Activate 365

Question

When I try activate 365 i get an error 53.

I had 365 on my Mac Pro that died and need it on my Mac Mini.

Answer 1

Hi Bridget,

Let us try to remove office license files on the Mac Mini.

Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder… and check/delete:

(a) Volume license plist

/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist
/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist

(b) Office activation files

/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV1.plist

(c) Office 365 / 2019 / 2021 activation tokens

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/OfficeFileCache/
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Licenses/

Delete the Licenses folder or its contents:

com.microsoft.office.licensingV2_*.xml
com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist

3. Remove cached activation data

Go to:

~/Library/Preferences/

Remove:

com.microsoft.office.plist

4. Restart your Mac

Please keep me updated.

Answer 2

To resolve the error 53 when trying to activate Microsoft 365 on your Mac Mini, you can follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. Sign out of Office and sign back in:
   • Open an Office app, such as Word.
   • Select your name and profile picture or icon at the top.
   • Select Sign out.
   • Select Sign in and ensure you are using your Work or School account, not a personal account.
   • Try activating Microsoft 365 again.
2. Uninstall and Reinstall Office for Mac:
   • If the issue persists, you may need to uninstall Office and then reinstall it. You can find instructions on how to uninstall Office for Mac in the Microsoft support documentation.
3. Use the Mac License removal tool:
   • If necessary, use the Mac License removal tool to remove any existing license files that might be causing conflicts.
4. Check for updates:
   • Ensure that your Microsoft 365 apps are up to date. Open an Office app, go to File > Account, and check for updates.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to check with your Microsoft 365 administrator to ensure that your account is properly set up and licensed for use on the new device.

---

References:

• Microsoft 365 Apps activation error: "Your account doesn’t allow editing on a Mac."
• Microsoft 365 Apps activation error: "That Microsoft account doesn't exist. Enter a different account or get a new one."