Office 2016 with Shared Computer Licensing enabled gets random deactivations on random users

Question

Problem: Office 2016 Pro Plus with Shared Computer Licensing enabled gets random deactivations on random users

OS: Server 2012 R2

Computer role: Remote Desktop Server

Office licensing: Office 365 E3

The random deactivations could happen to anyone at anytime and the frequency is about 2 or 3 times a week. Office 2016 is up-to-date and also performed online repair on the Office 2016.

Considering to downgrade to Office 2013 instead. Thoughts?

Answer 1

Hi William,

It looks like clearing any credentials related to Microsoft Office in the Credentials Manager solved the problem. There were Office15 credentials which were Office 2013. But clearing them and reactivating seem to have solved the problem

Answer 2

Hi CK,

Please share some updates at your convenience.

Regards,

William

Answer 3

Hi CK,

Thanks for getting back and the clarification.

Generally, if a user is licensed for Office 365 ProPlus, a licensing token will generated on the computer in the user's profile folder and it is valid only for a few days. In this case, Office 365 ProPlus is activated and the user can now use Office 365 ProPlus. The token is located the following path for Office 2016:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Licensing

Please delete the token in this folder when Office randomly deactivate again and let the user sign in to Office to activate again to check the outcome.

Regards,

William

Answer 4

Hi William, thanks for replying.

I did not check to see if the credentials for Office are still in Credentials Manager when it occurs. I will check the next time it happens but what can I do if it's not in the Credentials Manager?

Everyone who logs on to the shared computer has an E3 license and has been logging on with their credentials whenever the activation prompts for credentials and yes the licenses are renew automatically monthly via Telstra Marketplace.

Regards,

CK

Answer 5

Hi CK.Tay,

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Based on your description, please check whether the credential of the affected user is still available on the computer. Go to Credential Manager under the Windows Credentials tab.

Meanwhile, every user needs to log on to this shared computer with their own account. In this situation, when a license expires, or nears expiration, Office will attempt to renew it silently so a valid license is always available on a machine that is actively being used by the user.

Regards,

William