A problem with the licence

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A problem with the licence

Andrejs Cvetkovs 0

I purchased Microsoft Office 365 (Personal) about 10 years ago, or perhaps even longer. Every year, we run into the problem where the licence expires on its own and can no longer be found on some computers. We use it on several Mac computers. Sometimes the problem resolves itself, but this time, for several days now, one of the computers has been unable to find the licence. How can this be resolved? I need to work, but I can’t. Please help us resolve this issue.

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Answer 1

Jeronimo Fuerte 40,360 Independent Advisor

This usually is not a lost license, but an activation/sign-in problem on that Mac. Microsoft 365 Personal can be installed on all your devices, but it can only stay signed in on five devices at the same time. If you go over that limit, Office can sign devices out automatically.

Please go to your Microsoft account subscription/services page and verify that the Microsoft 365 Personal subscription is active under the same email address used on that Mac.

account.microsoft.com/services

If you use several Macs and other devices, sign out of Office on old or unused devices from the Microsoft account installs/devices page. Don't exceed the 5-device limit.

Jeronimo Fuerte 40,360 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-19T17:01:52.66+00:00

Additionally you can try the steps available here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-remove-office-license-files-on-a-mac-b032c0f6-a431-4dad-83a9-6b727c03b193
Andrejs Cvetkovs 0 Reputation points

2026-03-20T11:18:07.37+00:00

The thing is, we haven’t exceeded the device limit; Microsoft simply stops working on its own. When I go to my profile, it says: ‘Your Microsoft 365 Family subscription has expired

Your access to AI-powered experiences has ended. You and those you’ve shared with are unable to use cloud storage or desktop versions of apps like Word and PowerPoint.’ We don’t buy a subscription every year; it was purchased a long time ago and is renewed free of charge every year, but not this time. The strange thing is that Microsoft has stopped working on just one device.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Jeronimo Fuerte 40,360 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-20T15:19:53.96+00:00

So you are actually dealing with a Microsoft 365 Family plan, not a Personal subscription. This is the key to solving your mystery, as Microsoft 365 is a paid service and does not renew indefinitely for free. What has likely been happening over the years is that you were utilizing a shared license from someone else's Family plan, and either their payment method recently failed, or your account was removed from their sharing group.

First of all, you need to log in here with the Microsoft account used to pay for the subscription to verify the current status:
account.microsoft.com/services

After that, you need to verify that you are still a part of the Family sharing group:
https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/manage-microsoft-365-family-subscription-sharing-d89eb066-176a-42ba-99d6-ce033d4df741

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A problem with the licence

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