installed MS office 2024, got 2021, how to fix this?

Question

installed MS office 2024, got 2021, how to fix this?

Bryan Kelly 596

HP Pavillion notebook, Windows 11, Office 2024 professional

This is being written on my desktop which I installed and all runs well.

I purchased Office 2024. Looking at the message that includes the activation key, it states:

Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus - Lifetime License Key

A bit further down it has a link with this text:

Download Link Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus :

Followed that link and I recall it showing a 2024 download. Did that, did the install. Then go to Settings, find Outlook Classic, and put it in the task bar.

Open it, and as it opens I see: Office 2021 in the upper left hand corner. What !! ?? I see that as a big problem.

Go back to Settings -> Installed apps and down to the letter M group and find an entry with:

Microsoft Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 - en - us

On the right side of that entry, where everything else has a size and ellipsis (the 3 dots), this has the ellipsis and no size. Just blank when the size is for everything else.

Click it and nothing. It won't do anything. The ellipsis provides Modify and Uninstall. Cannot get to MS word or any other Office product.

What might I do to correct this problem?

Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-23T03:50:14.01+00:00

Oops, I put my reply in Answer rather then comments. Here it is as a comment.\

I uninstalled everything that looked like Office anything. On first install attempt the installed stated something like: application Microsoft something is installed, you must uninstall it. I did that, restarted, then restarted the Office install. After the install the only Office product that can be accessed is Outlook. Repeat, the ONLY office app is Outlook. When first started it demands that I configure it with the email address and password. I don't want to do that because the installation is obviously bad and I don't want my email to get messed up.

Again, there is no way to start MS Word, Excel, or anything else in the Office portfolio.

I did not get any options during the install procedure. If I uninstall and install again, what will be different?

Do you have a better link to use and download MS Office 2024?

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Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-23T03:50:14.01+00:00

Oops, I put my reply in Answer rather then comments. Here it is as a comment.\

I uninstalled everything that looked like Office anything. On first install attempt the installed stated something like: application Microsoft something is installed, you must uninstall it. I did that, restarted, then restarted the Office install. After the install the only Office product that can be accessed is Outlook. Repeat, the ONLY office app is Outlook. When first started it demands that I configure it with the email address and password. I don't want to do that because the installation is obviously bad and I don't want my email to get messed up.

Again, there is no way to start MS Word, Excel, or anything else in the Office portfolio.

I did not get any options during the install procedure. If I uninstall and install again, what will be different?

Do you have a better link to use and download MS Office 2024?

Answer 1

EmilyS726 213K Independent Advisor

Hello.

you bought a copy of office license that’s volume license. It’s meant for organization users not individuals. sellers who resell volume licenses violate Microsoft’s licensing terms. Microsoft will never sell any “plus” license to individuals directly. The fact that you downloaded via someone’s Google Drive is a major red flag since Google Drive has nothing to do wit Microsoft.

you should contact the seller and ask for your money back.

Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-23T05:05:48.67+00:00

did a quick search for "buy microsoft 2024" and the prices range from about $25 up to $179.99, and probably more if I continue to look. This is from a bing search. A Microsoft search engine. Please consider that in your response. A few prices are $32, $49, $94, $179. Mine was $14.95. I prefer to not pay almost $200. How can I tell which is valid? If the license key works, how can it be bad? And from where should I download?
EmilyS726 213K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-23T13:34:22.1+00:00
“Bing shows lots of cheap Office 2024 keys, so they must be legit”

Search results are not validation. Bing (and Google) surfaces ads and third party storefronts, including gray market sellers. The presence of a listing or a low price does not mean Microsoft recognizes the license as properly acquired.

“If the license key works, how can it be bad?”

Activation success is not the same thing as being properly licensed.

A key can activate even if it was obtained or distributed in violation of Microsoft’s terms (common examples: volume MAK keys resold to individuals, keys sourced from programs not intended for resale, compromised keys). Those often work initially and then later get blocked, exceed activation limits, or lose support and reinstallation rights.

“From where should I download?”

