Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 license owned

Question

Why has my currently owned license to Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 version, been overwritten on my Mac Air Book to require Microsoft Office 365 to be purchased on my 2022 Mac Book Air

Answer 1

This usually happens for one of these reasons on Mac:

1. The Mac App Store version of Office is installed. Office apps downloaded from the Mac App Store require a Microsoft 365 subscription for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint activation. Office Home & Student 2021 is a one-time purchase license and is not compatible with the Mac App Store Office apps.
2. The Mac is using the wrong saved license. If Microsoft 365 and a one-time Office license have both been used on the Mac, Office can keep using the subscription license instead of the Office 2021 license.
3. Old license data is still cached. Microsoft documents that removing Office license files on Mac can help when a one-time purchase was previously used and the wrong license is being applied.

To fix it:

1. Check which Office copy is installed. If Office came from the Mac App Store, uninstall that copy and install Office directly from Microsoft. One-time licenses such as Office Home & Student 2021 only work with Office downloaded directly from Microsoft.
2. Confirm the license on the Microsoft account. Sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/services and verify that Office Home & Student 2021 appears there.
3. Remove old Office license files on the Mac. Use the official license removal tool. This removes saved Microsoft 365 for Mac licenses so Office can be reactivated with the correct one. Important: have the correct Microsoft account and password ready before doing this.
4. Reopen an Office app and activate again. Sign in with the Microsoft account associated with the Office Home & Student 2021 purchase.
5. If Office keeps switching back to Microsoft 365, restart the Mac immediately after activation. A Microsoft Q&A resolution for this exact behavior on Mac was:
   • run the License Removal Tool
   • activate Word and select the Office 2021 license
   • quit Word immediately
   • reboot the Mac
   • then reopen Office apps

If the apps were installed from microsoft.com and activation errors such as Unknown Error 0x0 or License Not Found appear, Microsoft also recommends updating Office through Microsoft AutoUpdate and ensuring the Mac is running macOS 12 or later.

---

References:

• Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store
• How to remove Office license files on a Mac
• What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac
• Unknown Error 0x0 or License not found error in Microsoft 365 or Office running on macOS
• Why is Office 2021 for Mac trying to force use of my Office 365 license instead of Office 2021 license? - Microsoft Q&A
• Problem with office 365 - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft Office for Home and Business for Mac 2021 - Microsoft Q&A