How to Disable MS Office Click to Run Service in Windows 11 & 10

The Microsoft Click-to-Run service is causing problems such as high CPU or memory usage, you can disable it to improve your system. Here’s how.

Installing Microsoft Office in Windows automatically adds a new service called Click-to-Run. It always runs in the background whether or not you are using Office or any of its apps. The Click-to-Run service is responsible for updating Office apps and managing them in the background.

Generally, most users never need to worry about the Click-to-Run service. However, under certain circumstances, the service can run a mock causing high CPU and/or memory usage. This in turn slows down or makes the system unstable. In those cases, you fix the problems by configuring the service to run manually. i.e., only when you use the Office apps or disable it completely.

In this quick and straightforward tutorial, I will show you the steps to disable the Click-to-Run service or set it to manual start in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Let’s get started.

Before You Begin

• Administrator rights are required to change or disable the Click-to-Run service.

Steps To Disable Office Click-To-Run Service (or Set to Manual)

1. Open the Run dialog with “Windows key + R”.
2. Type “services.msc” and click “OK“.
3. Right-click the “Microsoft Office Click-to-Run” service.
4. Select the “Properties” option.
5. Click “Stop“.
6. Select “Manual” or “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown.
7. Click “OK“.
8. Close the Services window.
9. Restart your system
10. With that, you’ve disabled the Click-to-Run service.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

You can modify a service’s current status and startup type using the Windows Services Management Console. So we need to open it first. To do that, press the “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog, type “services.msc” in the Run field, and click “OK“.

Once the Services Management Console opens, find the “Microsoft Office Click-to-Run” service, right-click on it, and select the “Properties” option. The properties allow you to configure the service.

First, click the “Stop” button under the “Service Status” section to stop the service. Next, select “Manual” from the “Startup type” dropdown menu. This makes it so that the service only runs when you open any of the MS Office apps, such as Excel.

Note: If you want to completely disable the service, select “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown menu.

Click the “OK” button to save the change.

Next, close the Services Management Console window by clicking the “X” button on the title bar. Finally, restart your system to apply the service changes.

That is all. After restarting your computer, the Click-to-Run service won’t run automatically. If you disabled the service, it will not run even if you open an MS Office app.

Wrapping Up: Fixing Issues with Click-to-Run Service

If the Click-to-Run service always running in the background causing issues in your system, setting the service’s start type to “Manual” gives you the best of both worlds. i.e., stop the service from abusing your system resources and allow it to run only when it is required. However, if it’s still causing issues, you can also completely disable it so that it doesn’t run even when you open Microsoft Office apps. Keep in mind that disabling this service might stop it from installing feature updates, security patches, and other improvements to the Microsoft Office suite.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist. Also, check out how to download the Microsoft Office ISO installer.