By default, Microsoft Office is set to update automatically. However, if you see an error message Updating Office, Please wait a moment and the message does not go away or your Office does not update automatically, then this post will fix the problem. The issue happens because either it was manually disabled or managed through Group Policy. It may also occur if some Update-related files are damaged. At times, this may be followed by Fix Office application error 0xc0000142.
Stuck at Updating Office, Please wait a moment
If Microsoft Office is stuck at Updating Office, Please wait a moment, or if Office does not update automatically, try the following suggestions:
- Enable Office Updates
- Check the Registry
- Check the Group Policy
- Repair Office Online
The second and third methods apply to only specific Office versions, and you will have admin permissions to execute it.
1] Enable Office Updates
Office Updates happen in the background, and all individual apps are updated whenever there is a new release. In case it doesn’t, follow the steps to verify and fix the problem.
- Open any Office application such as Word or Excel
- Then Click on File > Account
- Locate the Office Updates section, and click on it
- If you have the option to Enable Updates, then click on it
- The option will change to Disable Updates.
It means Office will be able to update itself in the background.
This post will show you how to update Office manually.
2] Check the Registry
The second and third method is to change the options through the registry if the manual method is not available. However, it is applicable for Office 365 Apps enterprise, Office LTSC 2021, Office 2021/19/16.
Open Run Prompt using Win + R
Type regedit, and then use Shift + Enter to open the Registry Editor with admin permission
Navigate to the following location-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\OfficeUpdate
Change the value of DWORD EnableAutomaticUpdates to 1 and HideEnableDisableUpdates to 0
Exit registry
The second registry edit overrides the group policy method on that PC and enables the manual method to enable Office Updates.
3] Check the Group Policy
Open Group Policy Editor, and then navigate to the following path.
Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office (Machine) > Updates in the Group Policy Management Console
If you can’t find the policy, you will need to download and install the Office ADMX files from here. You will need to:
- Copy the *.admx files into the C:/Windows/PolicyDefinitions/ folder.
- Copy the *.adml files from the language-locale subfolder into the respective language-locale folder under C:/Windows/PolicyDefinitions/.
4] Repair Office Online
To repair Office, follow the steps below.
- Click the search bar and type Settings.
- Click Settings when it appears.
- On the Settings interface, click Apps on the left pane.
- Then click Apps and features on the right.
- Scroll to the Microsoft Office installation package and click the dots beside it and select Modify.
- A Microsoft Office dialog box will open asking, “How would you like to repair your Office Program” along with two options Quick Repair and Online Repair.
- Select Online Repair.
Related: Fix Office Update error code 30088-28 or 30016-29.
Why is SDXHelper.exe running on my PC?
Office SDX Helper is a task scheduled for every user of Microsoft 365 Apps and is scheduled (Office Feature Updates) to download feature updates based on the defined policies. If it is causing high CPU usage, you need to repair the Office installation.
How do I fix Office errors?
You can repair the Microsoft Office installation if you are getting too many errors with Office installation. It usually happens when there is a corrupt file in the installation or stopped abruptly in the end.
