Unlicensed Product and activation errors in Office

Excel for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 Outlook for Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 Access for Microsoft 365 OneNote for Microsoft 365 Project Online Desktop Client Publisher for Microsoft 365 Visio Plan 2 Excel 2021 Word 2021 Outlook 2021 PowerPoint 2021 Access 2021 Project Professional 2021 Project Standard 2021 Publisher 2021 Visio Professional 2021 Visio Standard 2021 Office 2021 OneNote 2021 Excel 2019 Word 2019 Outlook 2019 PowerPoint 2019 Access 2019 Project Professional 2019 Project Standard 2019 Publisher 2019 Visio Professional 2019 Visio Standard 2019 Office 2019 Excel 2016 Word 2016 Outlook 2016 PowerPoint 2016 Access 2016 OneNote 2016 Project Professional 2016 Project Standard 2016 Publisher 2016 Visio Professional 2016 Visio Standard 2016 Office 2016 Microsoft 365 for home Office for business Office 365 Small Business Microsoft 365 admin InfoPath 2013 More. Less

Guided support can provide digital solutions for Office problems

If Office activation fails, you'll see Unlicensed Product or Non-commercial use / Unlicensed Product in the title bar of your Office apps, and most features of Office are disabled. To restore all features of Office, you'll need to fix the problem that's causing activation to fail.

Step 1: Sign in to Office with the right account

If Office asks you to sign in, enter the account you used to buy Office. You'll see "We couldn't find any Office products" if you use the wrong address.

Step 2: Check for multiple copies of Office

You may not realize you have more than one copy installed. Having two installs can cause activation conflicts.

Step 3: Check your subscription status

If your subscription has expired, you'll see "We couldn't find any Office products." Renew your subscription to use Microsoft 365.

Step 4: Troubleshoot activation

If Office still won't activate, choose your Office version for additional troubleshooting help.

Note: If you're running Office on Windows 7 (which is no longer supported, see Windows 7 end of support and Office), you need to make sure that TLS 1.2 is enabled by default. See Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows.

Step 1: Sign in with the right account

Please try signing in using all your personal email addresses in case you bought Office using a different email address. If you're at work or school, you may need to log in using your work or school account instead of your personal email account.

To check if your Microsoft account is associated with Office, sign in to Services & subscriptions. Your Office product or Microsoft 365 subscription should be listed there. If it's not, your email address won't work for signing in to Office.

Step 2: Check for multiple copies of Office

Activation can fail if you have multiple copies of Office installed. Let's uninstall any versions of Office you aren't using before we continue to troubleshoot.

  1. Open Control Panel using the steps below for your operating system.
  2. Windows 11 orWindows 10: On the Windows task bar, type Control Panel in the Type here to search box, select Control Panel in the search results, and then select Programs and Features.
  3. Windows 8.1 or Windows 8: Right-click the Start button

Shows two copies of Office installed in Control Panel

(lower-left corner), select Control Panel, and then select Programs and Features.

  • Windows 7: Select >Control Panel >Uninstall a program.
  • In the Search Programs and Features box (upper-right corner) of Programs and Features, search for the word office. You might see multiple versions installed, like this:

    Step 3: Check your Microsoft 365 subscription status

    If you have a Microsoft 365 for home subscription, let's make sure it's still active and renew your subscription, if necessary.

    If you don't have Microsoft 365, you can skip to Step 4: Troubleshoot Office activation.

    Shows an Office 365 subscription that has expired

    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. Go to your Services & subscriptions page.
    3. If prompted, choose Sign in and enter the Microsoft account email and password associated with your Microsoft 365 subscription.
    4. Review the details under the Subscriptions heading or Cancelled subscriptions heading.

    Step 4: Troubleshoot Office activation

    Select your version of Office for troubleshooting steps:

    Microsoft 365: Use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant

    The Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant runs on Windows PCs and can help you identify and fix activation issues with Microsoft 365.

    1. Select the Download button below. Download
    2. Select your browser from the drop-down list to see how to save and then start the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant.

    Select your browser
    1. At the top of the browser window, select Open file.
    2. In the next box that indicates SetupProd_Act.exe is finished downloading, select Run.
    1. At the bottom of the browser window, select Open to open the SetupProd_Act.exe file. If the file doesn’t open automatically, choose Save >Open Folder, and then double-click the file (it should start with "SetupProd_Act.exe").
    1. In the lower-lower left corner select the SetupProd_Act.exe file and from the drop down, select Show in folder. Double-click the download, SetupProd_Act.exe.
    1. Select Save File, and then OK. In the upper-right browser window, select Show all downloads. In the Library, select Downloads >SetupProd_Act.exe, and then select the folder icon. Double-click SetupProd_Act.exe.

    If Office still won't activate after you run the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant, you can Fix Unlicensed Product errors yourself.

