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Microsoft 365 applications, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, have recently been experiencing a spate of crashes, especially for users on Windows Server platforms. This has been a significant cause of disruption since the apps crash within seconds of being launched. The issue has mainly affected those running Microsoft 365 apps on Windows Server 2016 and 2019 after updating to Version 2412 (Build 18324.20168) or later.
These crashes occur around 15 seconds into the launching of the applications. Though frustrating, Microsoft did find the root cause: a new update that included the React Native framework into its suite of Microsoft 365 apps. This included apps intended to enhance certain features and apps' performance, which instead caused the apps to be unstable, especially for users running Windows Server 2016 and 2019.
The inclusion of the React Native framework was supposed to make the overall experience within the Microsoft 365 apps better, offering improved performance, faster load times, and smoother user experiences. However, it has been doing the opposite. React Native is known for allowing native-like performance on mobile platforms, which may have brought compatibility issues when applied to desktop apps like Word and Outlook. The stability of the applications suffered as a result.
To resolve the crashing issues, Microsoft has taken several steps. For the users of Windows Server 2016, it has rolled back to Version 2411 (Build 18227.20162). The user can manually revert to this version by executing specific commands in an elevated Command Prompt. In addition, Microsoft recommends temporarily disabling automatic updates to prevent the apps from reverting to the problematic version until a more permanent fix is deployed.
For those users who experience crashes on Windows Server 2019, there are several known workarounds. Rolling back updates to earlier stable versions has been effective for many. Microsoft has also released emergency out-of-band updates specifically targeting Windows Server 2019 to resolve the issue. Administrators are advised to download these updates directly from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
Further, users are advised to verify power management settings on the affected systems. Some users reported that disabling sleep modes stabilized their servers. Running system health commands and increasing memory for virtualized environments might also help to resolve resource-related issues that lead to crashes.
This crashing incident is part of a larger pattern of recent problems with Microsoft 365. Earlier in January 2025, Microsoft experienced a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) outage, further highlighting ongoing challenges with their cloud-based services. Additionally, Microsoft had previously dealt with "Product Deactivated" errors that caused access issues for some users.
The tech giant has planned to end the support for the Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 before October 14, 2025. Users have been advised to upgrade to Windows 11 if they want continued updates and support. However, many users experience problems in shifting to Windows 11 because of hardware compatibility problems, which act as a massive barrier for a lot of organizations.
Microsoft continues to work on solutions that will address issues related to the React Native framework integration. Users should implement the mitigation steps given and monitor Microsoft for further progress. Although such temporary fixes will eventually be removed, it is hoped that Microsoft will provide a permanent solution addressing the two problems together, the crashing and the instability arising from the update.
