To run Office 365 on your Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 machine, ensure your system meets the following requirements:
The answer is technically , but with significant caveats and difficulty.
won't even open on your system. Microsoft typically only supports the three most recent versions of macOS.
. While it runs on Lion, it will not work if you upgrade your Mac to macOS Catalina (10.15) or later, which only supports 64-bit apps. Microsoft 365/Office 2021 microsoft office for mac os x lion 1075 2021
In 2021, Microsoft had moved entirely to the cloud with Office 365 and the sleek, flat design of the "Big Sur" macOS. But on this machine, running Lion 10.7.5, Office was a different beast entirely.
The last supported update for this suite is version 14.7.7. Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 (Alternative)
Even with a compatible version like Office 2011, running it on OS X Lion is not entirely without friction. Microsoft has documented several known issues that can affect specific Office applications on Lion: To run Office 365 on your Mac OS X Lion 10
If you are using an older Mac that is still running OS X Lion in 2025/2026, your situation is highly unusual. Most software has moved on. Here are your realistic paths forward:
Is your Mac , or do you use it completely offline?
The built-in Microsoft AutoUpdate tool no longer connects to active servers on OS X Lion. You must manually find and install .pkg update files from archival websites. Security Vulnerabilities But on this machine, running Lion 10
Apple released Mac OS X Lion (10.7) in 2011, with the final 10.7.5 update arriving in 2012. Modern applications require newer macOS architectures, security protocols, and development frameworks.
Apple transitioned macOS to be fully 64-bit starting with macOS Catalina (10.15). Office 2021 is a 64-bit application. While 64-bit applications are generally designed to be backwards compatible, the underlying frameworks they depend on are not present in OS X Lion, which had a mixed 32/64-bit environment.
Email client, though compatibility with modern security protocols (like OAuth) may be poor. How to Install Office 2011 on 10.7.5 (in 2026)
This article provides a definitive guide to installing, optimizing, and securing Microsoft Office on OS X Lion 10.7.5, circa 2021.