Office Settings & Configuration

How to Prevent Microsoft Word from Disabling a Third-Party Add-In

Steve K Oct 10, 2026 868 views

Question details

Find methods to prevent Microsoft Word from automatically disabling a third-party add-in when it becomes unresponsive.

How to Prevent Microsoft Word from Disabling a Third-Party Add-In

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The user is processing large documents, which causes a third-party add-in to freeze temporarily and triggers Word's resiliency auto-disable feature.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Word automatically disables the third-party add-in due to unresponsiveness, requiring the user to manually re-enable it.

Before you start

Ensure you have administrator privileges on your computer, as modifying registry keys or managing Microsoft 365 policies requires elevated permissions.

Solution 1Recommended

Select 'Always enable' in COM Add-ins Dialog

Use the native Word prompt to bypass the auto-disable feature for a specific add-in when re-enabling it.

Microsoft Word includes a built-in resiliency feature that tracks add-in performance. If an add-in takes too long to respond, Word disables it to avoid application crashes. You can often override this from the native add-in dialog.

Open Word Options

Launch Microsoft Word, click on 'File' in the top left corner, and select 'Options' at the bottom of the menu.

Access Add-in Management

In the Word Options dialog, click 'Add-ins' on the left sidebar. Look for the 'Manage' dropdown menu at the bottom, select 'COM Add-ins', and click 'Go'.

Always Enable the Add-in

If you are prompted with a warning about a slow or disabled add-in, select the option 'Always enable this add-in' before applying the changes.

Select 'Always enable' in COM Add-ins Dialog

Version Limitations: The 'Always enable' option may not be available in older versions, such as Word 2016. If missing, proceed to the Registry Editor solution.

Solution 2

Modify the Registry AddinList Policy

Force Word to keep the add-in enabled by adding its ProgID to the Resiliency policy in the Registry Editor.

Solution 3

Manage via Microsoft 365 Admin Center

For enterprise environments, administrators can manage add-in deployments and resiliency directly from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Microsoft Word automatically disable my add-ins?

Microsoft Word includes a built-in resiliency monitoring feature. If an add-in takes too long to load or becomes unresponsive (such as when processing a very large document), Word automatically disables it to prevent the entire application from crashing.

Where can I manually re-enable a disabled add-in in Word?

You can find disabled add-ins by going to File > Options > Add-ins. In the 'Manage' drop-down menu at the bottom of the window, select 'Disabled Items' and click 'Go'. From there, you can select the add-in and click 'Enable'.

What should I do if the 'Always enable' option is missing in Word?

In older versions like Word 2016, the 'Always enable' prompt may not appear. In such cases, you will need to enforce the add-in by modifying the AddinList policy in the Registry Editor or by contacting your Microsoft 365 IT administrator for deployment.

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