# Claude for Word Not Working? Fix It by Symptom and Account Type

> Claude for Word not showing, failing to install, or stuck on a blank pane? Check your plan, Word build, and store listing, then apply the fix for your account.

- Source: https://www.aifreeapi.com/en/posts/claude-for-word-not-working
- Language: en
- Published: 2026-10-09
- Updated: 2026-10-09
- Publisher: AI Free API (https://www.aifreeapi.com)

When Claude for Word won't install, won't show up, or won't load, the cause falls into one of five groups: a Claude plan that doesn't include the add-in, a Word version it can't run on, the older per-app store listing, a Microsoft account that can't reach the add-in catalog, or a work tenant that blocks or hasn't deployed it. You can check the first three yourself in a few minutes. The last two decide whether your next stop is Microsoft Support or your IT admin.

As of October 9, 2026, Anthropic's [Claude for Word documentation](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/word) sends everyone to one Marketplace listing, [Claude for Microsoft 365](https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200010725) (product ID WA200010725). It installs Claude for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as a single add-in. "Claude for Word" is the product name. "Claude for Microsoft 365" is the name you see in the store.

## Match your Claude for Word symptom to the fix

Find the row that matches what Word shows you, then go to the section for that cause.

| What you see | Likely cause | What to do first |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Add-in installed, but no Claude button on the Home ribbon | Not activated yet, or the Word build is too old | [Activate it from the Add-ins menu](#no-claude-button-in-word-activate-it-from-the-add-ins-menu) and check your build |
| "You don't have permission to use this add-in" on a personal or Family account | A Microsoft-side authentication outage that hits every Store add-in | [Test Word on the web, then wait for Microsoft's fix](#personal-or-family-account-a-microsoft-outage-not-claude) |
| "You don't have permission to use this add-in" on a work or school account | The add-in isn't assigned to you, or the Office Store is blocked | [Ask your Microsoft 365 admin](#work-or-school-account-where-it-has-never-worked) |
| "We can't load this add-in because we can't connect to the catalogue" | The same Microsoft outage, or the add-in catalog for your Microsoft account | [Test Word on the web and another free add-in](#we-can-t-connect-to-the-catalogue-on-a-personal-or-family-account) |
| The Add-ins menu loads nothing on a work or school account | Office Store access is off, or the add-in isn't deployed | [Ask your Microsoft 365 admin](#microsoft-365-admins-office-store-setting-pim-and-the-custom-manifest) |
| The Claude pane opens blank or keeps spinning | A blocked domain, blocked site data, or a display glitch | [Refresh the pane and check the network](#claude-pane-is-blank-or-keeps-spinning-in-word) |
| Sign-in loops, or the add-in rejects the pasted code | Partial code, a stale sign-in attempt, or blocked storage | [Restart sign-in and use the Copy button](#sign-in-loops-couldn-t-start-sign-in-and-pasted-code-errors) |
| Claude stops partway and reports a timeout | A Word text edit took longer than 30 seconds, or you hit a usage limit | [Wait, save, and ask for a smaller step](#claude-stops-mid-edit-the-30-second-limit-for-word-text-edits) |
| "Claude isn't available for your organization here", or a 401, 403, or 404 error | Organization settings, or a Bedrock, Vertex AI, Foundry, or gateway setup | [Send the exact message to your admin](#organization-messages-and-bedrock-vertex-ai-or-foundry-errors) |

A fix has worked when three things are true: Claude appears on Word's Home ribbon, the pane opens to a sign-in or chat screen, and a one-line question about the open document gets an answer.

## Before any fix: Claude plan, Word version, and store listing

These three checks rule out the causes that no reinstall or cache clearing can solve.

