Wrong email on my account

Question

My Name Is Kevin Devine,

The problem that am having is reinstalling my office word into my laptop.

I purchased this product in November 18, 2021. Best Buy installed it me under a different Email, that I don't use. The only record of email that the store has is ******@outlook.com. My real email is ******@twc.com. Can you please help with this problem?.

The product code is F2C4F-9D3P7-RD92R-34CW3-FQV3Z,

I need to start using it very soon.

Thank You,

Kevin Devine

Answer 1

As long as the @outlook.com account hasn't been permanently closed, you can use it to install Office, even though you are not actually using the account for e-mailing.

Answer 2

Office is tied to the Microsoft account that was used when the product key was redeemed. To reinstall and activate Office on the laptop, the product must be associated with and installed from that same Microsoft account, not from the new or preferred email.

Use these steps to resolve the situation:

1. Confirm which Microsoft account owns Office
   • Go to the Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services/.
   • Sign in with the Outlook.com address that Best Buy used (the ******@outlook.com account), not the twc.com address.
   • Check if the Office product (for example, Office Home & Student 2021) appears there. If it does, that Outlook.com account is the one that owns the license.
2. Install Office from the owning account
   • While signed in to the correct Microsoft account (the Outlook.com one), follow the steps in the installation article to download and install Office on the laptop:
     • See “Download, install, or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 on a PC or Mac” and follow the PC steps to install from the Services & subscriptions page.
   • After installation, when Word or another Office app starts and prompts for activation, sign in with the same Outlook.com Microsoft account. Do not enter the product key again; activation is done by signing in.
3. If the product key shows as already used
   • If trying to redeem the product key again gives a “This product key has already been used” message, that means it was already redeemed to a Microsoft account.
   • In that case, use the Microsoft account method only:
     • Go to the Subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services.
     • Sign in with the Microsoft account that owns Office (likely the Outlook.com address).
     • Install Office from there and activate by signing in inside the Office apps.
4. If the Outlook.com account cannot be accessed
   • If access to the Outlook.com account is lost, use the Microsoft account recovery process (not provided in the context here) to regain access, then proceed with the steps above.

The product key itself is only for initial redemption. Once redeemed, installation and activation are always done by signing in with the Microsoft account that owns the license, not by reusing the key.

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References:

• Get help with your Microsoft account
• Find and install your Microsoft downloads from Microsoft Store
• Download, install, or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 on a PC or Mac
• "This product key has already been used" error in Office