Microsoft Office is a productivity suite. It enables individuals and businesses to create, edit, and manage documents. Microsoft Office includes office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. These applications assist users generate documents and presentations. Microsoft Office 365 is a subscription service. The cloud capability is specific to Microsoft Office. Users can subscribe to any of the monthly or yearly options. After purchasing Microsoft Office, you must activate it on your PC using the license key.

Registering an Office 365 Product Key

In case you bought a Microsoft Office 365 subscription/product card or obtained the software from an online store, your card or receipt will have a 25-digit product key that looks like this: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. In this instance, link the product key to your Microsoft account using this approach.

• First, open a web browser and navigate to setup.office.com.
• Either click the Get Started button or the Sign In button in the upper right corner.
• This will take you to the Microsoft Sign In screen. Sign into your Microsoft account.
  • If you don’t already have a Microsoft account, select Create One instead. To establish a new Microsoft account, you must give an email address and a password.
• In order to Sign In, enter the email address connected with your Microsoft account and click Next, then enter your password and click Sign In.
• Next, type in the 25-digit product key and click Next. The product key is printed on a card that came with your purchase or on your receipt, whether digital or paper. Once your product key is verified, “Step 3 – Get your Microsoft 365 Apps” will expand on the screen.
• Click Next and you will be directed to your Microsoft Account web page, where you can download Microsoft Office.
• Finally, click Download Now. This will download the installer to your PC.
• Run the installer after completing the download. Once installation is complete, your PC will be having activated Microsoft 365 installed.

Activate Office Using a Microsoft Account on Windows

• Launch any Microsoft Office application on your Windows PC. You can activate Office using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or any other software in the suite. Your Office apps will be located in a folder called Microsoft Office (version) in the Start menu.
  • If you do not have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, you can download it from https://www.office.com. Simply login in with the account you used to purchase Office, select Install Office in the upper-right corner to download the installer, and then double-click the installer in your Downloads folder to launch it.
  • If you haven’t already purchased Office, after signing in, choose Buy Office instead of Install Office, and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the purchase.
• In the pop-up window that appears, click Sign In. If Office has not yet been activated, you will be prompted to sign in to your Microsoft account now.
  • If you see the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard, choose “I want to activate the software over the Internet (recommended)“, click Next, and then follow the on-screen instructions to activate.
• Enter your email address, then click Next. Use the email address associated with the Microsoft account you used to purchase Office or register your product key.
• Next, enter your password, then click Next. When you connect in to your Microsoft account, Office will be activated immediately.

If your Microsoft Office is not activating, may be you have exceeded the number of installs allowed by your subscription, you may need to deactivate an installation on another computer in order to continue.

Activate Office Using a Microsoft Account on a Mac

• Install Microsoft Office on your Mac. Before you may activate Microsoft Office, you must first install and redeem it if you haven’t previously.
  • Visit https://www.office.com. If you are not already signed in, click Sign in to sign in with your Office account. This is typically your Microsoft account, but if you received Office through your work or school, you may need to use that account information.
  • Next, select Install Office.
    • If you haven’t already purchased Office, click Buy Office in the top-right corner, then follow the on-screen instructions to complete your purchase.
  • Now, open your Downloads folder, locate the file labeled labeled Microsoft Office-Installer and double-click it.
  • Next, click Continue and then follow the on-screen directions to complete the installation.
  • Once the installation is complete, click Close.
• Now, open any Office application. You can activate Office using any of the integrated Office applications, such as Microsoft Excel. To open Excel, launch Finder, navigate to the Applications folder, and then double-click Microsoft Excel in the Microsoft Office area.
• On the “What’s New” screen, click Get Started. If you do not see this screen, simply skip this step and jump to the next step.
• On the following screen, click the Sign In button. If you don’t see the activation screen, go to the File menu, pick New from template, and then click Sign In.
• Next, enter your email address, then click Next. Make sure to enter the same address as your Office purchase.
• Then, enter your password and then click Sign In. Microsoft will now validate your purchase and activate Office.
• Finally, click Start Using Office to finish the activation process.

How to Activate Microsoft Office: Pre-installed?

Some newer versions of Windows PCs include a pre-installed office suite. For this, the activation process differs slightly.

• Go to the Start menu on your PC.
• Launch any Microsoft application like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on your PC.
• You’ll see the Let’s Get Started screen. Tap the Activate button.
• If you purchased Microsoft Office 365, enter the email address associated with the subscription.
• Then enter your password and click Sign In button.
• Finally, Microsoft Office is activated.

If you have a Product Key

• On your PC, launch one of the Office applications, such as Word or Excel.
• In the Welcome page, click the Sign in button and enter your Microsoft account information to sign in to Office.
• Then, select File -> Account.
• Next, select Activate Product.
• Now, click the Use a different account option.
• Finally, click the “I Have a Product Key” link.
• Then enter your product key to activate your Microsoft Office software. After activation, a “Product Activated” notice appears.

You can use Microsoft Office for free without activating it, but there are certain limitations.

• A product notice will always be displayed at the top of the app. A yellow bar with the text “Word hasn’t been activated” is visible. Activate before to the date in order to continue using Word uninterrupted. The message has an Activate button next to it.
• You won’t be able to access many of the functions of the Microsoft Office programs if you don’t activate your Office before the date indicated in the warning. Office’s editing features are all disabled.
• The Microsoft Office program will also display a message that reads “Activation required” when you navigate to File -> Account.

That’s how you install and activate the Microsoft Office on a your PC.

Download and install the Microsoft Office Suite on your PC right now to create, edit, and manage documents and presentations. We hope you find the information to activate Microsoft Office on your devices useful.

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