MC1127222 High Major change
(Updated) Please update Microsoft 365 Office apps to a version higher than 16.0.18827.20202
Summary AI-generated
Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation in Microsoft 365 Office apps will stop working on versions older than 16.0.18827.20202 after September 2026 due to a backend upgrade.
Suggested actions AI-generated
- Update all Office clients to version 16.0.18827.20202 or later
Written by Azure OpenAI (gpt-4.1) from the text of the post below. It can be incomplete or wrong; the original post is authoritative.
Similar posts
Search for more like this- MC1231437 Update PowerPoint to maintain Captions
- MC1426708 (Updated) End of support for OneDrive sync app on Windows 10 21H2 and earlier
- MC1509797 Support for Office LTSC 2021 and additional apps ended on October 13, 2026
- MC1332812 (Updated) Action required: Update Teams Rooms app to maintain PowerPoint Live functionality
- MC1293484 Excel Desktop update required to connect to Power Platform Analytical Dataflows
- MC1278920 Support for Office LTSC 2021, and additional apps will end on October 13, 2026
Original post from Microsoft
Updated December 12, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
To ensure continued high-quality performance of the Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation features in Microsoft 365 Office apps, we’re upgrading the backend service that powers these capabilities. As a result, these features will no longer function on Office clients running versions earlier than 16.0.18827.20202 after September 2026.
We are extending the supporting period for customers to prepare and upgrade to the supported version. Here is the updated timeline:
- General Availability (Worldwide): End of September 2026 (previously end of January)
- General Availability (GCC, GCC High, DoD): End of November 2026 (previously end of March)
If your organization is using Microsoft 365 Office apps with version numbers lower than 16.0.18827.20202, users will lose access to Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation features after the dates listed above.
There is no change to the user experience for clients on supported versions.
To avoid service disruption, ensure that all Office clients are updated to version 16.0.18827.20202 or later before the applicable deadline.
You can learn more about these features using the following resources:
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
Additional details from Microsoft
- Summary
- Update Microsoft 365 Office apps to version 16.0.18827.20202 or later by September 2026 (November 2026 for GCC/GCC High/DoD) to maintain Read Aloud, Transcription, and Dictation features, which will stop working on earlier versions due to backend service upgrades.