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I have a lifetime license to Office 2021 (Mac) and now I'm being asked to subscribe to Microsoft 365

Anonymous
2023-10-20T03:12:23+00:00

I have a lifetime license for Office 2021 (Mac) that I purchased in January 2022. It was installed on my previous MacBook.

I recently bought a new computer. Now when I start any of the Office apps, I get a message that I need to activate Microsoft 365.

When I try to activate my license, I get this message:

Thanks for buying Office. We've confirmed your purchase,

but in order to activate you will need to download a version of

Office 2019 for Mac from this link.

Then when I click the link I get a message that my subscription can't be found.

I cannot currently save files.

How do I activate Office on my new computer?

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-19T18:15:54+00:00

    Hi, this is the first time ive written anything on these forums. I hope MS are listening. The issue for me is the latest MS update.

    I had a lifetime agreement on MS 2019 version, and it has worked fine - all up until the latest update. I have now uninstalled it, reinstalled it and it was fine. then I did the update again and there you have it - the latest update is corrupting lifetime agreements!! I have since uninstall and reinstalled again - but turned off my auto updates.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-10-20T03:55:18+00:00

    Hi Traci!

    I am Shakiru, an independent advisor and a user like you, and I am glad to be helping you out today.

    Did you remember to remove the Microsoft Office 2021 License from your Mac before installing it on a new computer?

    For more information, see How to delete Office license files on Mac https://support.microsoft.com/office/b032c0f6-a431-4dad-83a9-6b727c03b193

    After you remove the license, Restart the Mac.

    Uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office installed on the new computer and then reinstall it

    See details here: https://support.microsoft.com/office/4414eaaf-0478-48be-9c42-23adc4716658

    I hope this helps! Please kindly let me know if you need any other assistance and I will be more than happy to help further.

    Thank you

    Best Regards,
    Shakiru

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-08T21:14:11+00:00

    I can't get a hold of anyone. Microsoft are crooks. I stopped using Microsoft Office. and replaced it with WPS Office. It's free and just as good as Microsoft Office.

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  4. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-02-05T20:54:22+00:00

    Hi

    16.78.3 is the final version and highest version number of Office 2019.

    With a perpetual license you can continue using this version of Office forever, but there's no guarantee that it will run in future versions of Mac OS. As long as you stick with a version of Mac OS in which this build runs, you will be fine.

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  5. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-10-20T17:10:39+00:00

    Here's a link to the Office 2019 installer. This will work in any current version of Mac OS:

    Office suite (with Teams)

    Here's instructions for activation:

    ACTIVATE MICROSOFT OFFICE

    Stand-alone perpetual license:

    Activate Office for Mac - Microsoft Support

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