Microsoft 365 Message Center item MC1231437
MC1231437 - Update PowerPoint to maintain Captions
Microsoft will upgrade the backend service for Captions & Subtitles in PowerPoint by September 2026. Users with versions older than 16.0.19426.20218 (Windows) or 16.103.1207.4 (macOS) will lose access. Organizations should update PowerPoint to maintain this feature without changing settings.
- Message Center ID
- MC1231437
- Category
- plan For Change
- Severity
- normal
- Services
- Microsoft 365 apps
- Tags
- Feature update, User impact
- Published
- 2026-02-12
- Last updated
- 2026-02-12
- Expires
- 2026-10-31
[Introduction] To maintain a high-quality and reliable experience for live Captions & Subtitles in the Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app, Microsoft is upgrading the backend service that supports this capability. As part of this improvement, older Office client versions will no longer be supported. Updating to the minimum required PowerPoint version ensures continued accessibility, performance, and reliability. [When this will happen:] Upgrade by the end of September 2026 [How this affects your organization:] Who is affected: Organizations using Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app (Win32 or Mac) Users running PowerPoint versions earlier than: Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218 macOS: 16.103.1207.4 [What will happen:] Users on unsupported versions will lose access to Captions & Subtitles after the listed dates. There is no change for users on supported versions. No changes to default settings or admin configuration are required. [What you can do to prepare:] Review PowerPoint client versions across your organization (Windows and Mac).Update Office clients to:Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218 or latermacOS: 16.103.1207.4 or laterPlan upgrades ahead of September 2026, especially for environments on managed or restricted update cadences. Notify helpdesk and accessibility stakeholders. [Compliance considerations:] No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.