MC1231437 - Update PowerPoint to maintain Captions

Introduction

To maintain a high-quality and reliable experience for live Captions & Subtitles in the Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app, Microsoft is upgrading the backend service that supports this capability. As part of this improvement, older Office client versions will no longer be supported. Updating to the minimum required PowerPoint version ensures continued accessibility, performance, and reliability.

When this will happen:

Upgrade by the end of September 2026

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

• Organizations using Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app (Win32 or Mac)
• Users running PowerPoint versions earlier than:
  • Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218
  • macOS: 16.103.1207.4

What will happen:

• Users on unsupported versions will lose access to Captions & Subtitles after the listed dates.
• There is no change for users on supported versions.
• No changes to default settings or admin configuration are required.

What you can do to prepare:

• Review PowerPoint client versions across your organization (Windows and Mac).
• Update Office clients to:
  • Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218 or later
  • macOS: 16.103.1207.4 or later
• Plan upgrades ahead of September 2026, especially for environments on managed or restricted update cadences.
• Notify helpdesk and accessibility stakeholders.

Compliance considerations:

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.