i am seeing activation error 0x0

Question

iam trying to save file in excel and it is showing to activate . when trying the message displayed is error 0x0

Answer 1

Hi,

Error 0x0 usually occurs when the Office app is out of date or is unable to verify your license.

To help narrow down the cause, could you please answer the following:

• Are you using a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time purchase of Office (such as Office 2021 or Office 2024)?
• Did you install Office from Microsoft.com or from the Mac App Store?
• Which version of macOS are you using?

Answer 2

For Excel on macOS showing error 0x0 and asking to activate before saving, the supported fix is to update Office to a version that matches the macOS version.

1. Check that macOS is version 12 or higher.
2. Close all Office apps.
3. Open Finder > Applications > Microsoft AutoUpdate.
   • If Microsoft AutoUpdate is not visible there, check /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/.
4. In Microsoft AutoUpdate, install the available updates:
   • Select the arrow next to Update to review app versions if needed.
   • Select Update All or update Excel individually.
5. After updates finish, open Excel again and test activation and saving.

If Office was installed from the App Store, update it from the App Store instead:

1. Close all Office apps.
2. Open App Store.
3. Select Updates.
4. Update Microsoft Excel or select Update All.
5. Open Excel again and test.

If the Mac cannot go beyond an older macOS release, newer Office builds may not activate correctly. In that case, use the last Office version supported by that macOS version. For macOS Monterey 12, the moderator guidance in Microsoft Q&A identifies version 16.88 as the final supported Office build.

If Excel still does not activate after updating, reinstall Office from the same source used to obtain it:

• If purchased through Apple App Store, reinstall from the App Store.
• If obtained directly from Microsoft, reinstall from the Microsoft install flow.

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• Unknown Error 0x0 or License not found error in Microsoft 365 or Office running on macOS
• 0x0 Error After Mac Update July 14th, 2026 - Microsoft Q&A
• "Subscription required to edit and save" in MS-365, and error code 0x0 (Mac OS) - Microsoft Q&A