Different installers for Office 365

WalterFaber · 23 Jun 2018

I'm using an Office 365 ProPlus subscription provided by my institution. On the office download page, the default choice is an installer with the following filename: "Setup.X86.de-de_O365ProPlusRetail_[...]_TX_DB_b_64_"
This seems to be for 32 bit office, though I'm not sure what the b_64 at the end stands for?

In the description of the downloaded exe file it says : "Version: 16.0.9226.2114"
After installation, the Office version is 1708 and the release channel is semi-annual. When Word is started, the splash screen looks exactly like the one for the regular Office 2016 Word I was using previously.

If I don't use the default choice and select a 32 bit installer manually, it has this filename: "Setup.X86.de-de_O365ProPlusRetail_[...]_TX_DB_b_32_" The exe file version is the same as before, but now my Office suite is version 1805 on the monthly release channel. Also, the splash screen now says Office 365.

Is this the intended behavior of the two different installers? They don't come with any further description and I wasn't able to find anything about this online.

AndreTen · 24 Jun 2018

Hi WalterFaber and welcome to Tenforums.

First to tell… I'm no expert about administrating Office, but have some practical experience.
Difference about these setups is in where are they used, frequency of updating and licensing mainly.

I'm using both versions myself and
- Office 2016 is like you've noticed updating twice per year, meaning less frequent new features, but more stable, well tested and (this is part of the deal of your organization and MS) is required to be connected inside your organization's network at least every six months. It is licensed to your organization.
- Office 365 is more like a personal version of Office. It is licensed to your identity inside Organization, can be used from home - no necessary connections inside your Organization to check license. Activation is confirmed by your status. It is usually on monthly release 8updates once per month), more freshly updates, but is less tested and some bugs can occur (no problems for me in last few years).

More or less… your pick

Your admin can tell you more.