If Office is pre-installed on your new Windows 10 PC, and you uninstall it before it can do the initial update, it may leave behind the Office app shortcuts in the Start menu. It may seem that Office is still installed, when it's not. To remove the unwanted shortcuts, do one of the following:

Option 1 - Completely uninstall Office with the easy fix tool

  1. Select the button below to download and install the Office uninstall support tool.

    Download

  2. Follow the steps below to download the uninstall support tool according to your browser.

    Tip: The tool may take a few minutes to download and install. After completing the installation, the Uninstall Office products window will open.

    Edge or Chrome

    • In the lower-lower left or upper-right corner, right-click SetupProd_OffScrub.exe > Open.

      Where to find and open the Support Assitant download file in a Chrome web browser

    Edge (older) or Internet Explorer

    • At the bottom of the browser window, select Run to launch the SetupProd_OffScrub.exe.

      Where to find and open the Support Assitant download file in the Edge or Internet Explorer web browser

    Firefox

    • In the pop-up window, select Save File and then from the upper-right browser window, select the downloads arrow > SetupProd_OffScrub.exe.

      Where to find and open the Support Assitant download file in a Chrome web browser
  3. Select the version you want to uninstall, and then select Next.

  4. Follow through the remaining screens and when prompted, restart your computer.

    After you restart your computer, the uninstall tool automatically re-opens to complete the final step of the uninstall process. Follow the remaining prompts.

  5. Select the steps for the version of Office you want to install or reinstall. Close the uninstall tool.

    Microsoft 365 | Office 2021Office 2019 | Office 2016

Option 2 - Manually delete the shortcuts

To manually remove an Office shortcut that's left behind after an uninstall, locate it in the Start menu and click on it. In this example, we're removing the Word 2016 shortcut:

Example that shows the Word 2016 shortcut:missing from the Office shortcuts

A dialog box appears asking if you want to delete the shortcut. Choose Yes.

Screenshot ofdialog box

Continue to find other Office shortcuts and follow the same process to remove them.

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