Microsoft Activation Problem

Question

Hello,

I have a problem with my Microsoft 365, mainly Word, Excel and PowerPoint, since these are the apps I mainly use.

I recently went onto Word to write an application however a message popped up saying 'activate Microsoft 365 to create and edit.' This isn't allowing me to edit or type on my documents as it is seemingly saying that I don't have/didn't buy Microsoft 365. However, I have had Microsoft 365 for a very long time, I bought it more than four years ago, through the one-time payment option before.

I tried to look online for a Microsoft support page to help me fix the problem and I found this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/microsoft-office-activation-and-the-mac-app-store-a699bd24-a8f1-4f40-9d19-9b6b6034ec51?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb . This page said that the reason I may be having this problem is that when I bought Microsoft 365 through the one-time payment option I may have inadvertently downloaded Office apps through the Mac App Store, which I did do since I have a MacBook. I then followed the recommendation that was given on this page to fix the problem, which was to, 1 – close Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook ups and 2 - download all office, apps in a single package from Microsoft directly.

I did all of this and when I opened it Word again, the message was still there, not letting me edit my documents.

I tried to follow the steps on the message where it says activate in order to sign in through my email address, however that didn't work. This is very frustrating and strange given that I had already bought Microsoft 365 around four years ago, but it is saying that I don't have access to it on my email. I also have proof of purchase of this too.

Could someone please advise? Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi @Joe A

I suggest you close all Office apps, remove Office license files on a Mac via tool.

Then open one Office app, sign in your account to activate them.

If this does not work, it's recommended to uninstall Office apps again, restart machine, go to www.office.com and sign in account to download the Office apps. For more, please refer to: Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 on a PC or Mac.

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Answer 2

Even a perpetual (one-time payment) license will be associated with some account. As far as I know, that type of licenses can't be downloaded from the App Store; instead, you have to go to https://account.microsoft.com/services. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/download-and-install-or-reinstall-microsoft-365-or-office-2021-on-a-pc-or-mac-4414eaaf-0478-48be-9c42-23adc4716658#InstallSteps=Install_on_a_Mac .

Answer 3

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