![Three checks before fixing Claude for Word: a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan; Word for Windows 2205 or later, Word for Mac 16.61 or later, or Word on the web; and the Claude for Microsoft 365 listing WA200010725 instead of the older WA200010453](https://www.aifreeapi.com/posts/en/claude-for-word-not-working/img/three-checks-before-any-fix.webp)

### Claude for Word needs Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise

[Anthropic's Word documentation](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/word) lists Claude for Word as generally available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. The Free plan is not on that list. Installing from the store doesn't change that: the Claude account you sign in with inside Word has to be on one of those four plans. Anthropic's [@claudeai account on X](https://x.com/claudeai/status/2052445786651168849) announced general availability on May 7, 2026 with the note "Available on all paid plans." That followed a beta that started on April 10 and reached Pro and Max on April 17. If you're deciding whether to pay for Pro first, see [Does Claude Pro Have a Free Trial? How to Check Your Account in 2026](/en/posts/claude-pro-free-trial).

Usage in Word also counts against the same limits as the rest of your Claude account. If Claude worked this morning and now refuses to answer, check your usage before you touch the add-in. [Claude Fable 5.1 Usage Limits: Weekly Allowance, Extra Usage, and Model Switching](/en/posts/claude-fable-pro-max-weekly-limits) explains how those limits work on Pro and Max.

### Word versions that run Claude, and the ones that never will

| Word version | Claude for Word |
| --- | --- |
| Word on the web | Supported |
| Word for Windows with a Microsoft 365 subscription | Version 2205, build 15202.10000 or later |
| Word for Mac | Version 16.61, build 22040100 or later |
| Word 2016 or Word 2019 (perpetual or volume license) | Not supported |
| Word on iPad or Android | Not supported |
| Legacy `.doc` files | Not supported; save as `.docx` first |

To see your build on Windows, open File > Account > About Word. On a Mac, open the Word menu and choose About Microsoft Word. If your build is older than the minimum, update Office first. No other fix will help until you do.

If you're on Word 2016 or 2019, the add-in won't run no matter which account you use. Word on the web is the quickest way to use Claude on that computer.

### The old "Claude by Anthropic for Word" listing vs Claude for Microsoft 365

As of October 9, 2026, the Microsoft Marketplace has two Claude listings that install into Word:

- [Claude for Microsoft 365](https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200010725) (WA200010725) covers Excel, PowerPoint, and Word in one add-in. Anthropic's docs link to this one.
- [Claude by Anthropic for Word](https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200010453) (WA200010453) is the older per-app listing. It still has a "Get it now" button.

The older listing has already been at the center of one service incident. On July 22, 2026, [Anthropic's status page](https://status.claude.com/incidents/yc7mr2gvl914) warned that users of Claude by Anthropic for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint "may experience issues accessing the add-in functionality" and told them to install the Claude for Microsoft 365 listing "to regain immediate access." The incident was marked resolved on July 24. Anthropic has not published a retirement date for the per-app listing.

You may have the older listing without knowing it. Archived copies of Anthropic's own help article show that it linked the per-app listing until early May 2026 ([May 2 copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260502083033/https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14465370-use-claude-for-word)) and switched to WA200010725 by May 18 ([May 18 copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260518192432/https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14465370-use-claude-for-word)). The per-app name disappeared from the article in early August. If you installed Claude for Word in April or early May by following that article, you most likely have the per-app listing. That is an inference from the archive, so check the name under My Add-ins.

If your Claude came from the per-app listing and is misbehaving, install Claude for Microsoft 365 and remove the old entry. Your chat history survives the switch. Anthropic's [data storage page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/data-storage) explains that every Claude add-in is served from `pivot.claude.ai` and shares one local store on each device, so moving to a different listing keeps your conversations. Keeping both installed only adds a second Claude entry to the Add-ins menu.

## No Claude button in Word: activate it from the Add-ins menu

Selecting "Get it now" in the store installs the add-in, but it doesn't put Claude on your ribbon by itself. Open Word and go to Home > Add-ins on Windows or Tools > Add-ins on a Mac. Select Claude and sign in with your Claude account. After that first activation, Claude appears on Word's Home ribbon, as described in [Anthropic's install steps](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/word#install-for-yourself).

