a different version instead – most commonly Microsoft 365. This is usually caused by remnants of a preinstalled or older version of Office on your computer.
Use Microsoft’s official Office uninstall troubleshooter to completely remove Office and its remaining components. Then download the correct version and install it again. Download the Microsoft Office uninstall tool.
Why does this happen?
When the Office installer starts, it reads the existing Office configuration on your computer. If remnants of a preinstalled or older Office installation remain in the system – such as configuration files, registry entries or Click-to-Run components – they may interfere with the new installation.
A standard uninstall through Settings → Apps may not remove all of these components. In this case, use Microsoft’s dedicated Office removal tool.
How to fix the problem
- Download and run Microsoft’s official Office uninstall tool.
- Follow the instructions to completely remove the existing Office installation and remaining components.
- When the process is complete, restart your computer.
- Download the correct version of Office from our Downloads page and run the installation again.
Don’t have an Office product key? Choose the version you need in our store and receive your product key by email.