Re-Activate Office Home and Business 2019 (click-to-run)?

Question

Re-Activate Office Home and Business 2019 (click-to-run)?

JcW32 185

I'm running Windows 10 Pro (22H2) and have finally been able to join the ESU program. Since then, I'm getting complaints about a "problem with your account" when running any Office apps on any of my local PC accounts. (Only what I presume is the Microsoft Account with which I originally activated Office 5-6 years ago do these complaints go away, and then only after Microsoft finally unlocked this Microsoft Account.)

Question: I understand that Office is now locked forever to the original Microsoft Account on which it was activated. Is it feasible to de-activate and then re-activate my copy of Office using the same Microsoft Account as originally?

If not, is there any other solution to this annoying problem?

Best Regards to All

Answer accepted by question author

1 additional answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Zoevi-V 1,750 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi JcW32,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum, and I appreciate the detailed explanation of your situation.

Typically, Microsoft Office is tied to the Microsoft Account used during its original activation. If that account was recently unlocked and Office apps now function properly when you're signed into it, that confirms it's still the active license holder.

Unfortunately, Office licenses, especially perpetual ones like Office 2016 or Office 2019, cannot be deactivated and reassigned to a different Microsoft Account. However, you can re-activate Office using the same original Microsoft Account, provided it's accessible and the license is still valid. This should resolve the “problem with your account” message across your local PC accounts.

Here's a few steps that I recommend you should take:

Sign in to Office apps using the original Microsoft Account associated with the license.

Ensure that account is added under Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts on your PC.

Remove any conflicting or unused Microsoft Accounts from Office sign-in prompts to avoid confusion.

Check activation status by opening Word or Excel and going to: File > Account > Product Information

If the issue persists even after signing in with the correct account, I suggest contacting Microsoft Support directly. Choose “Office” as the product and describe your issue, including your ESU enrollment and license history.

I hope this helps you get the thing sorted out quickly!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

JcW32 185 Reputation points

2025-10-21T20:50:02.72+00:00

Dear Zoevi -- Thanks for the helpful response. Please check just one thing for me before I proceed:

If I open any Office app in a local account and click File/Account, directly below the "Fix me" message (see screen shot below) there is a name and an email address that I believe are for the Microsoft Account with which I activated it.

Is this what the email address means?

If so, what happens if I click "Sign Out?"

Best Regards
Zoevi-V 1,750 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-23T03:01:36.9266667+00:00
Hi JcW32,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Regarding your concern, the email address shown below the “Fix me” message in Office is almost certainly the Microsoft Account used to activate your Office license. That’s the account Office expects to be signed in with.

If you click “Sign Out”, Office will:

Remove the current account.

Prompt you to sign in again.

If you sign in with the original Microsoft Account, the error should disappear.

If you use a different account, Office may remain unactivated or ask you to purchase a license.

This happens because Office checks whether the signed-in Windows user matches the account that owns the license. If it doesn’t, you’ll see errors like “Fix me” or “There are problems with your account.” Signing in with the original Microsoft Account allows Office to verify your license and unlock full functionality.

To avoid repeated sign-in issues, you can convert your local Windows account to a Microsoft Account by following these steps:

Press Windows + I to open Settings.

Go to Accounts > Your Info.

Click “Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.”

Enter the email and password of the original Microsoft Account.

Verify your identity (Microsoft may send a security code).

Complete the setup.

Once linked, Office should recognize the license automatically.

⚠️ Notes:

You’ll now sign in to Windows using your Microsoft Account password.

Your files and settings will remain unchanged.

You can still create other local accounts if needed.

Let me know if you have any other concern.
JcW32 185 Reputation points

2025-10-23T04:11:08.5766667+00:00

Sorry, Zoevi, but let me just make sure I understand:

Since the account listed below "Fix me" is already a working Microsoft Administrator Account (or was yesterday), all I have to do is log my local account out of Windows and then log back into with that Microsoft account.

Here's where I'm unclear:

I've already done that, which is how I know that Office works properly when I'm signed into Windows with that account.

