- Consumers given until January 2026 to update the office to retain support for voice tools
- A backend update means that the previous versions will no longer be compatible.
- A broader impulse of Office/Windows Update is ongoing
Microsoft warns users of previous versions of Office that will soon lose access to certain voice tools, including transcription, dictation and reading aloud, starting in January 2026.
The eliminated characteristics include systems to read documents and emails out loud, voice conversions to text and voice entry to text, but those that are not updated to the version of Office 16.0.18827.20202 or newer will be lost.
This is for most casual users, however, users of the government cloud, including GCC, GCC High and DOD environments, will have two additional months to apply the change.
“To guarantee the high quality continuous performance of the reading features aloud, transcription and dictated in applications of the Microsoft 365 office, we are updating the backend service that drives these capabilities,” the notice warned.
Microsoft justified the change by adding that the Backend service is updating that drives these voice characteristics, therefore, older versions must lose support to guarantee continuous compatibility with newer versions.
Word, Outlook, Onenote and PowerPoint are among the most used applications to lose support for voice tools, and there will be no local alternative once the deadline is approved. Perpetual licenses holders will already be used for limited functionality, without most cloud voice tools.
This is not the only change facing office users in the coming months: before October 14, 2025, the 2016 and 2019 office will reach the end of the extended support. Office applications on Windows 10 also lose support at the end of this year, with Windows 10 in itself, it was also deactivated in October.
With numerous deadlines related to Microsoft that are approaching at fast speed, the company is finally seeing an increase in the adoption of its latest software. The Windows 11 facilities finally exceeded the Windows 10 facilities for the first time in July 2025, after a crossover moment in June.