If Claude isn't in the Add-ins list at all:

1. **Refresh the list.** Open My Add-ins and select Refresh. A Microsoft moderator describes this as the supported way to reload the add-ins tied to your account.
2. **Check which Microsoft account Office is using.** What shows under My Add-ins can depend on the account signed in to Office. If you installed Claude while signed in with a personal account and Word is now signed in with a work account, or the reverse, Claude may not be listed. Sign out of the wrong account and sign in with the one you used in the store.
3. **Test Word on the web.** Sign in to Word on the web with the same Microsoft account. If Claude works there but not in the desktop app, the problem is the local Office profile or cache, not your Claude account.

On a Mac, the add-in can also disappear after you sign out of Office and back in. In a June 2026 [Microsoft Q&A thread](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5909928/office-addins-not-working) about exactly that, a Microsoft moderator suggested turning on automatic date and time in System Settings, then clearing the Office add-in cache (see the [cache section](#clearing-the-office-add-in-cache-deletes-claude-chat-history-on-windows) for the folder and what it deletes). The person who asked still saw "Error loading add-ins" afterwards, so treat these as steps to try, not a guaranteed fix.

## "You don't have permission to use this add-in"

This message has two very different causes, and the fix depends on which kind of Microsoft account Word is signed in with.

### Personal or Family account: a Microsoft outage, not Claude

In the reported waves on personal and Microsoft 365 Family accounts, this error came from Microsoft's side. Microsoft's add-in team acknowledged three of them on its [OfficeDev/office-js GitHub tracker](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues):

| When | What Microsoft's add-in team said |
| --- | --- |
| May 29–June 3, 2026 | In [issue #6730](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues/6730), a Microsoft responder narrowed the failure to personal Microsoft accounts and "the authorization service" on June 1, and marked it mitigated for all personal-account users on June 3. |
| August 5–September 28, 2026 | [Issue #6880](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues/6880) reported the same error returning after an Excel update. A Microsoft responder wrote "We have fixed the issue" on September 28. |
| September 17–23, 2026 | In [issue #6952](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues/6952), Microsoft explained that "a service-side authentication problem was rejecting requests from personal Microsoft accounts before they reached the add-in service." On September 23 it deployed a permanent fix by updating the certificate used for authentication. |

The reports describe the same pattern. Every Store add-in failed, not only Claude. The September reports include Claude for Word on Windows and Word for Mac, and a [Microsoft 365 Family user](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues/6961) saw Claude and ChatGPT fail together. The same account kept working in Office on the web, and in desktop Office after signing out of the Microsoft account. The May report lists clearing the add-in cache, signing out and back in, and an Office repair among the steps that didn't help.

What to do:

1. **Confirm the pattern.** Open Word on the web with the same Microsoft account, and try one other Store add-in in desktop Word. If Claude works on the web but every Store add-in fails on the desktop, you are looking at the Microsoft-side failure.
2. **Keep working on the web.** Word on the web runs Claude while the desktop app is affected.
3. **After Microsoft fixes it,** do what Microsoft's add-in team asked in September. Fully close Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Sign out of Office, sign back in, and restart Office, so the app picks up a fresh sign-in issued after the fix. If Claude disappeared from My Add-ins, install it again from the Store.
4. **Report it to Microsoft, not Anthropic.** The fault sat in Microsoft's add-in service, and Anthropic has not posted anything about these errors. Comment on the open office-js issue with your host, platform, build number, and the time of the failure, or [contact Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/contactus).

Three waves in four months suggest it can come back, for example after an Office update. That is an inference from the dates above, not something Microsoft has said.

### Work or school account where it has never worked

Your organization may not have assigned the add-in to you, or it may block the Office Store. Ask your Microsoft 365 admin to check the deployment steps in the [admin section](#microsoft-365-admins-office-store-setting-pim-and-the-custom-manifest).

