Microsoft Office 2024 installation has installed Microsoft 365 instead

Question

I recently bought Microsoft Office Home 2024 for a brand new iMac. I installed it successfully, or so I thought, but when I try to use Word, Excel etc it asks me to activate it and when I click on it, it wants me to purchase Microsoft 365. As a result I can only access documents in read only mode. I must have selected the wrong option during the installation process, but I don't recall an option to choose between 365 and Home PC. What can I do to correct this issue?

Thanks

Sue

Answer 1

Thanks for your prompt reply.

How do I uninstall Office apps and where do I find the link to run the License Removal Tool.

thanks

Sue

Answer 2

Hi Sue Evans, thanks for posting. This issue is common when Office Home 2024 is installed on a Mac that previously had Microsoft 365 or a trial version. Even though you purchased a standalone license, the installer often defaults to the Microsoft 365 version, which causes activation conflicts.

First, make sure you redeemed your Office Home 2024 product key at setup.office.com using the same Microsoft account you plan to use on your Mac. Then, sign in at account.microsoft.com/services to confirm that Office Home 2024 is listed under your products.

Next, uninstall any existing Office apps from your Mac. Then download and run the Microsoft Office License Removal Tool from this link to remove leftover license files. After that, reinstall Office from your Microsoft account’s Services page and sign in using the same account where the license is registered.

This process usually forces Office to recognize your standalone license and stops prompting for a Microsoft 365 subscription. If the issue persists, contact Microsoft Support with your product key and proof of purchase so they can manually link the license to your account.

If this helps, feel free to mark the answer as accepted so others can find it too.

Best,
Carl