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upgrade office 2016 to office 2021

suad almufraji 0 Reputation points
2025-05-05T08:15:08.1933333+00:00

I am trying to upgrade from Office 2016 to Office 2021. I downloaded the Office Deployment Tool for Office 2021 (Office_Deployment_Tools_2021_MLF_X22-74224 (1).EXE) from Microsoft's licensing service center at microsoft.com/licensing/servicecenter/default.aspx. However, I ran into a problem during setup. I need to upgrade this license for all users in my domain. Is it possible that the license I downloaded is incorrect?

Office Management
Office Management
Office: A suite of Microsoft productivity software that supports common business tasks, including word processing, email, presentations, and data management and analysis.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
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  1. Hien-L 4,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-05-07T04:14:00.0933333+00:00

    Hi @suad almufraji ,

    Welcome to our forum!

    As I know: If you are using Office 2016, it cannot be updated to 2021 version, it will still remain Office 2016. Those are two separate licenses. If you want to have an Office 2021 version you need a separate license for it, you need to purchase it from the Store.

    The Office Deployment Tool (ODT) itself is license-agnostic—it’s just a tool to deploy Office. The license is applied separately, either via:

    • Volume Licensing (VL): If you’re upgrading for all users in a domain, you likely need a Volume License (e.g., Office Professional Plus 2021). Check your Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) for the correct download.
    • Retail/Subscription Licenses: If you’re using retail or Microsoft 365 licenses, the ODT config file must point to the correct channel (e.g., PerpetualVL2021 for Office 2021 volume licenses).

    Ensure you downloaded the correct Office 2021 product (e.g., Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 for volume licensing). The filename you mentioned (Office_Deployment_Tools_2021_MLF_X22-74224 (1).EXE) suggests it’s the ODT, not the actual Office installation files.

    Hope it helps.

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