Use the Office offline installer

To help with issues you might encounter when installing Office because of slow speeds or unreliable connections, as a first step download the Support and Recovery Assistant tool. (For information about this tool, go here.)

Offline installer manual steps

If the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant didn’t help, follow the steps below that are specific to your plan. You need to be connected to the internet to download this installer file, but once that’s done, you can then install Office offline on a PC at your convenience.

The steps below differ if your Office product is part of an Office for home or Office for business plan so you need to select the correct tab for your product.

Tip: If you purchased Office through a company benefit, see Office through the Home Use Program (HUP).

Microsoft 365 for home

If your Office product is one of the follow, you have a Microsoft 365 for home product. This can be an Microsoft 365 subscription, or a one-time purchase of Office or individual Office application. These products are usually associated with a personal Microsoft account.

Microsoft 365 subscriptions: The following products include the fully installed Office applications.

Microsoft 365 Family
Microsoft 365 Personal

Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office 2013 versions available as one-time purchases: The following products include the fully installed Office applications.

Office Home & Student
Office Home & Business
Office Professional

Stand-alone Office 2019, 2016, or 2013 apps available as one-time purchases

Word
Excel
PowerPoint
OneNote*
Outlook
Access
Publisher
Project
Visio

Tip: *The desktop version of OneNote is only available 2016 and 2013 versions. Beginning with the release of Office 2019, OneNote for Windows 10 is the default OneNote experience for Microsoft 365 and Office 2019 customers. See the FAQ.

Microsoft 365 for business

If your Office product is one of the following, you have a Microsoft 365 for business product. These products are usually associated with a work or school account, and your Office license (if your subscription has one) came from the organization where you work or go to school.

Microsoft 365 Subscriptions: The following products include the fully installed Office applications.

Microsoft 365 Apps for business
Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
Office 365 Enterprise E3
Office 365 Enterprise E4
Office 365 Enterprise E5

Microsoft 365 Business Standard (Nonprofit)
Office 365 Nonprofit E3
Office 365 Nonprofit E5

Office 365 U.S. Government Community G3
Office 365 U.S. Government Community G5

Project Online Professional
Project Online Premium

Visio Online Plan 2

Microsoft 365 Subscriptions without fully installed Office applications:

Tip: With these Microsoft 365 subscriptions, there are no desktop applications to download and install, but in most cases you can still access and use online versions of Office apps in your web browser. Learn more Free Office Online apps.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Office 365 Enterprise E1
Office 365 A1
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (Nonprofit)
Office 365 Nonprofit E1
Office 365 U.S. Government G1
Project Online Essentials
Visio Online Plan 1

Volume license versions of Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office 2013

Office Professional Plus

Select your plan

Step 1. Download the offline installer from your account portal

To download the offline installer, go to www.office.com. If you’re not already signed in with the Microsoft account associated with your copy of Office do that now. If you’re signed in with a different account, sign out of that and then sign in again with the correct Microsoft account.

Note: If you’re trying to install Microsoft 365 that you got through your work or school and you already signed in with your work or school account, don’t follow these instructions. Select the Office for business tab from above instead.

Select Install Office. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you’ll also need to select Install Office > on the Installs page.

In the Download and install window, select Other options.

Check the box Download an offline installer and select the language you want to install Office in. Select Download.

When you’re prompted, from the bottom of your browser window, select Save (in Edge), Open (in Internet Explorer), Open when done (in Chrome), or Save File (in Firefox). The file will begin downloading on your PC.

Once the download is complete, open File Explorer and locate a new virtual drive, for example (D:). This drive contains the Office installation files. If you don’t see the new drive, locate the image file you downloaded and double-click it. The new drive should appear in your directory.

Note: If you already have a drive labeled (D:), Office creates a virtual drive with the next available letter, which would be (E:) (as shown in the next step below).

Save the image: You can also choose to save a copy of this virtual drive to a thumb drive or disc for later use.

Step 2. Install Office

Select the Office folder from the virtual drive and then double-click either the Setup32.exe to install the 32-bit version of Office, or Setup64.exe to install the 64-bit version to begin the offline installation. If you’re not sure which version is right for you, see Choose the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office.

When you see the message, You’re all set, you can access your Office applications.

After your Office installation is complete, you need to activate Office. Be sure you’re connected to the Internet and then open any Office application, such as Word or Excel.

In most cases, Office is activated once you start an application and after you click Accept to agree to the License terms. If you need activation help, see Activate Office.

After activating Office and before you start using it, make sure you have the latest update.

In any Office app, for example Word, open a new or existing document, then select File, > Account.

From the Update Options drop-down list box, select Update Now.