## "We can't connect to the catalogue" on a personal or Family account

These messages come from Office's add-in store, not from the Claude pane. Users on personal and Microsoft 365 Family accounts have reported:

- "We can't load this add-in because we can't connect to the catalogue"
- "The request for catalog information failed", shown after My Add-ins > Refresh
- "Access to the catalog is denied", which Microsoft listed alongside the permission error during the September outage

If Word on the web works with the same account, start with the [permission section above](#personal-or-family-account-a-microsoft-outage-not-claude). Microsoft's add-in team traced the September catalog failures to the same authentication problem.

The harder case is when the error follows your account onto the web. In an [August 2026 Microsoft Q&A thread](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5964749/excel-add-in-claude-for-microsoft-365-fails-with-t), a member of a Microsoft 365 Family plan saw it in desktop Excel for Mac and in Excel on the web. The add-in and the store catalog are the same ones Word uses. Clearing the add-in cache, reinstalling from the current listing, signing out, and restarting all failed. The old install had also pointed to an outdated product ID (WA200009404) instead of WA200010725. The thread was posted two days before the August wave was reported on GitHub, so it may be part of that wave. That link is an inference from the dates.

Run the isolation test the Microsoft moderator suggested in that thread:

1. Open Home > Add-ins > More Add-ins and install any other free add-in.
2. If that add-in fails with the same catalog error, the Marketplace catalog for your Microsoft account is the problem. Stop reinstalling Claude and [contact Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/contactus) under Microsoft 365 and Office, Technical Support. Give them the exact error text, your account type, and your Word version.
3. If other add-ins install fine and only Claude fails, the problem is specific to Claude. Check [status.claude.com](https://status.claude.com), then install from the WA200010725 listing.

![Catalog error isolation test: after the catalogue error, install another free add-in; if it fails too, contact Microsoft Support about your account's catalog; if only Claude fails, check status.claude.com and reinstall from WA200010725](https://www.aifreeapi.com/posts/en/claude-for-word-not-working/img/catalog-error-isolation-test.webp)

Personal and Family accounts do run the add-in. The GitHub reports above show Claude for Microsoft 365 working on them before each outage, and Anthropic's Word documentation sets no account-type limit. The work or school requirement that some guides mention belongs to the [Microsoft 365 connector](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12542951-set-up-the-microsoft-365-connector), a different Claude product.

## Add-ins menu is empty on a work or school account

If the Add-ins menu loads nothing while you're signed in to your work account, and everything works when you sign in with a personal Microsoft account, your tenant settings are the likely cause. In a [June 2026 Microsoft Q&A thread](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5917940/why-are-add-ins-not-loading-on-m365-suite-tools-an), an IT provider described exactly this on a client's Mac. The Microsoft moderator's answer was to turn on Office Store access for users and deploy Claude for Microsoft 365 from the admin center.

You can't change those settings as a user. Send your admin the steps in the next section. If your admin has just deployed the add-in, give it time. Anthropic's custom-manifest instructions say the add-in shows up within minutes, but a full rollout across the organization can take up to 24 hours.

You may have read that Claude is "off by default" for tenants in the EU, EFTA, and UK. [Microsoft's page on that setting](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/connect-to-ai-subprocessor) covers Anthropic models used inside Microsoft Copilot and other Microsoft products, and it doesn't mention the Claude add-in. The add-in signs in with a Claude account and talks to `api.anthropic.com` directly, so that Copilot switch is unlikely to be what blocks it in Word. This is an inference from how the add-in connects, not something Microsoft or Anthropic states.

## Microsoft 365 admins: Office Store setting, PIM, and the custom manifest

[Anthropic's deployment steps](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/word#deploy-to-your-organization) for Microsoft 365 admins:

1. In the [Microsoft 365 admin center](https://admin.microsoft.com), go to Settings > Org settings > User owned apps and services, and turn on "Let users access the Office Store".
2. Go to Settings > Integrated apps > Add-ins, search for "Claude for Microsoft 365", and assign it to the whole organization or to specific users or groups.
3. Users then activate it from Home > Add-ins (Windows) or Tools > Add-ins (Mac) and sign in with their Claude account.

