Windows 2019 RDS - M365 Apps Activation issue

PhP59300 76 Reputation points
2022-10-25T10:23:36.593+00:00

We have a Windows 2019 RDS collection consisting of 1 x RDWeb/RDBC and 2 x RDSH servers. We're using FSLogix Office Containers and User Profiles. Each user has their own Office Container .vhdx and User Profile .vhdx. These are stored to a file server (ie: \fileserver\fslogix\%username%\xxxx.vhdx).

Within the FSLogix GPO we have enabled 'Include office activation data in container'. Each user has a M365 Business Premium license and the 'Microsoft 365 Apps for Business' was installed on the RDSH servers using the 'Shared Computer Activation' option. We've also setup SSO via GPO.

When a user first logs into the RDS and opens an Office app (ie: Word, Excel) they're required to sign into M365. This all works well and we can see the users office activation files/token is stored within their %AppData%\Microsoft\Office'\16.0\Licensing. However, after a roughly 1 week the user gets the 'Unlicensed Product' error when opening any office app. Furthermore, if they try to sign in again the screen just flickers and they're unable to sign in. We can't see anything useful within the RDSH event logs or within the Azure Portal > AD > Sign-in logs. As it stands, we have to log the user out of the RDS server and rename/delete their FSLogix OC/UserProfile .vhdx files. The user can then log back in with a new user profile and sign back into Office apps. The issue then repeats after 3 - 10 days.

Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated.

Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Remote desktop services and terminal services
Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For business | Windows
Windows for business | Windows Server | User experience | Other
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4 answers

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  1. Limitless Technology 44,776 Reputation points
    2022-10-25T15:09:33.977+00:00

    Hello there,

    Is everyone in the domain facing this issue or any set of specific users? This seems like a profile getting corrupted.

    Microsoft places a limit on the number of shared computers that a user can activate Office on in a given time period. Check the limit and also verify that shared computer activation is enabled for Microsoft 365 Apps.

    If you're having problems getting shared computer activation to work when you deploy Microsoft 365 Apps to shared computers in your organization, try the following to fix the problem.

    Troubleshoot issues with shared computer activation for Microsoft 365 Apps https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/activation/shared-computer-activation

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/troubleshoot-shared-computer-activation

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    --If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept it as an answer–

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  2. PhP59300 76 Reputation points
    2022-10-25T15:42:33.907+00:00

    Hi and thanks for taking the time to provide some advice.
    This is a new business and there are only 30 users but going off what we've seen so far its effecting all users.
    Each user has a laptop and then they also have access to the two RDS servers. I've checked the office activations for a few users and only these three devices are listed. Also, i can confirm shared computer activation is enabled on both RDSH servers.
    I will take a look into the link you shared now, many thanks.

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  3. PhP59300 76 Reputation points
    2023-07-02T06:21:55.0033333+00:00

    Hi, we reached out to Microsoft tech support and they advised pushing out the following reg keys

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity "DisableADALatopWAMOverride"=dword:00000001

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity "DisableAADWAM"=dword:00000001

    This resolved the issue for us.

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  4. Support - Erhart Computer GmbH 0 Reputation points
    2024-02-01T14:26:02.8+00:00
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