How to enable or disable Startup Boost for Microsoft 365 (Office) apps on Windows 11

The Microsoft 365 (Office) apps now include a feature that speeds up the startup process, known as “Startup Boost.” Microsoft plans to introduce the new feature in mid-May 2025, starting with the Word processing app, but it’ll then be available for the other apps. “Startup Boost” will be enabled by default; you can always manually turn it on or off.

Startup Boost isn’t a groundbreaking feature. It’s actually a new scheduled task that will run in the background during the computer startup to launch and keep the apps in a paused state until you open them.

The new feature is only available on devices with at least 8GB of memory and 5GB of available space. Since this feature will also consume system resources, the system can always remove the background processes to allocate the resources to other services as needed, on demand. Microsoft also plans to disable Startup Boost automatically when you enable Energy Saver on Windows 11.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to manage the Startup Boost feature for Word, but eventually, it’ll be available for Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps.

• Enable Startup Boost for Microsoft 365 (Office) apps
• Disable Startup Boost for Microsoft 365 (Office) apps

Enable Startup Boost for Microsoft 365 (Office) apps

To turn on the Startup Boost option in the Office apps, follow these steps:

1. Open Word on Windows 11.

2. Click on Options from the bottom left pane.

   

3. Check the Startup Boost option to enable the feature.

   

4. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the next time you start the computer, a task will run at startup to launch and maintain the apps, paused for a quick resume when opening the app.

Disable Startup Boost for Microsoft 365 (Office) apps

To turn off the Startup Boost option in the Office apps, follow these steps:

1. Open Word on Windows 11.

2. Click on Options from the bottom left pane.

   

3. Clear the Startup Boost option to disable the feature.

4. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the task will no longer run at startup, but you can still launch the Microsoft 365 apps normally. Of course, they will take a little longer to start.

Microsoft is also making the task available through the Task Scheduler app, more specifically on Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library > Office with the “Office Startup Boost” task. You will be able to control this task, but the company says that follow-up updates will re-enable the feature. The best way to control this feature is through the app options page.

If you can’t find the option, it’s because you’re probably not running the most up-to-date version of the apps. Once the update for this feature is released, you will be able to download it from Word > Account > Update Options and choose the “Update Now” option.