Fix Word Showing Tofu Boxes Instead of Unicode Characters After Update

After a recent Windows or Office update, you may open a Word document and see small rectangular boxes, often called tofu boxes, where special Unicode characters, emoji, or non-Latin scripts like Arabic, Chinese, or Devanagari should appear. This happens because the update replaced a system font or changed Word’s default font fallback behavior. In this article, you will learn why tofu boxes appear and three proven methods to restore correct Unicode character display in Word.

Why Word Displays Tofu Boxes After an Update

A Windows or Office update can change the system font registry, remove a font that was previously available, or modify the font fallback order that Windows and Word use to display characters not present in the selected font. When Word encounters a Unicode character that the current font does not support, it looks for a fallback font. If the fallback font is missing or misconfigured, Word draws an empty rectangle, the tofu box.

Common triggers include:

• Windows 10 or Windows 11 feature updates that replace the Segoe UI Emoji font with a newer version that lacks certain glyphs.
• Office updates that change the default font in Word to one with limited Unicode coverage, such as Aptos or Calibri.
• Third-party font managers that disable or delete system fonts during or after an update.

The fix involves either re-enabling Word’s automatic font fallback, reinstalling the missing font, or manually editing the system fallback chain.

Method 1: Enable Font Fallback in Word Options

Word has a built-in setting that controls whether it attempts to use a fallback font for characters that are missing in the current font. After an update, this setting may become disabled.

1. Open Word Options
   In Word, click File in the top-left corner, then click Options at the bottom of the left pane.
2. Go to Advanced settings
   In the Word Options dialog, click Advanced on the left sidebar.
3. Find the Show document content section
   Scroll down to the Show document content section. It is about halfway down the list of options.
4. Enable font fallback for complex scripts
   Check the box labeled Use font fallback for complex scripts. If it is already checked, uncheck it, click OK, reopen the same dialog, and check it again to refresh the setting.
5. Click OK and restart Word
   Click OK to save the change. Close and reopen Word. Open the document that showed tofu boxes and verify that the characters now display correctly.

Method 2: Reinstall or Repair the Missing System Font

If the font fallback setting does not help, the system font that provides Unicode support may be damaged or missing. The most common font for emoji and symbols is Segoe UI Emoji. For general Unicode coverage, Arial Unicode MS or the Segoe UI family is used.

Reinstall Segoe UI Emoji via Windows Settings

1. Open Font Settings
   Press Windows + I to open Settings, then click Personalization and select Fonts.
2. Find Segoe UI Emoji
   In the Available fonts list, type Segoe UI Emoji in the search box. If it appears, click the font tile.
3. Uninstall the font
   On the font detail page, click Uninstall. Confirm the prompt.
4. Reinstall the font
   Restart your computer. Windows will automatically reinstall Segoe UI Emoji from the system image. If it does not, download the font from a trusted source, right-click the font file, and select Install for all users.

Repair Arial Unicode MS via Command Prompt

Arial Unicode MS is part of older Office installations and may be removed during an update. To repair it:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator
   Press Windows + X and select Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Run the System File Checker
   Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. This scans and repairs protected system files, including fonts.
3. Restart and test
   After the scan completes, restart Word and check the document.

Method 3: Edit the Font Fallback Registry for SystemLink

If the problem persists in Word and other applications, the font fallback chain in the Windows Registry may be corrupted or missing entries. Manually adding a fallback font entry can force Windows to use a Unicode-rich font when the primary font lacks a character.

1. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control.
2. Navigate to the FontLink key
   Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontLink\SystemLink.
3. Add a new string value for the missing font
   Right-click the SystemLink key, select New > String Value. Name it after the font that shows tofu boxes, for example, Times New Roman.
4. Set the fallback font chain
   Double-click the new value and enter: SEGOEUI.TTF,Segoe UI Emoji. This tells Windows to use Segoe UI Emoji as the fallback for Times New Roman. You can add multiple fallbacks separated by commas, such as: SEGOEUI.TTF,Segoe UI Emoji,ARIALUNI.TTF,Arial Unicode MS.
5. Restart your computer
   Close Registry Editor and restart your PC. After restart, open Word and confirm that the tofu boxes are replaced by the correct Unicode characters.

If Word Still Shows Tofu Boxes After These Fixes

Word displays tofu boxes only in a specific document

The document itself may have corrupted font references. Try these steps in order:

1. Copy all content from the document and paste it into a new blank Word document using Paste Special > Unformatted Text. Then reapply fonts.
2. Use File > Open > Browse, select the file, click the arrow next to Open, and choose Open and Repair.
3. Save the document as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file, close it, reopen the .rtf, and save it back to .docx.

Word shows tofu boxes for emoji but text works fine

This indicates that the Segoe UI Emoji font is missing or not being used. Download the latest Segoe UI Emoji font from a trusted Microsoft source, right-click the file, and select Install for all users. Then restart Word.

Word shows tofu boxes after installing a third-party font pack

Some font packs disable system fonts. Open Settings > Personalization > Fonts and verify that Segoe UI, Segoe UI Emoji, and Arial are listed and enabled. If a font is grayed out, click it and select Enable.

Word Font Fallback vs System Registry Fallback: Which Fix to Use

Item	Word Font Fallback Setting	System Registry FontLink
Scope	Word only	All applications on the system
Difficulty	Low — a few clicks in Options	High — requires Registry editing with admin rights
Effectiveness for emoji	Moderate — depends on installed fonts	High — forces a specific fallback font
Persistence after updates	May reset after Office updates	Remains until manually removed or overwritten
Risk	None	System instability if entries are wrong

Use the Word font fallback setting first. If the problem affects other applications or returns after restarting Word, apply the Registry method.

You can now fix tofu boxes in Word by enabling font fallback, reinstalling system fonts, or editing the FontLink registry key. Start with the Word Options setting because it is the safest and quickest solution. If you work with multiple languages or emoji frequently, consider creating a backup of the FontLink registry key so you can restore it after future updates. An advanced tip: use the free Font Validator tool from Microsoft to check which fonts are missing glyphs for the specific Unicode ranges you need.