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Where can I find my product key for Office 2013?

Anonymous
2017-09-30T20:10:46+00:00

A couple of years ago, I bought a Lenovo laptop that came with Windows 10 and Office 2013 installed. Recently, I had some space saving issues that prompted me to purchase and use a PC cleaner. Unfortunately, I didn't adjust the settings properly, & under a heading that read "Applications," the final report showed that Office 2013 had been deleted. Office still appears on my list of programs, and I was able to reinstall & repair all of the necessary files, but now I'm receiving a message that says: "To activate Office, enter the email address that's associated with your Office subscription." When I enter my Outlook address, I receive another message: "The account [my Outlook address} isn't the one associated with this Office product." I tried my old hotmail address, but I got the same message. I need to know how to find out what Microsoft account is associated with my office products. The message gave me the alternative of entering my product key; however, because I bought Office installed on my laptop, I don't know how to find my product key. Long story short:

How can I find out which Microsoft account is associated with my Office products, if I don't have a product key?

OR

How can I find my product key, if I don't know which Microsoft account is associated with my Office products?

Please help. I work remotely and I'm very dependent on Office. I still can't believe this is happening - I'm terrified that I may also lose OneDrive, OneNote, Excel, and a number of other programs that I use frequently in my job duties. Thanks in advance for any/all assistance - I'm desperate here.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-10-01T08:19:49+00:00

    Thanks for the input - I tried your suggested methods with no luck. Fortunately, I was able to live chat with a Microsoft agent who accessed my product key and re-activated Office for me. Now I can breathe again. :)

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-10-01T14:17:08+00:00

    Make sure you write it down (in more than one place) and keep it secure for future use.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-10-01T04:22:40+00:00

    Lets take it in reverse. Your OneDrive is associated with the email account, so you don't have to worry about it.

    Office 2013 is a bad spot for you.  Associating the product key with an email account was optional. Most people did not do that.

    Unfortunately, for 2013 MS "improved" the way the key is stored on the computer so we can no longer extract it from the HD.

    What it boils down to is that if you don't have the key and it isn't associated with an email account you are out of luck. You'll have to buy a new license.

    Here is what you can do to try to recover your key:

    How to find your Office 2013 product key after installation

    https://support.office.com/en-nz/article/How-to-find-your-Office-2013-product-key-after-installation-026bc81b-6b2f-4052-b433-f41e6cc31c5a

    Do you have several Office 2013 products tied to one Microsoft account and need help finding just one product key? The steps below are useful in determining which installations correspond to which product keys if you need to reinstall office 2013 on a new PC or after reformatting your PC.

    Important    When you have multiple Office 2013 installations linked to your Microsoft account, you will see them all listed on the My Account page. Do not click the Install button next to any product without knowing if it is an unused installation. This can cause activation issues.

    Find the Office 2013 product key associated with your PC

    First, find the last five digits of the product key associated with your computer.

    1. 1.    Go to the PC that has Office 2013 installed
    2. 2.    Right click the Windows icon and select Command Prompt.
    3. 3.    Enter the appropriate command:

    For 32 bit Windows:

    cscript “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS” /dstatus

    For 64-bit Windows:

    cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS” /dstatus

    1. 4.    The command prompt box will show you the last five digits of the product key associated with the installation on that PC.
    2. 5.    Make a note of the PC the Office 2013 product is installed on, and five digit number. You will need this for reference.

    Find the product key associated with activated installations linked to your Microsoft account.

    Next, you will need to find the product key associated with each product linked to your Microsoft account.

    1. 1.    Sign into the My Account page with the email/password associated with your Microsoft account.
    2. 2.    You will see the multiple Microsoft products linked to your Microsoft account.
    3. 3.    To begin identifying the product key associated with the installation, start with the first product.
    4. 4.    Under Account Options, choose Install from a disc.
    5. 5.    Choose the I have a disc option.
    6. 6.    Click the View your product key button.
    7. 7.    The product key for the installation is displayed.
    8. 8.    Make a note of the Office product sequence as they are displayed on the screen, and the product key associated with it. You will need this for reference. (Note: the partial keys are sorted alphabetically, NOT by install date)
    9. 9.    You can now match the five digit number from the command prompt on the PC to the product key on the installation.

    10.  Once you determine which installations have been used on which computers, you will know which product to use for installation on the reformatted or new PC.

    Note   If no product key is displayed, the installation has not been used or activated.

    It is helpful to create a list of the Office 2013 installations, product keys associated with each, and the PCs on which they are installed. This eliminates confusion in the future when a PC must be replaced or reformatted, and Office 2013 needs to be reinstalled on a machine.

    Applies To: Office 2013

    Good luck, you'll need it.

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