[AppSource] Add-in update persistence issues and unexpected version reversion on Office restart

[jgonzalez-at-wiris]

Provide required information needed to triage your issue

When a new version of the manifest is published and approved in the Microsoft Store (AppSource), the Office Add-in should automatically update for all users within a reasonable timeframe. Once updated, the version should remain consistent and not revert to older versions.

Your Environment

• Host: Word, PowerPoint (Office 365)
• Deployment: Office Store (AppSource)
• Add-in Name: MathType

Expected behavior

When a new version of the add-in is deployed, all the users are automatically updated to the latest version, and this update should not be unexpectedly reverted upon restarting Office

Current behavior

We are experiencing significant issues with the update propagation of our add-in. Specifically:

1. Persistence of old versions: A significant portion of our user base remains stuck on previous versions long after a release.
2. Version reversion: Both customers and our internal QA team have observed that even after successfully seeing the new version, the Add-in sometimes reverts to an older version upon restarting Word/PowerPoint.
3. Manual workaround only: The only reliable way we found to force the update is to go to the Add-in Store and click "Open" from there. Standard methods like "Reload" or closing/opening the taskpane do not trigger the update.

Steps to reproduce

1. Use the add-in regularly.
2. Wait for a new version to be released via the Store.
3. Open Word; the Add-in still loads the old cached version.
4. Try to "Reload" or restart the host application; the version remains the old one.
5. Go to "Insert" > "My Add-ins" > "Store", find the Add-in, and click "Open". The version finally updates.
6. Restart Word again; in some cases, the Add-in reverts back to the previous version.

Provide additional details

We have attached two charts showing our "Active Users Evolution" by version (source data). You can clearly see that after each release, there is a persistent "tail" of users (color-coded by version) who never transition to the latest build, creating a fragmented user base and support overhead.

Context

This bug is preventing us from delivering the latest versions to our users. Furthermore, having an add-in that automatically rolls back to a previous version is not expected behavior. Consequently, it is perceived as a failure on our end, even though it isn't.

Useful logs

[github-actions]

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[github-actions]

Here are some similar issues that might help you. Please check if they can solve your problem.

• Automatic Excel add-in updates do not work for all users #6542

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[jgonzalez-at-wiris]

Related: #6542

[ElizabethSamuel-MSFT]

@jgonzalez-at-wiris Thanks for letting us know about this.

@kustonaut Can you take a look?

Thanks.