Requesting help to transfer Office 2019 Student license from lost PC to new Mac

Question

I recently purchased a new MacBook and I am trying to activate my "Office Home & Student 2019" license on it.

I have a problem: My old PC, where the license was previously installed, has been lost/stolen. Because of this, I cannot manually uninstall Office or "deactivate" it from that device.

When I log into my Microsoft account, I see two Office licenses listed with different dates. I have already installed Office on my Mac, but when I try to sign in, it says "No license found" or that the license is already in use.

Could a Microsoft agent please help me with the following:

1. Identify which of my two 2019 licenses is valid for a transfer to Mac.
2. Manually release/deactivate the license from the lost PC so I can activate it on my new MacBook.

I am the owner of the account and can provide proof of purchase if needed. Thank you for your help.

[Moved from Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For education | MacOS]

Answer 1

Hi, which versions of Office 2019 do you see at https://account.microsoft.com/services ? The only valid ones would be Office Home and Student 2019 or Office Home and Business 2019. You will have difficulty with any Pro Plus licence for various reasons depending on where you acquired it/them. In any case you will need to contact Microsoft Support to 'deactivate/delink' the Office 2019 installed on the old computer.

Answer 2

Office Home & Student 2019 is a one-time purchase that can only be installed on one computer at a time, but it can be transferred to another computer that belongs to the same owner if the Software License Terms are followed.

Key points from the documentation:

1. A one-time purchase of Office such as Office Home & Student can be installed on only 1 PC or Mac at a time.
2. Office 2019 can be transferred to another computer that belongs to the same owner, but not more than once every 90 days (except in case of hardware failure).
3. Each time the software is transferred to a new computer, it must be removed from the prior computer and no copies may be retained.
4. When Office is moved to a different computer, activation must be completed (for these perpetual licenses) using the supported activation method (including by phone where applicable) and in line with the Software License Terms.

Because the previous PC is lost or stolen and cannot be manually uninstalled, and because there are two different Office 2019 licenses on the same Microsoft account, the following supported actions apply based on the documentation:

1. To understand and confirm transfer rights and limits, review the Software License Terms for Office 2019:
   • Open any Office app on the Mac (for example, Word).
   • Go to File > Account > About program name > View the Microsoft Software License Terms.
   • For Office 2019, transfer terms are in section 3. Transfer to a Third Party.
2. If activation on the new Mac reports that the license is already in use or maximum activations have been reached, the documented path is:
   • Follow the guidance in Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device to activate Office on the new device and comply with transfer terms, including phone activation where required.
3. The documentation does not provide a way for end users to see which specific one-time license is tied to which device, nor to selectively “release” a one-time Office 2019 license from a lost PC through the portal. It explicitly notes that one-time licenses cannot be deactivated in the same way as Microsoft 365 subscriptions and recommends keeping a manual record of which license is used on which device.
4. For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), there is a documented process to transfer a license to another person by contacting customer support and verifying identity and license rights. That same customer support channel is also the documented escalation path when assistance from a Microsoft agent is required for license issues beyond self-service.

Given these constraints, the supported next step to:

• confirm which of the two Office 2019 licenses can be used, and
• get help with activation on the new Mac when the old PC is unavailable,

is to contact Microsoft support directly so an agent can review the account and licenses and assist in line with the Software License Terms.

Use the official support contact channel referenced in the documentation to reach an agent and provide proof of purchase and account ownership as requested.

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References:

• Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device
• Transfer your Office license to another device or another person
• Activate Office for Mac
• What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac