Microsoft Word thinks it's not the default program, and other errors

Question

Microsoft Word thinks it's not the default program, and other errors

Anonymous

For the past four months, every time I open Word (I'm using Office 2016), I'm told that Word isn't my default program. The specific notice says,

"Microsoft Word isn't your default program for viewing and editing documents. Do you want to select the file types that Word should open?"

I'm given the options of "yes" and "no", and also a check box for "Don't show this message again." It doesn't matter if I click yes or no, Word still thinks it's not my default program. But it IS. I've gone into my settings multiple times to double check, and have even removed Word as the default and re-added it. It still refuses to believe that it is set as the default program.

So, I found a thread here and followed the instructions to repair Office. I did the "quick repair" first, and nothing changed. So, I did the "online repair" next. Now, I still get the "Word isn't your default program" message and Word has been deactivated. (The top of new documents say "unlicensed product.") I can't use Word at all, now. It refuses to connect to my Microsoft account, giving me the following message:

"Account Issue

Sorry, there was a problem while trying to connect to your account.

Error Code: 0x15

Correlation Id: {a 32 digit code}

Get help online"

I'm rather stuck now: how do I reactivate my licensed product (I definitely paid for it) and how do I get rid of that silly "Word isn't your default program" notice?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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5 answers

Answer 1

First see if there is a trial version of Office installed alongside your full version. If you find a trial, just uninstall it.

After that, repair your full version. If you originally set it up via an Office account (for Home use), you can manage your installations via https://www.office.com/myaccount.

Answer 2

Anonymous

Sorry, I'm going to fix the link, which was incorrect in my previous post. The correct link is https://portal.office.com which should redirect to your organization.

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Answer 3

Thanks again for a quick response.

I tried out the https://portal.mdh.se link, and I'm afraid it only takes me to a Swedish högskolas website. But, it's interesting that it sent me to a Swedish site: much of my trouble with MS Office has stemmed from my attempt to install the Swedish language pack/dictionary two years ago. It actually ended up installing a second version of some of the Office applications, which caused some trouble. I'd done my best to remove them and reinstalled Office about a year ago, though I still have a separate folder in my programs list for "Microsoft Office 2016 - verktyg" (containing "OneDrive för företag" and "Skype för företag 2016"). I'm not sure how to remove those, so I've left them. I avoided installing the Swedish language dictionary/editing capabilities after that, since it caused such a nuisance. Perhaps it's still causing problems for me.

I gave the Activation Troubleshooter a try, and it did help a bit: I no longer get the "Account Issue" error message. Though, it has confirmed that my copy of Office isn't directly associated with my Microsoft account (as you alluded to in your last reply).

Thanks so much for your help. I'll keep working toward a solution.

Answer 4

I agree; given the fact that you haven't found anything to uninstall, repairing again would be pointless.

Since you are running Office Professional Plus, you can't manage your installations via https://www.office.com/myaccount but rather via https://portal.office.com, I believe.

See also https://support.office.com/en-us/article/unlicensed-product-and-activation-errors-in-office-0d23d3c0-c19c-4b2f-9845-5344fedc4380.

Answer 5

Thanks for the reply.

I don't see any trial version(s) of MS Office on my computer. Looking at the add/remove programs pane, all I have is "Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 - en - us" and "Microsoft OneDrive."

Since I've already "repaired" my version of Office, it doesn't seem like doing it again is going to fix the problem (as "repairing" it is what caused the "unlicensed product" issue in the first place).

I've been searching for the email I received when I purchased the product, hoping that I can simply re-enter an authorization key or something like that.

Any other tips I could try? Thanks!

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Microsoft Word thinks it's not the default program, and other errors

5 answers