Grammarly stops underlining your writing, the desktop app will not launch, the browser extension vanishes, or the Word add-in sits silent. Grammarly on ARM laptops is really three products — the browser extension, the desktop app, and the Office add-in — and each fails differently. The extension usually works fine because browsers are ARM-native; the desktop app and add-in are where emulation and integration problems cluster.

The fix depends on which Grammarly you mean, so this guide treats each surface in turn and starts with the one most people actually use: the browser extension.

Why this happens

  • Extension disabled or conflicting: Browser updates, profile corruption, or another writing extension can disable Grammarly or block its suggestions.
  • Desktop app emulation problems: The Grammarly desktop app under Prism emulation can fail to launch, hang, or lose its connection to the Grammarly service.
  • Office add-in integration failure: The Word add-in needs Office, the Grammarly service, and a compatible document. Add-in conflicts or protected documents break it silently.
  • Login session expired or account mismatch: An expired session or a different account in the app versus the browser produces the confusing state of Grammarly “working” but suggesting nothing for your documents.
  • Network blocking Grammarly services: VPNs, firewalls, and DNS filters can block Grammarly’s suggestion service while general browsing still works.
  • Document or site incompatibility: Grammarly does not support every text field, document type, or site. Suggestions failing only on one site or document type is usually a compatibility limit, not a bug.

How to fix it

Work through these in order — diagnose first, then act.

Fix 1: Fix the browser extension first

Most ARM laptop users rely on the extension, and it is the easiest surface to repair.

  1. Open your browser’s extension page and confirm Grammarly is installed and enabled — re-enable it if a browser update turned it off.
  2. Pin the Grammarly icon to the toolbar so you can see whether it is active on the current page.
  3. Disable other writing or grammar extensions temporarily to rule out a conflict.
  4. Sign out of the extension and sign back in with the correct account.
  5. Test suggestions on a plain site like a webmail compose window — if they work there, the problem is site-specific, not the extension. Similar extension-layer reliability applies to Notion AI on ARM workflows that depend on browser services.

Fix 2: Repair or replace the desktop app

The desktop app is the least reliable Grammarly surface on ARM. Repair it, but be ready to fall back to the browser.

  1. Close Grammarly completely from the system tray.
  2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Grammarly, and use Repair if offered, otherwise uninstall and reinstall from Grammarly’s official site.
  3. Sign in with the correct account after reinstalling and test suggestions in a simple text field.
  4. If the app still fails to launch or connect, check for Windows updates — emulation improvements ship in Windows updates.
  5. If the desktop app remains unreliable, use the browser extension and web editor instead; they cover the same writing tasks without emulation.

Fix 3: Fix the Word and Office add-in

Office add-in silence has its own causes: document type, add-in state, and Office integration. Check them in order.

  1. Open Word, go to File > Options > Add-ins, and confirm the Grammarly add-in is active, not disabled.
  2. Re-enable it from the disabled items list if Word disabled it after a crash.
  3. Test on a new blank document — if suggestions work there but not in your document, the document may be protected, too large, or in an unsupported format.
  4. Sign out of the add-in and sign back in with the correct account.
  5. Repair Office from Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Quick Repair if the add-in still does not load.

Fix 4: Resolve login and account mismatches

Suggestions failing everywhere despite an active-looking Grammarly usually means the session or account is wrong.

  1. Sign out of Grammarly in every surface — extension, app, and web editor.
  2. Sign back in with the account that holds your subscription, checking carefully for a personal versus work account mix-up.
  3. Confirm your subscription status on Grammarly’s account page.
  4. Clear the browser cache for Grammarly’s site if the extension still shows a stale session.
  5. Test suggestions again — a clean single-account sign-in resolves most “suggesting nothing” cases.

Fix 5: Clear network blocks on Grammarly services

When Grammarly loads but never suggests, its suggestion service may be blocked while the rest of the web works.

  1. Disconnect any VPN and test suggestions again.
  2. Check firewall or antivirus rules for Grammarly and browser network access.
  3. Try a phone hotspot to rule out home-network filtering.
  4. If suggestions work on the hotspot, review your router’s DNS and filtering settings.
  5. For official Windows network guidance, see Microsoft’s Windows support pages .

Fix 6: Accept compatibility limits and use the web editor

Some failures are not bugs at all — they are surfaces Grammarly does not support. Recognizing them saves repeated reinstalls.

  1. Test the same text in the Grammarly web editor — if suggestions appear there, the content itself is fine.
  2. Check Grammarly’s supported sites and document types for the surface that failed.
  3. For unsupported fields, write in the web editor and paste the corrected text back.
  4. For very long documents, split them into smaller sections in the editor.
  5. Report genuinely unsupported-but-important surfaces through Grammarly’s feedback channel with your laptop model and browser version. For related AI writing tools, see Stable Diffusion DirectML on NPU and Claude desktop on ARM guides.

Closing

Grammarly on ARM laptops fails most often at the surface you are using, not at the service itself: a disabled extension, an emulated desktop app, or a silenced Office add-in. Fix the browser extension first — it is the most reliable surface on ARM — then repair the app or add-in for the surface you actually need. When a surface is genuinely unsupported, the web editor is the reliable fallback that always works. If this fix did not fully resolve the issue, related troubleshooting for Asus Expertbook P5 Ai Issues and Click To Do Summarize Not Working covers neighboring causes that can produce the same symptom on AI laptops.

Frequently asked questions

Does Grammarly work on Windows ARM laptops?
Grammarly’s browser extensions work well on ARM laptops because browsers have native ARM builds. The Grammarly desktop app and Office add-in run through emulation or as web components, which is where most ARM-specific problems appear.
Why does Grammarly not show suggestions in Word?
The Word add-in depends on Office integration, the Grammarly service connection, and document compatibility. Large documents, protected documents, and add-in conflicts can all suppress suggestions.
Why does the Grammarly extension disappear from my browser?
Extensions can be disabled by browser updates, profile corruption, or conflicting extensions. Re-enabling it in the browser’s extension page and checking for conflicts usually restores it.
Can I use Grammarly without the desktop app?
Yes. The browser extension and the Grammarly web editor cover most writing, and on ARM laptops they are often more reliable than the desktop app. Use the editor for long documents.