    Fix Unlicensed Product errors yourself

    If you've tried the earlier troubleshooting steps and Office is still unlicensed, you can troubleshoot activation failures yourself.

    Try these first

    Check connectivity

    Check your computer's date, time, and time zone

    If these settings aren't correct, Office activation might fail. Follow the steps below for your operating system.

    Windows 11 or Windows 10

    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. In the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, select the date or time.
    3. Select Date and time settings.
    4. Select Set time automatically and, if shown, Set time zone automatically. If you don't have the option to set the time zone automatically, make sure your local time zone is shown in Time zone.
    5. Restart any Office app.

    Windows 8.1 or Windows 8

    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. In the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, select the date or time.
    3. Select Change date and time settings.
    4. If the date or time is wrong, select Change date and time and correct the date and time settings.
    5. If the time zone is wrong, select Change time zone and select your local time zone.
    6. Restart any Office app.
    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. In the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, select the date or time.
    3. Select Change date and time settings.
    4. If the date or time is wrong, select Change date and time and correct the date and time settings.
    5. If the time zone is wrong, select Change time zone and select your local time zone.
    6. Restart any Office app.

    Tip: In Windows 7, you can synchronize your computer clock with an Internet time server to keep the computer clock up to date. To do this, select the date or time in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, and then select Change date and time settings. Select the Internet Time tab, select Change settings, select Synchronize with an Internet time server, and then select Update now.

    Run Office as administrator

    Running Office as administrator helps fix permission issues that might cause Office activation to fail. Follow the steps below for your operating system.

    Windows 11 and Windows 10

    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. Press the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen.
    3. Type an application name, like Word. The Word program icon appears in the search results.
    4. Right-click the Word icon, and select Run as administrator.
    5. Select Yes to allow Office to run as administrator.
    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. In Windows 8.1, right-click the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen, and then select Search.
    3. Type an application name, like Word. The Word program icon appears in the search results.
    4. Right-click the Word icon, and select Run as administrator.
    5. Select Yes to allow Office to run as administrator.
    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. In Windows 8, move your mouse to the upper-right corner of your screen to open the charms bar, and then select the Search icon.
    3. Type an application name, like Word. The Word program icon appears in the search results.
    4. Right-click the Word icon, and select Run as administrator.
    5. Select Yes to allow Office to run as administrator.
    1. Close all Office apps.
    2. Press the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen.
    3. In the Search programs and files box, type an application name, like Word. The Word program icon appears in the search results.
    4. Right-click the Excel icon, and select Run as administrator.
    5. If prompted, select Yes to allow Office to run as administrator.

    Update Office

    The latest Office updates might contain fixes to activation issues. To learn how to update Office, see Install Office updates.

    Check your firewall

    If you're using a firewall from another manufacturer, visit the manufacturer's website for information about how to temporarily disable the firewall. For Windows Firewall, please see below.

    Windows 11 and Windows 10

    Windows 8.1 and 7

    Check your antivirus software

    For information about how to turn off your antivirus software, check your antivirus manufacturer's website. Uninstalling your antivirus software may also help. Don't forget to reinstall it after Office is finished installing and if you turned it off, be sure to turn it on again.

    If you're not sure which antivirus software you have, use the following instructions to get to Control Panel to find the name of your antivirus software.

    Tip: Windows 10 comes with default antivirus software, Windows Defender. If you determine that you're using it, select the Start button > Settings > Update & Security, and then select Windows Defender on the left. Slide the button to Off. Remember to turn it On again.

    Select your operating system

    Windows Start button in Windows 8 and Windows 10

    1. On the Start

    If Windows can detect your antivirus software, it's listed under Virus protection.

    Windows Start button in Windows 8 and Windows 10

    1. Go to the Control Panel by right-clicking the Start button

    Options and commands list see after pressing Windows logo key + X

    (lower-left corner), and choosing Control Panel.

    If Windows can detect your antivirus software, it's listed under Virus protection.

    Windows 7 Start button

    1. Go to Control Panel by choosing the Start button

    If Windows can detect your antivirus software, it's listed under Virus protection.

    Check your proxy settings

    If you use your device both at home and at work, try turning off the proxy settings in Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer before you install Microsoft 365. If you’re using a different browser, check their help to find out how to turn off proxy settings.

    Microsoft Edge

    Windows Start button in Windows 8 and Windows 10

      Click the Start button

    Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11

    1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools (upper-right corner) >Internet options.
    2. Click the Connections tab, and then click the LAN settings button.
    3. Under Proxy server, clear the option "Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)."
    4. Click Apply and OK to save changes. Restart your computer.

    Note: There might be more proxy settings that you need to bypass. If this doesn't work, and you’re installing Office from work or school, check with your IT department for more information. For IT administrators, please see Microsoft 365 URLs and IP address ranges.

    Still need help? Contact Support

    If you’ve tried everything in this article and still need help, you can contact Office support.

    For more information on updating licenses.