If you have a Microsoft 365 for business product you can use the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) to download and install Microsoft 365 offline. The tool is designed for enterprise environments and runs from the command line, so the steps are more complicated—but they’ll still work for installation on a single device.

You must have an Office license assigned to you to install and activate Office. To check if you have one, see What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have?

Step 1 — Download and install the Office Deployment Tool

Create a folder on your hard drive and name it ODT. For this example, we’ll create it on the c:\ drive, like so: c:\ODT.

Download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center. Select Save As and save it to your downloads folder.

In your downloads folder, double-click the Office Deployment Tool exe file to install it.

If you see the User Account Control prompt that says, Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?, click Yes.

Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms, and then click Continue.

In the Browse for Folder dialog, select the ODT folder you created in earlier, and then click OK.

Step 2 — Download and install Office

The drop-down list below contains detailed steps that show how to download and install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or Microsoft 365 Apps for business.

If you have a Microsoft 365 Apps for business or Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you need to download the Microsoft 365 Apps for business version. For all other plans, download the Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise version. See the following if you’re not sure which version to install:

To find out which Microsoft 365 plan you have, see What Microsoft 365 business product or license do I have?

If you’re not sure how to decide between 64-bit or 32-bit, see Choose between the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office.

Switch from working offline to online

In Outlook, you have the flexibility to make Outlook work online or offline with your mail server.

How do you know when you’re working offline or online in Outlook? There are visual cues, starting with the status bar at the bottom of your Outlook window. If either of the following status indicators are shown, it means Outlook isn’t connected to your mail server.

or

You can’t send or receive email until you reconnect.

Status: Working Offline

Working offline usually is a choice. Returning to an online work mode is a simple process.

In Outlook, on the Send/Receive tab, choose Work Offline to reconnect.

If the background of the Work Offline button is shaded (as shown in the image above), you’re not connected. But if the background is clear, you are connected.

If you don’t see the Work Offline button and your email account is a Microsoft Exchange Server account or a Microsoft 365 account, Cached Exchange Mode might be turned off. Follow the steps in Turn on Cached Exchange Mode to change that setting. Or contact the person who manages the Exchange server for your organization.
We recommend always turning on Cached Exchange Mode with a Microsoft 365 account.

Status: Disconnected

There can be different reasons why you’re disconnected from Outlook. What follows are just a few examples of some of the possible reasons.

If your Internet connection is working, there might be a problem with the mail server.

If you can log onto your email from a website—for example, http://outlook.com—check to see whether you can receive and send email that way. If email isn’t working on the website, call your technical support for your email service provider for help.

If you can send and receive mail on the website, then your mail server is fine. But your computer might need updates or there might be a problem with your account settings.

Tips for reconnecting to Outlook

Here are some suggested ways to reconnect to Outlook.

Reset the Work Offline status

On the Send/Receive tab, choose Work Offline, and check your status bar. If the status shows Working Offline, repeat the action until the status changes to connected.

Check for updates

Read the check for updates topic and install any required updates.

Create a new profile

To eliminate the possibility that there’s a fault in your current Outlook profile, create a new profile. If you open Outlook using the new profile and it’s still disconnected, try removing your account and then adding it back again.

In the Folder pane, right-click your account name, and then choose Remove .

Follow the steps in adding the account again to proceed.

Support for Office 2010 ended on October 13, 2020

Upgrade to Microsoft 365 to work anywhere from any device and continue to receive support.

If the status bar at the bottom of your Microsoft Outlook window shows Working Offline, it means Outlook’s disconnected from your mail server. You can’t send or receive email until you reconnect.

The first thing to check is your Internet connection by trying to connect to a website. If your Internet connection is working, try reconnecting to the mail server. Here’s how:

Notice that when Outlook is set to Work Offline, the button is highlighted.

Click Work Offline to return to working online.

After you reconnect to the server, the Work Offline button has a plain background:

Still no luck? If you can use that email account with a website, such as Outlook.com, see whether you can receive and send new mail using that site. If you can’t, call your technical support or your email service provider for help.

If you can get and send mail on the website, the mail server’s fine. But Outlook might need updates or there might be a problem with the mail account settings. If you’re using an Exchange account, check for updates and install any required ones. (It’s always a good idea to keep current with updates.)

Desperate? Maybe your email account needs a fresh start. Try creating a new mail profile.

When you might want to work offline

When you work online with Outlook and your mail server, you receive new mail as it arrives, and mail that you send is sent immediately. However, there can be times when working online isn’t practical. For example, maybe there’s no network connection available. Or maybe there is a network available, but you don’t want to connect to it because you’ve exceeded your data plan or will be charged a fee.

In Outlook, you have the flexibility to choose whether you want to work online or offline, and you can do so either automatically or manually. If you elected to work offline, but are ready to manually start a send/receive operation, just click Send/Receive > Send/Receive All Folders.

