I uninstalled Office HB

Question

I'm now trying to install it, it comes up with my key has been used before and i cant use a private email to move forward

Answer 1

Hi, Graham James

The request for a work or school address suggests the installer or key may be for a business, volume-license, or Workplace Discount Program edition rather than the retail Office Home & Business edition. A private email will not be accepted on a business licensing page.

Besides the solutions provided by the Q&A Assist, here are some suggestions you can try:

Check the purchase receipt, key card, or confirmation email for the exact edition. If it mentions Office Professional Plus, LTSC, volume licensing, or Workplace Discount Program, follow the installation instructions from the employer or seller. Workplace Discount Program copies use a different activation process.

If Office was purchased directly from the Microsoft Store, sign in to your Microsoft Store order history using the purchasing account. Locate the Office order and use its Install Office option to complete any unfinished association between the purchase and the account.

If Windows was reinstalled, the motherboard changed, or Office is now being installed on another computer, install Office first and use Contact support to transfer your license to this device when the activation-limit message appears.

Please be advised that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, are not allowed to directly interfere with Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited solely to providing technical guidance on reported incidents, requests, or ideas.   

If the key came from a third-party seller and the product description does not match, contact that seller for verification or replacement. A key already redeemed by someone else cannot be reassigned by reinstalling Office.

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

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" 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.

Answer 2

Hi, @Graham James

To help narrow down the issue:

1. Where did you purchase the license? Was it from the Microsoft website or a third-party seller?
2. What is the exact product name you bought?
3. Can you also check this: https://account.microsoft.com/services and sign in. Do you see the specific product license listed there?

Answer 3

If the message says the product key has already been used, that usually means the key was already redeemed and linked to a Microsoft account. For reinstalling Office Home and Business, the product key is no longer used again.

Use this path instead:

1. Go to Services & subscriptions.
2. Sign in with the Microsoft account that was originally used to redeem or buy Office.
3. Check whether the Office product appears there.
4. If it appears, select Install and reinstall from that account.
5. After installation, open an Office app and sign in with that same account to activate it.

If the account being entered is not accepted:

• Try all Microsoft accounts that may have been used before, including personal, work, or school accounts.
• If the product does not appear under the signed-in account on Services & subscriptions, that is not the account linked to the Office license.
• Do not keep entering the product key on setup pages after it has already been redeemed.

Important:

• office.com/setup or microsoft365.com/setup is for redeeming a new, unused key.
• After redemption, reinstalls are done from the Microsoft account at Services & subscriptions.
• If multiple Office versions are installed, activation can fail. In that case, uninstall any Office versions not being used, restart the PC, and then sign in again.

If this copy of Office originally came preinstalled on the device and did not require a product key, reinstall it from the Microsoft Store app instead.

---

• "This product key has already been used" error in Office
• Where to enter your Office product key
• Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office
• Get help with product key errors on Office.com/setup
• Reinstall Office from the Microsoft Store app