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I'm trying to permanently delete Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) and its annoying prompts, but nothing seems to work. I've followed the instructions from How to remove Microsoft Autoupdate from macOs m1? and How to stop MS AutoUpdate prompt but neither one of those solved my problem. I've deleted all associated files in the relevant ~/Library/ directories and made sure there are no hits for files when I search my Mac for "AutoUpdate" and the like.

Despite of this, the MAU prompts return every time I restart my Mac. When I search my Mac for files again after the restart, I can see that there are two new folders called "com.microsoft.autoupdate2" and "com.microsoft.autoupdate.fba" which are located in the directory ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms", which contains another empty folder called "MerpTempItems" and an empty .txt file called "Microsoft AutoUpdate.MERP.params.txt". Even when I delete the entire "UBF8T346G9.ms" directory, it returns with the exact same contents on the next start up.

Can someone please help me get rid of Microsoft AutoUpdate for good?

Edit: my macOS version is 10.14.6 and Office version is 16.54. The entire Office Suite is installed. As for the licence: it says "Licence: Not Activated", whatever that means.

ConfusedCabbage
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  • Which version of macOS, which version of Office? – nohillside Nov 23 '21 at 14:12
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    Unwanted programs are the worst. If you keep virus in the title, though many won’t realize you want the office components Microsoft intended to run to be removed… it depends which version of MAU and which licensing for office and which apps you have installed in practice, so editing those into the post will help us help you. – bmike Nov 23 '21 at 14:41
  • I've edited my original post to add the versions etc. I’m a bit confused by your comment. Is this not a virus? I.e., are you telling me Microsoft actually pays people to develop software that a) forces you to click “OK” by not letting you exit/quit the program (force quitting through the activity monitor is literally the only option) b) sends multiple unsolicited reminders every 2 hours with dubious prompts to click on download/update c) cannot be uninstalled and respawns itself when deleted? – ConfusedCabbage Nov 23 '21 at 15:12
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    See https://apple.stackexchange.com/q/291227/237687 – Solar Mike Nov 23 '21 at 15:39
  • I have Monterey (12.0.1) on a 2019 MBP and a Microsoft Office 365 subscription (v16.55). I was also sick of MAU popping its head every day. I deleted it using AppCleaner. It is no longer coming up! Not sure if this had anything to do with removal of MAU, but when I started Excel after removing MAU, I saw a warning asking me to sign in because my Office programs were not activated (I had signed in and activated Office 365 when I first installed it months ago. I had gotten no such warnings since then). I signed in again and the warning disappeared. – Alper Nov 23 '21 at 22:22
  • I've used AppCleaner before, but since I've already deleted all files presumably associated to MAU I don't have an app that I can drag into it, and it doesn't work with the directory that reappears every time I restart my Mac. – ConfusedCabbage Nov 24 '21 at 02:39
  • If nothing else works, I suggest re-installing MAU and deleting it with AppCleaner. – Alper Nov 24 '21 at 03:12

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