Work offline with a Microsoft Exchange Server account

If you’re using a Microsoft Exchange Server account, your messages are saved in your mailbox on the server. When you’re connected to the server and you work online, you can use all of the functionality in Outlook, such as opening items, moving them between folders, and deleting items. However, when you work offline, you lose access to all items on the server. That is when offline folders, which are saved in an offline Outlook Data File (.ost) on your computer, are useful.

The offline Outlook Data File (.ost) file is a replica or copy of your Exchange mailbox. When you are online, this file is automatically synchronized with the server so that both copies are the same, and changes made in either copy are made to the other. You can configure Outlook to automatically start offline if a connection to Exchange cannot be established. You can also manually switch between the online and offline connection states and choose which Exchange folders are kept up-to-date locally on your computer.

If you use an Exchange account, it is recommended that you use it with Cached Exchange Mode. Most of the reasons to work offline are eliminated when you use Cached Exchange Mode. The lack of a network connection is virtually transparent to you because you can continue to work with your items.

By default, Cached Exchange Mode creates and uses an offline Outlook Data File (.ost) and then downloads and maintains a synchronized copy of the items in all folders in your mailbox. You work with your information on your computer, and Outlook synchronizes it with the server.

Whether you are at the office, at home, or on an airplane, network changes or availability are transparent to you. When your connection to Exchange is interrupted, you can continue to work with your data. When a connection is restored, Outlook automatically synchronizes changes, and the folders and items on the server and on your computer are once again identical. Outlook manages your connection to the server and keeps your data up-to-date. There is no need to switch to working offline and to keep trying to reconnect to the server — it is all automatic.

Cached Exchange Mode also frees you from having to set up Send/Receive groups because it chooses the folders that you want to be available offline and keeps those folders synchronized.

The only time when you might still choose to work offline is when you want greater control over what is downloaded to the local copy of your Exchange mailbox. This can include situations where you are using a connection device or service that bases the charges on the amount of data that you transfer. Cached Exchange Mode keeps everything up-to-date. Working offline allows you to use Send/Receive groups to refine the type and amount of information that is synchronized.

What if you aren’t using an Exchange account? Many people use a POP3 or IMAP account from their Internet service provider (ISP) or a Web-based account, such as Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail).

The fastest way to work offline is to use the default Outlook settings. If you want to customize the settings, including where to save the offline Outlook Data File (.ost), use the Customized setup instructions.

Quick setup

On the Send / Receive tab, in the Preferences group, click Work Offline.

To set up an offline Outlook Data File (.ost), click OK.

By default, the Prompt me at startup so I may choose to work offline or online check box is selected. If you want Outlook to always work online when a connection is available, clear this check box.

After the offline Outlook Data File (.ost) file is created, when you exit and restart Outlook, you must synchronize your Exchange mailbox with the new file. The fastest way to do this is as follows: On the Send / Receive tab, in the Send & Receive group, click Send/Receive All Folders.

Customized setup

If you want to customize the offline Outlook Data File (.ost) settings, such as where the file is saved on your computer, do the following:

If you have not already done so, create an offline Outlook Data File (.ost).

Create an offline Outlook Data File (.ost)

Click the File tab.

Click Account Settings, and then click Account Settings.

On the E-mail tab, select the Exchange Server account, and then click Change.

Click More Settings.

Click the Advanced tab, and then click Offline Folder File Settings.

In the File box, type the path to the file that you want to use as the .ost file.

The default file name is Outlook.ost. If this file already exists, you are prompted for a new name.

Click the File menu,

Click Account Settings, and then click Account Settings.

On the E-mail tab, select the Exchange account, and then click Change.

Click More Settings.

Do one of the following:

Always start Outlook offline Click Manually control connection state, and then click Work offline and use dial-up networking.

Choose whether to work offline or online each time you start Outlook Click Manually control connection state, and then select the Choose the connection type when starting check box.

Always connect to the network Click Manually control connection state, and then click Connect with the network.

Outlook automatically detects whether a connection to the server is available Click Automatically detect connection state. If Outlook is unable to connect with the mail server, it starts in offline mode automatically.

Note: To specify the amount of time to wait for a response from the server before you are notified to retry or work offline, type a number in the Seconds Until Server Connection Timeout box.

About working offline

When you work online with Outlook 2007 and your mail server, you receive new mail as it arrives, and mail that you send is sent immediately. However, there are times when working online is not practical. For example, there can be times when a network connection is not available because of your location. There are also instances when even though a connection might be available, you don’t want to use it to avoid incurring connection fees.

If your account connects to Exchange, your messages are saved in your server’s mailbox. When you are connected to the server and work online, you can use all of the functionality in Outlook, such as opening items, moving them between folders, and deleting items. However, when you work offline, you lose access to all items on the server. That is when offline folders, which are saved in an Offline Folder file (.ost) on your computer, are useful.

