How to stop the Office Background Task Handler process for good

Recently, Office users have reported a strange blank pop-up that appears and closes after a few seconds. While the pop-up itself is not harmful in any way, it can be annoying. The pop-up window is caused by a background executable program called Office Background Task Handler and shows the following location as the file path:

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\officebackgroundtaskhandler.exe”

If you are annoyed with this pop-up window as well, here are a couple of solutions to stop OfficeBackgroundTaskHandler.exe pop on Windows.

How to prevent office background task handler exe pop-ups

1. Update Microsoft Office

1. Open any Office application like the Word or PowerPoint.
2. Click on File and select Account.
   
3. Under Office Update, check if the automatic update is enabled or not.
4. If automatic update is disabled, click on Update Options and select “Enable Updates”.
5. When User Account Control prompt is displayed, click Yes.
   
6. Again, click on Update Options and select “Update now”.
7. Microsoft Office will automatically download and install any pending update.
8. Restart the PC and check for any improvements.

2. Run office Background Task Handler as Administrator

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the following directory.
   C:-> Program Files (x86) -> Microsoft Office -> root
2. Double-click on Office16 folder to open it.
   
3. Right-click on officebackgroundtaskhandler.exe and select Properties.
4. In the Properties window, click on the Compatibility tab.
   
5. Check the “Run this program as an administrator” option.
6. Click on Apply and OK to save the changes.
7. Close the File Explorer and check for any improvements.

Most users have no idea how to properly uninstall Microsoft Office from their PCs. Learn more about it now.

3. Disable Office Background Task Handler from Task Scheduler

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
2. Type taskschd.msc and hit enter. This will open the Task Scheduler.
3. Click on Task Scheduler Local.
4. Expand the Task Scheduler Library by clicking on the > icon.
5. Select the Microsoft folder and expand it.
6. Click on Office folder and look for OfficeBackgroundTaskHandlerRegistration.
   
   
7. Right-click OfficeBackgroundTaskHandlerRegistration task and select Disable.
8. This should disable the task handler and you should stop seeing the pop-up while using your PC.
9. The pop-up may return if you download an update for Office which may re-trigger the task.
10. Repeat the steps to disable the task again.

4. Change User or Group for Office Background Task Handler

1. Open Task Scheduler by pressing Windows Key + R, type taskschd.msc and hit enter.
2. In the Task scheduler, expand Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Office.
   
   
3. In the right-pane, right-click on OfficeBackgroundTaskHandlerRegistration and select Properties.
4. From the new window, click on “Change User or Group”
   
   
5. In the Select User or Group window, type System and click on check names.
6. If found, click on OK.

That’s it. Close the Task Scheduler window and that should resolve the annoying pop-up.

5. Disable Windows Office Telemetry

1. Download DWS_Lite from the Github, here. Scroll down and download the .exe file from the Assets 3 section.
2. Close any office applications if running.
3. Double-click on DWS_Lite-.exe file to run it.
4. Go to Settings and check the “Enable professional mode” option at the bottom.
5. Next, go to the Utility tab.
6. Under the Utility tab, click on Disable Office 2016 Telemetry button.
7. When the warning dialogue box appears, click on Yes.
8. Restart your PC and check for any improvements.

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