Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac – Activation failure after macOS 26.5.2 update (Error 0x0)

Question

Dear Microsoft Support,

I need assistance with an Office activation issue that started immediately after updating my Mac to macOS 26.5.2 (Build 25F84).

Product Information

• Product: Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac (Perpetual License)

Microsoft Account: [PII ******@gmail.com]

Office Version Installed: 16.110.3

macOS Version: 26.5.2 (Build 25F84)

Problem

Office was working normally before the macOS update.

Immediately after updating macOS, every Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) began showing "Activating...", followed by:

Unknown Error Error Code: 0x0

In some cases, Office also displays:

"No License Found for [PII removed@gmail.com]"

However, my Microsoft account still shows that I own Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac, purchased on 15 November 2024.

Troubleshooting Already Performed

Restarted the Mac multiple times.

Verified internet connectivity.

Signed in with the correct Microsoft account.

Used the official Microsoft License Removal Tool.

Downloaded a fresh installer directly from my Microsoft account.

Completely reinstalled Microsoft Office.

Created a brand-new macOS user account and tested activation there.

Verified the Microsoft Office Licensing Helper exists and is correctly code-signed.

Started the licensing helper successfully using launchctl.

Technical Findings

Licensing helper: com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper is installed and running.

Code signature verification passed successfully.

Office activation never creates the expected licensing/identity data.

Office logs report: LicenseServiceV2 ERROR: Error fetching policy from helper

Activation fails before any license is written.

Request

Could you please verify that my Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac entitlement is correctly associated with my Microsoft account and confirm whether there is any known compatibility issue between Office Home & Business 2019, Office version 16.110.3, and macOS 26.5.2 (Build 25F84)?

If necessary, I would appreciate escalation to the Office Activation/Licensing Engineering team, as I have already completed the standard troubleshooting steps.

Thanks.

Answer 1

The update on July 14 is the issue. I have the EXACT same problem. I have been working to resolve it the entire day and just NOW learned that the update is the issue. There was a link to a 16.110 installer but it didn't work for me. Please post the solution as quickly as possible. Thank you very much.

Answer 2

(Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.)

Hi, Raajiesh

I understand your concern, particularly after completing so many troubleshooting steps.

The installed Office version is the likely cause. Microsoft states that 16.78 was the last build supporting Office 2019 for Mac licences, while your Mac has version 16.110.3. Office 2019 for Mac also reached end of support on October 10, 2023.

You may try reinstalling the dedicated Office 2019 package from Microsoft, not the Mac App Store version, but activation and compatibility with macOS 26 are no longer guaranteed.

For entitlement verification, please contact Microsoft Support with your proof of purchase. Community moderators cannot access licensing records or escalate directly to the activation engineering team.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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