The .ost file is a replica or copy of your Exchange mailbox. When you are online, this .ost file is automatically synchronized with the server so that both copies are the same, and changes made in either copy are made to the other. You can configure Outlook to automatically start offline if a connection to Exchange cannot be established. You can also manually switch between the online and offline connection states and choose which Exchange folders are kept up-to-date locally on your computer.

If you use an Exchange account, it is recommended that you use it with Cached Exchange Mode. Most of the reasons to work offline are eliminated when you use Cached Exchange Mode. The lack of a network connection is virtually transparent to you because you can continue to work with your items.

By default, Cached Exchange Mode creates and uses an Offline Folder file (.ost) and then downloads and maintains a synchronized copy of the items in all folders in your mailbox. You work with your information on your computer, and Outlook synchronizes it with the server.

Whether you are at the office, at home, or on an airplane, network changes or availability are transparent to you. When your connection to Exchange is interrupted, you can continue to work with your data. When a connection is restored, Outlook automatically synchronizes changes, and the folders and items on the server and on your computer are once again identical. Outlook manages your connection to the server and keeps your data up-to-date. There is no need to switch to working offline and to keep trying to reconnect to the server — it is all automatic.

Cached Exchange Mode also frees you from having to set up Send/Receive groups because it chooses the folders that you want to be available offline and keeps those folders synchronized.

The only time when you might still choose to work offline is when you want greater control over what is downloaded to the local copy of your Exchange mailbox. This can include situations where you are using a connection device or service that bases the charges on the amount of data that you transfer. Cached Exchange Mode keeps everything up-to-date. Working offline allows you to use Send/Receive groups to refine the type and amount of information that is synchronized.

What if you aren’t using an Exchange account? Many people use a POP3 or IMAP account from their Internet service provider (ISP) or an HTTP account, such as Microsoft Windows Live Mail. When you are online, this means that a connection to the mail server is available, and Outlook sends and receives messages immediately for Exchange, IMAP, and HTTP e-mail accounts. For POP3 e-mail accounts, messages are sent immediately if the Send immediately when connected check box is selected on the Mail Setup tab ( Tools menu, Options command). When you are offline, all accounts use the scheduling send/receive time in the Send/Receive Groups dialog box. Also, for IMAP e-mail accounts, folders are not available when offline.

When you work offline, Outlook connects to the mail server only when you choose for it to do so. When offline, Outlook does not try to connect to your mail server to check for new messages, download headers that you marked for download, or send messages.

If you have a Microsoft Exchange account

You must restart Outlook 2007 to switch between working online and offline. Consider using Cached Exchange Mode for greater flexibility when you switch between online and offline connection states.

The fastest way to work offline is to use the default Outlook settings. If you want to customize the settings, including where to save the Offline Folder file (.ost), use the Customized setup instructions.

Quick setup

On the File menu, click Work Offline.

To set up an Offline Folder file (.ost), click OK.

By default, the Prompt me at startup so I may choose to work offline or online check box is selected. If you want Outlook to always work online when a connection is available, clear this check box.

After the .ost file is created, when you exit and restart Outlook, you must synchronize your Exchange mailbox with the .ost file. The fastest way to do this is as follows: On the Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, and then click Send/Receive All.

Customized setup

If you want to customize the Offline Folder file (.ost) settings, such as where the .ost file is saved on your computer, do the following:

If you have not already done so, create an Offline Folder file (.ost).

Create an Offline Folder file (.ost)

On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

On the E-mail tab, select the Exchange account, and then click Change.

Click More Settings.

Click the Advanced tab, and then click Offline Folder File Settings.

In the File box, type the path to the file that you want to use as the .ost file.

The default file name is Outlook.ost. If this file already exists, you are prompted for a new name.

On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

On the E-mail tab, select the Exchange account, and then click Change.

Click More Settings.

Do one of the following:

Always start Outlook offline Click Manually control connection state, and then click Work offline and use dial-up networking.

Choose whether to work offline or online each time you start Outlook Click Manually control connection state, and then select the Choose the connection type when starting check box.

Always connect to the network Click Manually control connection state, and then click Connect with the network.

Outlook automatically detects whether a connection to the server is available Click Automatically detect connection state. If Outlook is unable to connect with the mail server, it starts in offline mode automatically.

Note: To specify the amount of time to wait for a response from the server before you are notified to retry or work offline, type a number in the Seconds Until Server Connection Timeout box.

If you use your Exchange account in Cached Exchange Mode

On the File menu, click Work Offline.

If you use a POP3, IMAP, or HTTP account

On the File menu, click Work Offline.