Reactivation of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016

Question

Reactivation of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016

Glenna Fernandes 0

I had MS 16 preinstalled on my laptop. But now I Can see MS 365 to which i do not have a subscription. Therefore , I am unable to use all functions on excel and word. Please reactivate my MS 16 home and student

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Answer 1

Xavier-D 11,600 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Glenna Fernandes

I understand that you previously had Office Home & Student 2016 installed on your laptop, but it has now been replaced by Microsoft 365, which you do not have a subscription for.

If your Office 2016 license is still associated with your Microsoft account, you should be able to reinstall and reactivate it. Here is what you can do:

Sign in to your Microsoft account Services & subscriptions page using the account originally used to activate Office 2016.
Check whether Office Home & Student 2016 appears under Products you’ve purchased.
If listed, uninstall the current Microsoft 365 installation from Settings > Apps > Installed apps, then select Install beside Office 2016 on the account page.
Open Word or Excel and sign in with the same Microsoft account to activate it.

Please note that support and security updates for Office 2016 ended on October 14, 2025. The software may continue to work, but using a supported Office version is recommended for security.

I hope this helps you restore your Office installation.

Feel free reply back to this post if you need further assistance, I'll be happy to help.

Glenna Fernandes 0 Reputation points

2026-07-30T16:06:00.99+00:00

Signed using the using the account originally used to activate Office 2016, however cant see the Office 2026 listed.
Xavier-D 11,600 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T23:59:04.4466667+00:00
Hi Glenna Fernandes

Thank you for the screenshot.

I can see that the page currently shows only the free Microsoft 365 plan, so the Office 2016 license is not associated with this Microsoft account.

Some Office products preinstalled by the computer manufacturer were activated without a Microsoft account or product key. Please check the original installation in the Microsoft Store:

Open Start and select Microsoft Store.

Select Library > Apps or All.

Turn off Show installed products only, if displayed.

Look for Office Home & Student 2016 and select the cloud/download button if available. This recovery method for certain preinstalled Office products that do not appear in the account.

If Office 2016 is not shown there either, please check any product-key card, purchase receipt, packaging, or recovery instructions supplied with the laptop.

You may also need to contact the laptop manufacturer, as the original preinstalled license and recovery image may have been provided with the device. Microsoft’s standard reinstallation method requires Office 2016 to appear under the Microsoft account’s purchased products.

Please do not uninstall the currently installed apps until you have located an Office 2016 installer or confirmed the license recovery method.
Xavier-D 11,600 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-01T00:13:51.2+00:00

Hi

I’m following up to check on the status of this issue.

Have you had an opportunity to review the answer shared earlier?

Any update you can provide would be greatly appreciated.