How to obtain my previous product key?

Question

How to obtain my previous product key?

Tim 0

Hello

I'm trying to restore my laptop after my SSD suddenly died and I had to replace it. I have a Lenovo Yoga 6. I finally figured out how to replace my SSD drive and got the laptop working again. The problem I'm having is that it doesn't allow me to use or access any programs such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
I had all of these working prior to the laptop dying but now its asking for a product key that I don't have. Does anyone know how to recover this?

I also tried clicking on the "Contact Microsoft" link but I get an error....is anyone else having this problem or is this another deficiency in my system since getting it working again?

Thanks

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Answer 1

EmilyS726 206K Independent Advisor

Hello

Are you office apps on a Microsoft 365 subscription, or on a one-time purchase perpetual license?

Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T16:11:34.5033333+00:00

Sorry i'm very green with computer stuff.
I do have a 365 subscription. I can see that in my Microsoft account; its renewing in 3 months. But its only the Basic plan, I believe its for extra storage only.

I know i'm not crazy because previously, I used a desktop versiono f Teams, Excel, Word, etc. Not it isn't allowing me to use those desktop versions
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T16:12:37.63+00:00

I also tried using the product key from one of my other laptops but it didn't like that
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T16:14:59.3766667+00:00

I see. Hopefully we can sort this out.

Microsoft 365 basic doesn't include the desktop version of the apps, it is for 100GB of Onedrive storage only. If you need to use Office apps, you can only use the web version, which is free via https://www.office.com > apps.

While you are on your account online, can you go to Order History, change the date filter to go further back, do you see any purchase of Office products there?
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T16:25:26.3833333+00:00

I think i might be stuck. I tried looking at my order history and nothing relevant is popping up. It is only showing 1 of my 3 laptops (which I find funny). My other 2 laptops are working correctly and they are able to open desktop versions of the programs without an issue. Even still, they don't show up in my Microsoft account and I only have 1 Microsoft account
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T16:27:33.3733333+00:00

Maybe you got it from third party like Best Buy, Costco, etc?

You said they are still working on your other two laptops, can you launch Word, Excel, etc on your other laptops, go to Files > Accounts, see what account you use there, and the full name of the product ?
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T17:53:34.1733333+00:00

I looked but nothing there. I found an old Bitlocker recovery key that i took a picture of. Would that help?
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T18:04:04.1366667+00:00

No, bitlocker key is not relevant here at all. It is for entire disk encryption.

You said you still have the Office Apps running on your other two computers. Go to one of those computers, launch Excel for example, in the Excel app, go to Files > Accounts. You should see something like below:

Where I masked solid red should list the Microsoft account the license is associated with.

Outline red is the name of the product/license.
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T18:18:16.5833333+00:00

This is on my other laptop....does this help?
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T18:26:52.2466667+00:00

Yes, this actually helps a lot.

When an office product name has the word "plus" in it, it means it is a volume license. If you didn't get this license from your work or school where you belong, I am confident that you bought it from third party, such as GroupOn, who's notorious for selling such license. Microsoft would never sell you directly such license because it is volume license. Volume license is sold to organizations and it is meant to be used by the users within the organization it is sold to only. It cannot be resold to general consumers, Unfortunately a lot of third party vendors are doing it because it is a lot cheaper than retail license. When it is discovered, that entire organization account can be voided by Microsoft, hence your key no longer works. Additionally, a lot of volume license comes with an installation limit, which means a single key can only be used for a set number of installations, such as 100. If the key is sold to more than 100 users, or if a user reinstalls or changes hardware, each new installation counts against this limit. Exceeding the limit can cause additional install to hit error.

I am sorry, but I am afraid you would have to properly license your Office apps with license meant for general consumers.
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T18:40:27.4866667+00:00

well that sucks for me but at least i know whats going on now.

Does that mean that if I have to repurchase a new license for my repaired laptop, it won't sync with my other 2 laptops?
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T18:46:38.94+00:00

Sync could work, because your "plus" license doesn't come with OneDrive for sync purpose. You have the Microsoft 365 Basic plan, that's the one doing the sync work. So it remains the same.
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T18:47:02.3666667+00:00

I believe it was a license i purchased through my work at some point
Tim 0 Reputation points

2026-01-17T18:47:36.29+00:00

Thank you for the help!
EmilyS726 206K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-17T18:48:58.79+00:00

You are welcome.

If you got it from work, you can have work IT check the volume license. It can be exceeding the install limit, they can request a limit increase, but the request needs to come from IT admin user requested via Admin Center, only they can access.

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How to obtain my previous product key?

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