Start with a representative file
To assess an ARM PC for office work, prepare a real document with sensitive information removed. Include your normal fonts, images, tables, headers and footers, or the formulas and templates your business uses. Opening an empty document provides little evidence for migration.
Record the operating system, application version and whether it is a 32-bit or 64-bit edition. Divide the work into opening, editing, exporting, printing and add-ins. This is a test method, not an extension of one vendor's support statement to every office suite or a claim that ARMPE has tested all products.
Open, edit, save and reopen
Check font substitution, table widths, pagination, image positions and formula results. Keep a reference output from the existing working environment. Do not stop at the first page, because longer documents and complex spreadsheets can expose problems elsewhere.
Make typical changes, save a separate test copy, close the application and reopen it. If others receive or collaborate on the file, ask them to check it in their normal software, including tracked changes, comments and formatting. Preserve the original rather than replacing production material with test output.
Check whether an export is ready to deliver
Export to PDF or the format your workflow requires. Open it in a separate viewer and inspect page count, text, images and links. Where a recipient specifies a template or format, validate against that requirement. Creating a file is only the first result.
For spreadsheets, check the export range; for presentations, inspect fonts and media. If something fails, record the page or action involved before blaming the processor architecture. Fonts, format, application version and the source file can all influence the outcome.
Test printing with the actual peripheral
Use the printer you need, with the intended paper size, duplex settings and connection method. A correct preview validates the preview, not the printed page. For a multifunction device, test scanning separately as well.
If a vendor driver is needed, establish support for your Windows ARM64 system. Microsoft requires native ARM64 user-mode print drivers; a working office application does not replace that requirement. If you choose another printing method offered by Windows, verify that it includes the functions you rely on.
Include add-ins, macros and business components
List signing, accounting, reference-management and data-connection components. Ask their suppliers about host version, bitness and platform requirements. Microsoft's Office edition guidance notes that existing 32-bit add-ins can affect a move to 64-bit Office, so changing the main application is not the entire migration.
At the verification date, Microsoft states that feature updates for 32-bit Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows ARM devices stopped in October 2025 and security updates end in December 2026. Users of that combination should assess the documented move to 64-bit while testing essential add-ins. This schedule does not apply indiscriminately to every Office product.
Turn the checklist into a migration decision
Mark each action as passed, limited or unverified and retain the sample, versions and required steps. If an essential add-in has no replacement, keep the existing device or workflow while moving other work in stages.
The outcome should be that documents, printing and business tasks meet their requirements, with a usable fallback if something fails. Save the checklist and repeat the directly affected checks after an OS, office application or important component update.
Sources and verification
This article draws on published documentation and editorial guidance. Unless explicitly stated, it does not report our own hardware tests. Sources checked: September 27, 2026.