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Product ID Number for Two Copies of Microsoft Office 2010--One number or Two?

Anonymous
2019-11-18T23:58:52+00:00

I'm about to commit to purchase Office 365 Home and I understand that I will have to delete my Office 2010 suite that currently resides on my PC's hard drive.  I'm hoping that, if Office 365 doesn't work for me, I can delete my subscription with only a prorated use cost (although if I had to forfeit my $99, to return to 2010 I could live with that) I can re-install my Office 2010 suite.  I think I remember that my Office 2010 was purchased for download by two users.  It is also installed on my wife's laptop.  In my file of various passwords I have the product key for my wife's copy (she's not planning to subscribe at this time and only as a user of one of my allowed 365 user allowances after I'm satisfied with 365's operation on my desktop),  but not one specifically for application on my desktop PC.  I don't seem to have recorded that ID for my  desktop PC.  Do my wife's copy and mine have the same product ID so that I could re-install my desktop's 2010 copy if I decide to unsubscribe from 365 in the next few weeks?

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T03:54:07+00:00

    Pretty confident you're not going to need much support.

    It's a relatively stand-alone process. Just need to download and install from your MS Account. In terms of Outlook, '365 is going to copy the profile used by '2010 and configure things accordingly - there won't be anything else you need to do.

    Just a few really important things to know/remember

    #1 - If you uninstall '2010 <after> installing '365, be sure to repair '365 via the <Control Panel>

    #2 - If you do uninstall '2010 before installing '365, be sure to do via Control Panel and not the <Easy Fix> uninstall tool (in case someone tells you to do it that way) since that tool will also remove the Outlook profiles which means you'll have to reconfigure your email accounts. No reason to do that unless it's absolutely necessary (which shouldn't be the case).

    At the end of the day, doubt that you'll find anything that will cause you to revert from '365 to '2010. Really similar so not much to get used to other then perhaps the color scheme for the Office ribbons.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T03:37:30+00:00

    Thanks, Karl Timmermans.  I’m game to go ahead without the trial installation.  I did have a telephone chat Friday with a fellow in Microsoft tech support who gave me that department’s telephone number and, of course, the MS Case Number, and said that someone on the tech support staff (without ay additional cost) would walk me through any installation issues once I purchased the product.  It’s obvious that Microsoft’s marketing of this and related products are a high priority right now and expansion of the user base away from the stand-along applications is highly encouraged in the tech support staff as well as those at the Microsoft Store.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T03:26:36+00:00

    Thanks, Rohn007.

    I’m using the multicopy advantage of the Office 365 Home edition subscription because I do intend to share access with my wife’s laptop, my iPad and, probably, each of my two children.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T01:21:49+00:00

    Yes, you can use the same product key as you used on your wife's computer.

    The "Product ID" is different from the "Product Key". 

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    Product ID is a 20 digit number "hash" generated when you install Office on your computer. It is unique to your computer.

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    The Product key is generated by MS. It is your "proof of purchase" of an Office license. It is 25 letters and numbers long.

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    You need to submit the Product Key to MS to "activate" (proof of purchase) an Office installation.

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    Your 2010 key allowed you to install and activate on 2 computers. That means it is most likely a "retail" type license. 

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    Why are you starting with 365 Home? Are you planning on sharing it with your wife, or someone else later? (Up to 5 else's) If not, you might as well start with 365 Personal.  You can "upgrade" from Personal to Home at any time, simply by buying/activating a 365 Home subscription using the same email account. If there is any time left on the Personal subscription it will be added to the new Home subscription.

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    FYI:

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    Office 2010 "expires" in October next year. It reaches the end of it's "Lifecycle". That means MS no longer provides any updates for it. Specifically no "security" updates to fix  hacks that have been identified.  So it is not advisable for the "average user" to continue using an out of support version on a computer connected to the internet.  It is possible, but takes extra effort that the average user is not willing to expend.

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    Microsoft Lifecycle Policy

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?alpha=Office%20Home%20and%20Student%202010

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T00:10:22+00:00

    Hello JimMohundro

    One important thing, while it's recommended that you uninstall an older version of Office ('2010 or earlier) prior to install '365, it's not mandatory, the two can co-exist on the same computer. Would just suggest not going back and forth between the two versions if you don't need to but FWIW, I have test systems with both versions installed and don't have any issues.

    In terms of your '2010 license, it all depends on what exactly it is you bought originally. Some product keys were only for use on one machine. IN any case, if you leave '2010 on your machine, it's a non-issue.

    As for refunds etc - what I would suggest is signing up for the 30 day trial and cancelling it within that timeframe should you decide that you don't like it.

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