My new 365 Personal doesn't work (Outlook-Word-Excel)

Question

I've just bought a new 365 Personal account (1 year sub paid) to replace using my son's 365 Family account which has expired. After a long installation ("Success"!) my Office programmes don't work (Outlook-Word-Excel) although the icons have updated. I keep getting messages to sign into my son's old account - ******@hotmail.com. Also I don't have a PIN for my new account. Can someone help please?

Answer 1

To resolve the issue with your Microsoft 365 Personal account not working properly after installation, you can follow these steps:

1. Sign Out of the Old Account: Open any Office application (like Word or Excel) and sign out of your son's old account. To do this:
   • Open a Microsoft 365 app.
   • Click on your name or profile picture at the top.
   • Select Sign out.
2. Sign In with Your New Account: After signing out, sign back in using your new Microsoft 365 Personal account:
   • Click on Sign in and enter your new account credentials.
3. Check for Updates: Ensure that your Office applications are up to date. You can do this by:
   • Opening any Office app.
   • Going to File > Account > Update options > Update now.
4. Reset Activation State: If the problem persists, you may need to reset the activation state of your Office applications. You can find instructions on how to do this in the Microsoft documentation.
5. Reinstall Office: If none of the above steps work, consider uninstalling and then reinstalling Microsoft 365. You can use the Microsoft 365 Uninstall troubleshooter to assist with this process.
6. No PIN Required: Typically, a PIN is not required for Microsoft 365 Personal accounts. You should be able to access your Office applications with just your Microsoft account credentials.

If you continue to experience issues, you may want to contact Microsoft support for further assistance.

---

References:

• Microsoft 365 Apps activation error: "That Microsoft account doesn't exist. Enter a different account or get a new one."
• Account or subscription verification errors activating Microsoft 365 Apps

Answer 2

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Are you able to see your MS365 subscription under the Services & subscriptions page here: https://account.microsoft.com/services (make sure you’re signed in with the same Microsoft account you used to buy Office)?

If you can see it there, please follow these steps below.

---

Before installing, it’s a good idea to uninstall all existing versions of Office to avoid conflicts.

Here’s how:

• Open the Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
• Look for any version of Microsoft Office or Office apps, right-click, then choose Uninstall. Please uninstall all Office apps.
• Once that’s done, restart your computer just to be safe.

Then, to reinstall Microsoft Office:

• Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services
• Sign in using the same Microsoft account linked to your subscription.
• Find your Microsoft (license or subscription type) and click the "Install" button.
• That will download the installer for the Office apps, just run it and follow the steps.

If anything’s unclear or the "Install" button still doesn’t show, feel free to let me know. I’ll be happy to walk you through it!

---

I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.