Software requirements for Office 365 for business

Keeping up with the latest versions and updates gives you the best experience with Office 365 for business. Connect to Office 365 with the latest apps, browsers, clients, and mobile devices, and then install all of the latest versions and updates as soon as possible after the release of the version or update. These requirements apply to Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Midsize Business, and Office 365 Small Business.

Office 365 has a policy that requires customers to keep their client computers up to date. For details, see Office 365 Client System Requirements Policy.

Here’s what you need to know about these requirements.

ShowSupported web browsers

This table shows the web browsers that Office 365 supports.

For more information about browsers, see Browser compatibility requirements for Office 365.

For more information about Office 365 and Internet Explorer 8, see Office 365 and Internet Explorer 8 FAQ.

Operating systems Web browsers
Windows 8
  • Windows Internet Explorer 10
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome
Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Internet Explorer 10 (recommended)

or

Windows Internet Explorer 9 (recommended)

  • Internet Explorer 8
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome

Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (32-bit)

Support ends January 1, 2014.

  • Internet Explorer 9 (recommended)
  • Internet Explorer 8
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome

Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (64-bit)

Support ends January 1, 2014.

  • Internet Explorer 9 (recommended)
  • Internet Explorer 8
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome

Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (32-bit)

Support ends January 1, 2014.

  • Internet Explorer 8
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome

Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (64-bit)

Support ends January 1, 2014.

  • Internet Explorer 8
  • Latest version of Firefox
  • Latest version of Chrome
Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.7, Mac OS X 10.8

ShowUpdate requirements for supported Office applications

Office 365 supports the following Office applications:

Office version Notes
Latest version of Office

System requirements for Office 2013 and Office 365 ProPlus

Office 2010 with Service Pack 1

Customers who sign up for Office 365 after February 27, 2013 must apply all automatic updates that were released before December 2012.
Customers who signed up for Office 365 before February 27, 2013 must complete the following:

  • By July 1, 2013, apply KB2553248.
  • By April 8, 2014, apply all automatic updates for Office 2010 that were released prior to December 2012.
Office 2007 with Service Pack 3

Customers who sign up for Office 365 after February 27, 2013 must apply all automatic updates that were released before December 2012.
Customers who signed up for Office 365 before February 27, 2013 must complete the following:

  • By October 1, 2013, apply KB2583910.
  • By April 8, 2014, apply all automatic updates for Office 2010 that were released before December 2012.
Office 2003 only via POP and IMAP

For more information, see Office 365 will now support POP and IMAP connections to Outlook 2003.

Office for Mac 2011 with Service Pack 3

Mac OS X 10.6 operating system or later required

Office 2008 for Mac version 12.2.9

Support ends April 9, 2013.

 Note    Microsoft doesn’t provide technical support for customer or partner issues that are related to the installation or use of Office 365 on a server that is running Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2008 R2 or on a server that is running Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008. If you install Office 365 ProPlus as part of your subscription service on Office 365, you can’t install it on servers.

ShowSoftware requirements for user services like Outlook Web App, SharePoint Online, or Lync Online

This table shows Office 365 user services and features, and also provides links to their respective software requirements.

User service Software requirements
Office 365 desktop setup

Windows:

  •  See Supported web browsers.

Mac:

Outlook Web App Supported browsers for Outlook Web App

SharePoint Online

Plan browser support in SharePoint 2013
Office Web Apps Plan Office Web Apps

Lync Online

Lync 2013 System Requirements

Lync Web App Supported Platforms

Office

System requirements for Office 2013 and Office 365 ProPlus

  • Includes requirements for Visio and Project.
Office for Mac Use my current Office for Mac apps with Office 365

ShowSoftware requirements for administrative tools like the Exchange admin center

This table shows Office 365 tools that admins use, and also provides links to their respective software requirements.

 Note    These administrative tools are available only to Office 365 Enterprise and Office 365 Midsize Business.

Tool Software requirements
Exchange admin center Supported browsers for Outlook Web App
SharePoint Administration Center Plan browser support in SharePoint 2013
Lync Online Administration Center

Windows:

  • See Supported web browsers.

Mac:

Windows Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell

Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Turn on Windows PowerShell and .NET Framework 3.5.1

Install the Microsoft Online Services Sign-in Assistant. For more information, see Manually update and configure desktops for Office 365.

Windows Azure Active Directory Sync Tool

Prepare for Directory Synchronization
Single sign-on

Prepare for single sign-on

ShowSupported mobile devices

For information about mobile devices that are supported by Office 365, see Compare how different mobile devices work with Office 365.

ShowAdditional system requirements links

For more information and additional details about changes to the Office 365 system and software requirements, see Office 365 System Requirements Change Log.

Top of Page Top of Page

 
 
Applies to:
Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise admin, Office 365 Midsize Business, Office 365 Midsize Business admin, Office 365 Small Business, Office 365 Small Business admin