Three problems block this path:

- **The Office Store is turned off by policy.** Anthropic warns that admin-deployed add-ins may not appear for users in that case. Deploy with the [custom manifest](https://pivot.claude.ai/manifest-word.xml) instead: Settings > Integrated apps > Upload custom apps > Office Add-in > "I have a manifest file on this device". Don't leave a store install and the manifest install running side by side for the same users. They share one history but show up as two Claude entries, and Anthropic recommends removing one.
- **Your admin role is activated through Microsoft Entra PIM.** The Integrated apps page doesn't recognize roles activated through Privileged Identity Management, so the deployment fails. This is a known Microsoft issue, tracking ID 11126536. Deploy from an admin account whose role is permanently active, as [Microsoft's troubleshooting article](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/microsoft-365/admin/miscellaneous/cannot-deploy-add-in-integrated-apps-menu) describes. Individual users can still install the add-in themselves in the meantime.
- **The network blocks the add-in's domains.** For Claude account sign-in, the add-in always needs `pivot.claude.ai` (the pane itself), `claude.ai` (sign-in), `api.anthropic.com` (Claude's responses), and `appsforoffice.microsoft.com` (the Office.js runtime that every add-in uses). Working across apps also needs `bridge.claudeusercontent.com`, and connectors need `mcp-proxy.anthropic.com`. See [Anthropic's network allowlist](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/third-party-platforms#network-allowlist). If your organization uses IP allowlisting for Claude, route `bridge.claudeusercontent.com` through the same proxy egress as `claude.ai`. Otherwise working across apps stops while the rest of the add-in keeps running.

If Claude in Word can't see your open Excel workbook or deck, check the work-across-apps settings on the [work across apps page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/work-across-apps). Each user turns on "Let Claude work across files" in the add-in's Settings, on every device. It starts on for Pro and Max and off for Team and Enterprise. On Team and Enterprise, organization owners also decide whether members can use the feature, with "Let Claude work across apps" under Organization settings > Office agents in Claude.

## Claude pane is blank or keeps spinning in Word

Try these in order. Each one rules out a different cause.

1. **Check the service.** Open [status.claude.com](https://status.claude.com). The status page has no separate Office component. Add-in incidents appear under the claude.ai component with titles such as "Degraded performance on Claude for Microsoft Office 365", the title of two incidents on September 1, 2026. If one is open, wait for it to clear.
2. **Refresh the pane.** MindStudio's [Word troubleshooting notes](https://www.mindstudio.ai/blog/claude-microsoft-word-formatting-bugs-credit-limits-workarounds) report that clicking any Word ribbon dropdown and then using the refresh option in the Claude sidebar clears a blank pane. MindStudio describes it as a display glitch rather than a sign-in problem. Anthropic hasn't documented this workaround, but it costs nothing to try.
3. **Check the network.** The pane is served from `pivot.claude.ai`. On a company network, a VPN, or behind a proxy that blocks it, the pane can't load. Try another network if you're allowed to, or ask IT to allow the domains in the [admin section](#microsoft-365-admins-office-store-setting-pim-and-the-custom-manifest).
4. **On Word on the web, allow site data.** The add-in runs in a cross-origin frame, so browsers treat its storage as third-party. Anthropic's [data storage page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/data-storage) warns that tracking prevention and third-party cookie blocking can partition or remove it, and your sign-in is kept in that storage. If the add-in asks you to allow site data, do it, or use the desktop app.
5. **Restart Word.** Quit every Office app, not just the document window, then reopen it. If the pane still won't load, the cache section below is the last local step.

