This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(147.20000000000002, 78%, 24%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EDB%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hello
I always had Microsoft Office products on my laptop PC. I had to reinstall Windows 10 and now It's asking me to pay for them. How do I get them back? I have already paid for them before. I don't need to pay for a monthly or annual subscription. I use Word and Excel daily.
[Moderator note: personal information removed]
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
I know what I'm doing. I have a Microsoft 365 account. My previous question was simple, it was just regarding the way everyone has shifted to subscription services. Microsoft was glitching and was asking for another payment, when it had already been paid for the year! Real Simple, but annoying.
Microsoft 365 is a subscription product. You must pay for it monthly or annually. You can buy a perpetual-license version of Office (the current version if Office 2024), but it doesn't include as many apps, cannot be shared, and doesn't include OneDrive storage. If you had a perpetual-license version, this should be reflected in your Microsoft account, and you should be able to reinstall it from there.
I agree with Suzanne. Microsoft 365 is a subscription. It needs to be paid monthly or annually.
Perpetual license versions, like Microsoft 2021 or Microsoft 2024 last forever, although they may not be updated nor compatible with future operating systems.
Check your Microsoft account. https://account.microsoft.com/account
Answer recommended by moderator
As I mentioned, Microsoft was asking for an additional payment because their site was glitching. I already have resolved the issue and I have access to all that I need. It is not necessary to provide comments that do not address the situation. Thank you for your time.
It seems that your issue has been resolved. Thanks for the clarification.
I am locking this thread now.
Which Office product was on your PC previously? In most cases, you can reinstall from your associated account at https://account.microsoft.com/services.
Older perpetual licenses may require an installation disc and a product key.
Being logged in to the correct account won't help unless you also have the correct version of Office installed on your PC. "Correct" means the version for which you have a license.
Since you reinstalled Windows you likely have to reinstall Office as well. Did you do that?
Check which version of Office is listed in your account at https://account.microsoft.com/services and compare to the unlicensed version that you have now (File > Account). If necessary, reinstall Office via your account.
I'm logged into my Microsoft account on my PC. I paid for Microsoft Office or 365 years ago. I've been using Microsoft Office products since then. Now it's showing that I have to pay for them because it shows it is expired.
You are talking to your fellow users here. Not Microsoft.
You would have purchased Office, not Microsoft 365, which is a subscription product.
If you have Office 2016 or later your license is in your Microsoft Account. If before, it likely is in the form of installation media and a product key.
When you reinstalled Windows, that removed all programs from your computer. Whoever helped you with that should have alerted you to that sad situation.
When you sign into your Microsoft Account, go to the Subscriptions tab.
https://account.microsoft.com/account
At the bottom of that page, it will show you any purchased products that have been linked to your account. If something is listed there, you can download and reinstall. If there are no purchased products listed, you will need your original installation media and product key.
This is a user-to-user support network.
Microsoft is not hearing about your problems from what you post here. You are discussing a problem with your fellow users here. We can give good advice about how to work with Word as it is and give suggestions for making it work properly.
Designers and their supervisors do see feedback. (You will almost certainly not get a direct response to that feedback but they do see it.)
Here is more about that:
I suggest using the public feedback portal so other users can see your feedback, comment and vote. If you want, you can post the URL of your feedback with your question here to lead others with the same problem to your feedback. Be the “squeaky wheel” that gets fixed!
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(137.6, 11%, 23%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EDR%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Listen, I'm logged into my Microsoft account on my PC. I paid for Microsoft Office or 365 years ago. I've been using Microsoft Office products since then. Now it's showing that I have to pay for them because it shows it is expired. Also, I got Microsoft Office products through school years ago. So I had two instances where I received Microsoft Office products. I can't afford to pay for them again. I've been using Office apps like Word and Excel every day. How do I get it back? I can't afford to pay $100.00 just to get it back. Please tell me where I can get them back. I had to reinstall Windows 10 Home on my laptop because it was very slow and had some problems. Now I just need Microsoft Office back. It's really simple.
Hi David,
I cannot tell from this whether you worked through what Stefan and I have been telling you. I moved your response yesterday into the comment classification because it seemed to be a response to my post. It is just repeating what you said in your question.
Both Stefan and I are fellow users with a lot of experience.
Log into your account and go to the subscriptions tab.
At the top are subscriptions such as Microsoft 365. At the bottom are purchases like Office 2016. What is showing up under these?
Which Office product did you pay for? Stefan asked about that as well. My answer goes through some possibilities.
If you had a Microsoft 365 subscription, it likely is expired. Anything through your school will be expired unless you are still enrolled.
Permanent purchases of Office may or may not show up on your Account.
You can use the free (though inferior) online apps.
https://www.office.com/?auth=1
Office Online, which is free, has more features than did Office 2010 Starter, I believe. (I have not done a comparison.)
· Microsoft Office Online Home
· Differences between using a document in the browser and in Word
You can use GoogleDocs or OfficeLibre, both are free and read and write Word-compatible files. (The files are not identical to Word files but can be read and edited in Word.) Word online files are identical. Both also include Excel analogs.
Slightly off topic, I'm afraid...
Your situation is similar to that of someone who has a car they purchased years ago. It stopped working and they took it to a mechanic, who said in needed a rebuild (re-installation of the operating system). They got the can back from the mechanic but the air conditioning and stereo had been removed during the rebuild process.
You are asking the manufacturer of the stereo to replace it. You are in luck! That manufacturer has an outstanding warranty and is willing to replace it. However, they want a ridiculous amount of documentation and paperwork to prove that you are the rightful owner, and you can't find that.
You might want to go to the mechanic (the person who reinstalled Windows 10) and ask for some help with this.