For consumer “Office for home” purchases, Microsoft’s supported flow is redeem the key to your Microsoft account at setup.office.com if you buy it from third party, then install from your account. Random Google Drive installers are a huge red flag because they are not Microsoft’s distribution channel.

“But I bought Office 2024 Professional Plus lifetime”

Microsoft does not sell “Office Professional Plus” as a normal retail product for individuals. “Professional Plus” is a volume licensing SKU (commonly seen as Office LTSC). That aligns with what you installed showing “LTSC Professional Plus 2024”.
Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-23T22:00:04.1+00:00

Thank you for the comments. They are appreciated. So where should I buy Office? When there are multiple offers with varying prices the low cost offers may well proclaim just as enthusiastically as the high priced offers, their product, their license key is just as valid as the higher priced option. What is/are the criteria for selecting one over the other?
EmilyS726 213K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-23T22:03:29.8233333+00:00

This is the official link https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/office-home-2024/cfq7ttc0pqvj

I would not recommend anywhere else other than official source.
It’s not about enthusiasm in the listing or how convincing the seller sounds. It’s about whether the product is being sold through Microsoft’s official retail channel and whether the license type matches the intended usage. Sellers can always lie about it, but prices lower than Microsoft's official pricing is always a red flag.
Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-24T05:38:35.0266667+00:00

Those sellers cannot be able to create their own product keys. If so, then everyone/anyone can buy or even create their own key. So Microsoft must sell them product keys. Why do they do that?
EmilyS726 213K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-24T13:19:53.97+00:00

I believe I already answered your last question. Please look at No. 2 in my earlier comment.

Yes, the sellers did purchase volume license keys from Microsoft. However, reselling those keys is a violation of Microsoft’s licensing terms. So yes, Microsoft sold them the keys, but Microsoft did not authorize them to resell those keys.

Volume license keys are meant to be managed by an organization as a whole. They cannot be resold as individual keys to people outside the organization. Volume licensing also comes with restrictions and is intended to be managed by the organization’s IT team. Without proper organizational management, the key can expire, get blocked due to installation limits, or run into other issues. The sellers usually will not care once the sale is done, whereas in an organization, the IT team can manage those issues by working directly with Microsoft Support.
Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-26T04:09:12.43+00:00

This is a reasonably educated SWAG, but I strongly suspect that Microsoft can detect those who buy a group of keys then start reselling them one at a time. When someone, tries to register a key sold improperly Microsoft can detect that and set a message saying the key is not valid. It would then provide a web page stating the reason. This would eliminate the problem.
EmilyS726 213K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-26T13:24:35.98+00:00

Microsoft likely cannot tell, just from the key itself, whether you received it through a legitimate organization or from a reseller. The bigger problem is how these keys are supposed to be managed. Volume licenses are designed for an organization, meaning an admin user (typically organization IT team) is expected to handle things like increasing activation or installation limits and dealing with renewals or expiration issues because they maintain a volume license contract with Microsoft. In a resale situation, you do not have access to that organization admin or the proper volume licensing support channels, which is exactly why volume licenses are not intended to be sold to individual end users.

I truly hope you are able to get your money back from the original seller.
Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-03-04T15:35:01.56+00:00
Re: EmilyS726 and a series of comments on this topic.

I am not convinced that buying keys from resellers results in a bad install. (using bad in a rather broad sense.)

A key point I get is that a key sold to a company is different from one sold to an individual. That is a problem for me.

If the key installs, then it must be good. Meaning the key was created by Microsoft. Those intended for companies are produced at the same cost for Microsoft as a much more expensive key for me. Sales and key production are completely handled by Microsoft computers so the cost to Microsoft for each key must be roughly the same. Why must I pay more. See below comments on this.

Said another way: How does Microsoft differentiate the really cheap company keys from my very expensive key.

Microsoft does not provide any after purchase support to customer such as me. I have a 95% confidence that Microsoft does not provide me with any after sale service. And, there is no place I can contact a Microsoft representative, to include contractors, to ask questions and help resolve problems without paying a fee. Example: these forums. My experiences indicates that Microsoft employees or contractors do not read question posted here.

Companies can keep keys as long or longer than I will. Therefore, keys sold to companies do not have expiration dates.