## Sign-in loops, "Couldn't start sign-in," and pasted-code errors

Claude account sign-in has a manual handoff step that is easy to break. Anthropic's [sign-in explanation](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/third-party-platforms#why-sign-in-redirects-through-pivot-claude-ai) describes the flow. You select "Log in" in the add-in, and a browser window opens where you approve the sign-in. The browser then lands on a `pivot.claude.ai` page that shows a code with a Copy button, and you paste that code back into the add-in. The add-in rejects the code if it doesn't match the sign-in attempt it started.

- **"That doesn't look like the full code..."** was reported in Claude for Excel, which uses the same sign-in. Use the Copy button instead of selecting the text by hand, and paste the whole value. If the pane reloaded or you closed Word after starting, begin a new sign-in. The add-in keeps its half of the check in session storage, so a code from an earlier attempt is likely to fail.
- **"Couldn't start sign-in. Please try again."** was reported on [Anthropic's GitHub](https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-python/issues/1645) in June 2026 by a Pro user in Excel, and a commenter reproduced it with Word on macOS. That commenter traced it to the add-in's first sign-in request to claude.ai being answered by a Cloudflare bot check, which Office's built-in browser can't complete. An Anthropic account closed the issue as completed on August 5, 2026, without a public comment, and Anthropic has not confirmed the cause. The closure suggests a server-side fix, but that is an inference. Another inference: a VPN or network filter that makes claude.ai show bot checks could still trigger it. Try a different network before you reinstall, and contact Anthropic support if it persists.
- **The pane keeps asking you to sign in.** On a Mac, confirm that Office is signed in with the same Microsoft account that had the add-in, and that automatic date and time is on. In Word on the web, allow site data for the add-in as described in the previous section.

## Claude stops mid-edit: the 30-second limit for Word text edits

Claude for Word runs inside Word and waits for Word to finish each step. Anthropic's [performance page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/performance) sets these limits:

| Step | How long Claude waits |
| --- | --- |
| A Word text edit | 30 seconds |
| Other steps in desktop Office | 5 minutes |
| Other steps in Office on the web | 2 minutes |

When Claude reaches the limit it reports a timeout, but Word may still be running the step. What helps:

- Don't click, type, or edit while Claude is working.
- After a timeout, wait until Word responds, save, then ask for a smaller change.
- Split large edits into several requests, and point Claude at the section it needs instead of the whole document.
- If Word closes, reopen it and look for the Document Recovery pane, then start a new chat with a smaller request.

If timeouts keep happening, open More options in the Claude pane, choose Download Transcript, and send the file to your IT team with the time of the problem.

## Clearing the Office add-in cache deletes Claude chat history on Windows

Clearing the cache can help with "Error loading add-ins", an add-in that vanished after a sign-out, or a store install that loops. It has a cost on Windows. Anthropic's [data storage page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/data-storage) says Claude's local chat history sits in the same `Wef` folder as the add-in cache, so deleting that folder destroys your history along with it. Conversations are stored only on your device, with no server copy, so download any transcript you need first (More options > Download Transcript).

Microsoft's [Clear the Office cache](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-ins/testing/clear-cache) page gives these locations:

- **Windows:** close Office, then delete the contents of `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef\`. On Office version 2108 or later, you can instead go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Add-in Catalogs and select "Next time Office starts, clear all previously-started web add-ins cache".
- **Mac:** quit Office, then delete the contents of `~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft.OsfWebHost/Data/`.

Microsoft also warns to clear the cache completely. Deleting individual manifest files can stop all add-ins from loading.

On a Mac, Anthropic's [data storage page](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/data-storage#where-the-data-sits-on-macos) says each Office app keeps the add-in's store in its own sandbox container, so Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook keep separate Claude histories. The Windows warning about losing history applies to the `Wef` folder. The page doesn't mention the OsfWebHost folder, so emptying it isn't documented to remove Claude history. That is an inference and hasn't been tested, so download any transcript you need before you clear it.

If your history looks missing on Windows after a fix, check which account is signed in to Office before anything else. Anthropic notes that history is stored per Office account, and signing back in to the original account brings it back.

