- Consumers have given until January 2026 to update the office to keep assistance to voice tools
- An update Backend means that older versions will no longer be supported
- A desktop update / Windows is underway
Microsoft warns users of old automatic versions that they will soon lose access to certain vocal tools, including transcription, dictation and reading aloud, in January 2026.
The deleted features include systems to read documents and e-mails aloud, conversions of speech on the text and a voice vocal entrance, but those which fail to update to the Office Version 16.0.18827.20202 or more recent.
This is mostly occasional users, but users of the government cloud, including GCC, GCC High and DOD environments, will have two additional months to apply the change.
“To guarantee high -quality continuous performance of reading features aloud, transcription and dictation in Microsoft 365 office applications, we improve the Backend service which feeds these capacities,” warned the opinion.
Microsoft has justified the change by adding that it improves the Backend service which feeds these voice features, so older versions must lose support to ensure continuous compatibility with more recent versions.
Word, Outlook, OneNote and PowerPoint are among the most commonly used applications to lose the support for voice tools, and there will be no local aid once the deadline has passed. Perpetual license holders will already be used to limit functionality, already missing most of the vocal tools powered by the cloud.
This is not the only change that offices are faced in the coming months – by October 14, 2025, Office 2016 and 2019 will reach the end of prolonged support. Office applications on Windows 10 also lose assistance later this year, with Windows 10 which was also released in October.
With many deadlines related to Microsoft which approach Rapid Speed, the company finally notes an increase in the adoption of its latest software. The Windows 11 installations finally exceeded Windows 10 installations for the first time in July 2025, after a moment of crossing in June.
