How To Fix Spell Check Not Working in Microsoft Word (365 or 2016+)

If the spell checker in Microsoft Word (be it Microsoft 365 or a 2016+ version) suddenly decides to go silent, it’s usually because some settings are just not aligned. The most common culprit seems to be that “Do not check spelling or grammar” option getting toggled, especially after copying or importing content from other sources. It’s kind of weird, but Word can sometimes treat parts of a document differently if proofing exceptions or language settings aren’t configured properly. So, this guide is all about making sure Word actually checks your spelling and grammar again—because of course, sometimes it just refuses to do so for seemingly no reason. Expect that after these tweaks, misspelled words should get underlined again, and grammar errors might even be caught. Not perfect, but a step closer to normal.

How to Fix the Spell Checker in Word That’s Not Working

Configure the Proofing Language Settings

This is usually where things go wrong. If Word is set to the wrong language or the proofing tools are disabled, it won’t underline or alert you to spelling mistakes. Making sure the correct language is selected and proofing is enabled helps Word recognize errors as it should. On many setups, it’s just a matter of selecting the right language and double-checking that “Do not check spelling or grammar” isn’t checked for the whole document or specific sections. Because of course, Windows and Office like to make it harder than it needs to be.

1. Click the Review tab at the top, then choose Language > Set Proofing Language — this opens a dialog box.
2. Pick the language that matches what you’re writing — like English (United States) or English (UK). Make sure it’s the correct one, because if it’s off, spell check won’t flag anything.
3. Check that the box for “Do not check spelling or grammar” is unchecked. Sometimes, this gets toggled accidentally, especially when copying from other documents or templates.
4. Click OK and then test the spell check by typing a wrong word to see if it underlines or suggests corrections. On some machines, it’s weird, but this simple setting alone does the trick.

Check Proofing Exceptions and Hidden Errors

This is where things can get sneaky. Proofing exceptions let you hide errors in certain parts of a document without killing spell check entirely. If these are set wrong, Word seems to ignore errors even if the option is technically enabled. Especially annoying if content’s imported or pasted from elsewhere. So, it’s worth diving into the proofing options and making sure nothing’s hiding errors or skipping sections.

1. Open File > Options, then navigate to the Proofing tab.
2. Look for options like Hide spelling errors in this document only or Hide grammar errors in this document only. Make sure both are unchecked.
3. Also, if the document is based on a template or another file, check if the proofing settings are applied specifically to that template. If so, switch back to your current document and ensure these options are consistent.
4. In the same menu, verify that options under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word are checked:
   • Check spelling as you type
   • Mark grammar errors as you type
   • Check grammar with spelling
5. Hit OK and re-test. Sometimes, this refreshes the settings enough for Word to start flagging errors again.

Start Word in Safe Mode to See if Add-ins Are Messing Things Up

If nothing worked so far, probably some add-in or template corruption is causing trouble. Starting Word in Safe Mode is a quick way to test this. It’s kind of like booting Windows with minimal drivers, but for Word.

1. Hold down Ctrl and click the Word icon, or press Win + R and type winword /safe, then hit Enter.
2. A prompt will ask if you want to open Word in Safe Mode. Confirm.
3. In Safe Mode, test if the spell checker actually works — if it does, the problem is with add-ins or custom template settings.
4. To disable add-ins permanently, go to File > Options > Add-ins. At the bottom, pick COM Add-ins, click Go, then uncheck all add-ins listed. Restart Word normally and see if spell check is back.
5. If that’s still no help, you can try resetting your default template by locating C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm. Rename it to something like Normal_backup.dotm and restart Word — this recreates the template from scratch, hopefully fixing any corruption issues.

This whole process is kinda annoying, but on one setup, it started working after resetting the template, so it’s worth a shot.

Overall, these steps cover the usual suspects when spell check just refuses to cooperate. Sometimes it’s a matter of a setting, other times a corrupted file messing everything up. Once you get the settings right or the template stabilized, Word should be on your side again — or at least flagging those typos properly.