## Organization messages and Bedrock, Vertex AI, or Foundry errors

Some messages only appear in organizations that manage the add-in centrally. A user can't fix any of them, so send your admin the exact text.

- **"Claude isn't available for your organization here"** appears when Anthropic stops serving add-in settings for your organization. It stays until you sign out. **"Couldn't load your organization's settings"**, with Try again and Sign out buttons, means the first read of those settings failed. Both come from organization-served settings, which Anthropic describes as a [preview feature](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/third-party-platforms#serve-add-in-settings-from-your-claude-organization).
- **Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, Azure AI Foundry, or an LLM gateway.** If your organization routes Claude through one of these, you sign in through Microsoft Entra ID or with details from IT instead of a personal Claude login. Anthropic's [troubleshooting list](https://claude.com/docs/office-agents/third-party-platforms#troubleshooting) maps the errors:

| Message | What it usually means |
| --- | --- |
| "Connection refused" or a network error | The gateway or cloud endpoint is unreachable, or a firewall or VPN blocks it |
| 401 Unauthorized or "Invalid token" | The token is invalid or has expired |
| 403 Forbidden or "Access denied" | The token is valid but lacks the needed permissions |
| 404 Not found | The gateway URL should be the base URL, without `/v1/messages` |
| "No models available" | No Claude model is enabled or routed for your account |
| Responses hang | The gateway or proxy is buffering streamed responses |

On these setups, connectors, Skills, file uploads, dictation, and working across apps are not available, so their absence isn't a fault. If IT gives you a new gateway token or URL, select Logout from the account menu and sign in again.

## When to stop retrying: Microsoft Support, Anthropic status, or your admin

Repeating the same reinstall won't fix an account-side catalog problem, a tenant policy, or a service incident. Once you have reinstalled from the WA200010725 listing and tested Word on the web, pick the right contact:

| What you've found | Who can fix it | What to send |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Other Store add-ins fail too, or the permission or catalog error appears only on a personal or Family account | Microsoft, through [Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/contactus) or the open [office-js issue](https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues) | The exact error text, account type (personal, Family, or work), host, platform, build number, and time of the failure |
| [status.claude.com](https://status.claude.com) shows an open claude.ai incident about Microsoft Office, or many people report the same error the same day | Anthropic; wait for the fix | Nothing; retry after the incident is resolved |
| Work or school account: empty Add-ins menu, permission error, organization message, or a 401, 403, or 404 | Your Microsoft 365 admin or Claude admin | The message, the time it happened, and whether it works on another account |
| Everything else works and only the Claude pane fails after the checks above | [Anthropic support](https://support.claude.com) | A downloaded transcript and the time of the problem |

## Claude for Word questions: free plan, iPad, and personal accounts

### Does Claude for Word work on the free plan?

No. Anthropic lists Claude for Word for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans only. Whatever you install from the store, the Claude account you sign in with has to be on one of those plans.

### Does Claude for Word work on iPad or Android?

No. Word on iPad and Word on Android are on Anthropic's unsupported list. Word on the web, Word for Windows (version 2205 or later), and Word for Mac (version 16.61 or later) are supported.

### Can I use Claude for Word with a personal Microsoft account?

Yes. Anthropic's documentation sets no account-type limit, and Microsoft's own outage reports show Claude for Microsoft 365 running on personal and Microsoft 365 Family accounts. Those accounts were also the ones hit by Microsoft's add-in outages in May, August, and September 2026. If the add-in fails on a personal account, start with the [Microsoft outage section](#personal-or-family-account-a-microsoft-outage-not-claude). The work or school requirement belongs to the Microsoft 365 connector, not the add-in.

### Is the Microsoft 365 connector the same as Claude for Word?

No. The [Microsoft 365 connector](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12542951-set-up-the-microsoft-365-connector) lets Claude in the Claude app read SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams, and it has its own setup and its own errors. Problems with Claude creating or downloading `.docx` files in a chat are also a separate issue from the Word add-in.