Keys can only be installed once on my computers. Microsoft ensures this. Probably the same for companies. Once a key has been installed on computer 100 it cannot be installed on computer 101. That means a key cannot be reinstalled. And if it was never installed, then why can I not buy it and use it.

Reseller prices go down to $15. They make a profit. Why does Microsoft charge me something like $150 or more?
EmilyS_726 14,940 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-03-04T16:03:11.7033333+00:00
I am afraid you are beating the dead horse at this point, and your questions are going in circles, even though it was already explained.

A few important points:

If it installs, that does not prove you are properly licensed. It only proves the key worked at that moment. MAK key can go over installation limit down the road. KMS license can expire and require renewal via KMS server. Feel free to look up those license types.

Microsoft can issue a real key and still block it later. For example, if it was resold improperly, overused, or used outside the licensing terms.

Volume keys are not the same as retail licenses. They are meant for organizations, not individual end users buying cheap keys online.

The low price is not because Microsoft “should” charge everyone less. It is because bulk licensing is wholesale pricing for organizations, while consumer pricing is retail.

So the issue is not “bad install.” The issue is: you bought the wrong type of license through the wrong sales channel.

That is why it may activate at first and still fail later.

At this point, arguing about whether the key was originally generated by Microsoft does not change the outcome. The practical answer is still the same:

get a refund from the reseller, if possible

buy a proper retail license or Microsoft 365 subscription
Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-03-04T21:24:11.9466667+00:00

I feel that several of my points have not been addressed properly. But let those go.

I mentioned that when I look for a place to buy a license, the MICROSOFT search engine puts multiple buyers in their response ahead of Microsoft. Like it or not, that is an important indicator.

Those seller prices range from $15 to over $100. Are they all fake and unscrupulous sellers? If so, then why does bing.com, the MICROSOFT search engine, return those in its search results? This really begs for a clear reply.

If not, how can I determine which one to buy from? Is anything under some arbitrary value, say $75, illegitimate and over that legitimate?

Edit: And keeping that last statement in mind, I can buy a key that you might call illegitimate, and it might only last a year. But I can buy a new one every year for something like ten years before I have spent what Microsoft want for a directly purchased key. So why should I spend the extra money for their key.

Answer 2

It seems like you're experiencing an issue where your installation of Microsoft Office 2024 is showing as Office 2021 instead. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve this issue:

Check the Installation Type: Ensure that the version you installed is indeed Office 2024 Professional Plus and not a different version. Sometimes, installations can be misidentified.
Uninstall Previous Versions: If you have any previous versions of Office installed, including Office 2021 or any other Office products, it's advisable to uninstall them completely before reinstalling Office 2024. You can do this through the Control Panel or Settings > Apps.
Use the Office Uninstall Support Tool: If you're having trouble uninstalling Office through the usual methods, you can use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SARA) to help remove Office completely. This tool can help clear out any remnants of previous installations that might be causing conflicts.
Reinstall Office 2024: After ensuring that all previous versions are uninstalled, try reinstalling Office 2024 using the correct installation file. Make sure to follow the installation instructions carefully.
Check Activation: After reinstalling, check the activation status in any Office application by going to File > Account. Ensure that it shows Office 2024 as activated.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it might be worth contacting Microsoft support for further assistance, especially if you suspect that there was a problem with the license or installation file you received.

References:

Bryan Kelly 596 Reputation points

2026-02-23T03:48:12.77+00:00

I uninstalled everything that looked like Office anything. On first install attempt the installed stated something like: application Microsoft something is installed, you must uninstall it. I did that, restarted the computer, then restarted the Office install. After the install the only Office product that can be accessed is Outlook. Repeat, the ONLY office app is Outlook. When first started it demands that I configure it with the email address and password. I don't want to do that because the installation is obviously bad and I don't want my email to get messed up.

Again, there is no way to start MS Word, Excel, or anything else in the Office portfolio.

I did not get any options during the install procedure. If I uninstall and install again, what will be different?

Do you have a better link to use and download MS Office 2024? Please ask a human being to look at this problem.

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installed MS office 2024, got 2021, how to fix this?

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