Are you recommending that I then click Sign Out under "Fix me" while the relevant Microsoft Account is still logged into Windows and then, when asked, sign back into Office with that same account? Do you believe that will fix my problem in my other local user accounts?

Or are you recommending that I change this critical Microsoft Account from Administrator to Standard User so that I can run Office without having to be in an Administrator account? This because the other local accounts will never work properly, even though they did before this problem began a couple of weeks ago?

Please accept my apologies if I'm being dense.
Zoevi-V 1,750 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-24T04:37:19.2266667+00:00
Hi again,

Thank you for your detailed message and no need to apologize at all.

To address your questions:

Regarding the “Fix me” prompt: Yes, I recommend clicking Sign Out under "Fix me" while you're still signed into Windows with the Microsoft account. When prompted, sign back into Office using that same account. This can help re-establish the activation link between Office and your Windows profile, which may resolve issues in other local accounts.

About converting your local account: If you're frequently using a local account and want Office to function properly there, converting that local account to a Microsoft Account is a good option. This ensures consistent licensing and syncs your Office settings and subscriptions across devices.

Changing the Microsoft Account to a Standard User: I wouldn’t recommend downgrading your Administrator account just yet. Doing so could limit your ability to manage system settings and may not resolve the Office issue. Let’s first try the sign-out/sign-in method and, if needed, convert your local account to a Microsoft Account.

I hope this explanation provides the clarity you need.
JcW32 185 Reputation points

2025-10-24T16:16:24.66+00:00

Thanks Yet Again, Zoevi -- So it is possible to have a Microsoft Account that is not Administrator? That clarifies some of your previous message that was confusing me.

In general I've been avoiding Microsoft Accounts because it's so easy to get locked out by "too many sign-ins."

Anyhow I will follow your recommendations and report what happens. -- JcW32
JcW32 185 Reputation points

2025-10-24T17:22:03.2233333+00:00
Dear Zoevi -- I'm stuck again, probably of my own improvisation. Here's what I did, as near as I can recall, but I have probably forgotten a few details:

Signed into the PC with my Microsoft Account that is locked to Office 2019.

Opened Excel. Of course there is no "Fix me" flag there because Office realizes it's in it's own account. Anyhow I went to Accounts and logged out. It demanded a restart.

After restart, I signed back into the same MS Account, opened Excel, went to Account, and clicked Sign In. Signed back into the same account. (There was no special identity check required, just my PIN). Again it required a restart, which I did.

Then I logged out of the Microsoft Account and logged into my usual local Standard User to see if Office was fixe there. No.

There was still the flag and "Fix me" request, so I signed out there and signed back in with the correct Microsoft Account.

This time was different: It asked whether this was a personal or a business account.

I responded, "Personal," which was apparently the wrong answer because it then told me that this copy of Office was used by two different types of accounts. I think at that point I backed out and restarted.

(Information: I must have originally purchased this computer as a "Small Business" user since I was still self-employed part-time at that point.) Anyhow I signed back into the PC with the Microsoft Account, re-opened Excel, and signed out, restarted, and tried to sign in again.

This time Office gave me the full treatment on sign-in. After requesting my PIN, it then sent a verification code to my backup email account. When I finally connected to that email account -- I don't have Outlook set up in my Microsoft Account, so I had to look up the credentials and sign in via Webmail on a browser -- it told me it could not sign me in. This was followed by some gibberish that I should have but did not screen grab.

I've given up at this point, with no Office account activated on the PC.

I hope you can help me get out of this mess! -- JcW32
JcW32 185 Reputation points

2025-10-27T22:00:59.1133333+00:00

Dear Zoevi -- I'm still hoping you can help me sort out the problem described in my previous comment. Best Regards -- JcW32

Answer 2

One of my problems was the thought of signing in with a "School or Business Account." That can't work with my original Microsoft Account, as an error message told me.

The next problem was worrying about the requests to "Sign In" when running from a Local User account. That is apparently not necessary unless I want to synchronize among devices or to use a OneDrive account, which will never happen.

After I activated as a personal user with the original Microsoft Account, all is good.

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions!

Share via

Re-Activate Office Home and Business 2019 (click-to-run)?

1 additional answer

Your answer