![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(105.60000000000001, 42%, 20%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EEP%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | MacOS
Processes in Microsoft 365 for setting up Office apps, redeeming product keys, and activating licenses.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(22.400000000000002, 80%, 12%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ENL%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hello Edward Pratt!
From what you shared, I see you’re using a Mac on the latest macOS and previously had a Microsoft 365 subscription that was closed (expiring April 16, 2026). After uninstalling Office and removing related Library files, you installed Office 2024 Home. When opening Excel, you’re prompted to choose between Office 365 and Office 2024 Home and selecting Office 2024 Home results in an “Unable to connect to the licensing helper” error.
Do I have to wait until after April 16th before I can install Office 2024 Home?
No. You don’t need to wait until after April 16.
“Unable to connect to the licensing helper”
The given error message might indicate leftover licensing data or an issue with the Office licensing helper on macOS.
- To start, please make sure all previous Office versions have been fully removed from the Mac. Microsoft provides official instructions for uninstalling Office on macOS here: Uninstall Office for Mac
- Then restart the computer and reinstall Office 2024.
- If the issue continues, you may need to manually reload the Office licensing helper:
Open Terminal and run the following commands one at a time. When prompted, enter your Mac’s administrator password:
sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist
sudo chmod 4755 /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper
After running these commands, reopen any Office app (such as Excel or Word) and sign in with the Microsoft account that owns the Office 2024 Home license, test again.
Hope this could help. Please let me know how it goes!
If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
