How to Fix Unlicensed Product and Activation Errors in Office

If your Office apps are showing “Unlicensed Product” or “Non-commercial use/Unlicensed Product” in the title bar and not opening, it indicates that your Office products have been disabled. To resolve this issue, follow a few steps to identify the problem and re-enable your products.

How to Resolve Unlicensed Product Activation Errors

Step 1: Sign in to the Correct Account

To access your Microsoft Office products, ensure you are signed in with the correct Microsoft account—the one associated with the purchase of your products.

Step 2: Check for Multiple Installations of Microsoft Office

Having more than one copy of Microsoft Office installed on your device can prevent you from accessing your Office apps. To resolve this, remove any extra copies.

Step 3: Verify the Status of Your Microsoft Office 365 Subscription

If you have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, ensure it’s up-to-date. If your subscription has expired, renew it by following these steps:

1. Close all Office apps.
2. Visit the Services & Subscriptions page.
3. Sign in with the Microsoft account associated with your Microsoft 365 subscription.
4. Check the status of your subscription under Subscriptions or Cancelled Subscriptions.
5. If your subscription has expired, renew it, and restart your Office apps.

If Office still won’t activate, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Run the Office Troubleshooter

If the issue persists, use the Office troubleshooter to diagnose and resolve activation problems.

Sign in to the Correct Account

Make sure you’re signed into the right account, the one used to purchase your Office products or associated with your license. Try logging out and logging in again, or use another account if available. You will either gain access to your apps or see a message saying “We could not find any Office products.”

Check for Multiple Copies of Office

If you’ve accidentally installed more than one copy of Microsoft Office, it may prevent you from opening your Office apps. To check and remove extra copies, follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel and search for Microsoft Office.
2. In Programs and Features, check for multiple installations.
3. Uninstall unnecessary copies by right-clicking and selecting Uninstall.

Once removed, restart your device and check if the issue is resolved.

Ensure Your Microsoft Office Subscription Is Active

If you have a Microsoft Office subscription, it’s crucial to verify that your subscription is still active. If your subscription expires, you may lose access to your Office products. You will encounter a message saying “We couldn’t find any Office product” if the subscription is cancelled. To regain access, you’ll need to renew your Office 365 subscription.

To check the status of your subscription, follow these steps:

1. Exit all open Office apps.
2. Open your web browser and visit the Microsoft website.
3. Navigate to the Services and Subscriptions page.
4. Sign in with the Microsoft account linked to your Microsoft 365 subscription.
5. Check the status under the Subscriptions or Cancelled Subscriptions section.
6. If your subscription is expired, follow the prompts to renew Office 365.

Troubleshoot Office Activation Errors

If you’re still facing issues after the above steps, you can use the Microsoft Troubleshooter for further assistance. To do this:

• Go to the Microsoft website and select Office 365, Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office 2013.
• Choose Troubleshooting to resolve activation problems.

For Office 365:

1. Download the Support and Recovery Assistant for Office 365.
2. Select your preferred web browser.
3. Follow the installation prompts and agree to the Microsoft Service Agreement.
4. Run the troubleshooting tool and follow the prompts.

For Office 2019 and Office 2016:

1. Download the Activation Troubleshooter for 2019 and 2016.
2. Select your web browser.
3. Run the Activation Troubleshooter to identify alternative issues.

Fix Unlicensed Microsoft Office Errors Manually

If you’re using a one-time purchase version of Office or haven’t resolved the issue with the above steps, you can also try the following:

Check Your Computer’s Date, Time, and Time Zone

Incorrect date, time, or time zone settings on your computer can interfere with the activation of your Office software.

Here’s how to ensure they are set correctly:

• For Windows 10:
  1. Close all Office apps.
  2. Select the date or time in the bottom-right corner.
  3. Click Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically.
  4. Restart your Office apps.
• For Windows 8/8.1:
  1. Close all Office apps.
  2. Select the date or time in the bottom-right corner.
  3. Click Change date and time settings and update the settings if incorrect.
  4. Restart your Office apps.
• For Windows 7:
  1. Close all Office apps.
  2. Click the date or time in the bottom-right corner.
  3. Select Change date and time settings and adjust accordingly.
  4. Restart your Office apps.

By following these steps, you can ensure your Microsoft Office is correctly activated and fix any unlicensed product errors.

How to Run Office as an Administrator

If you’re experiencing Office activation errors, it may be due to permission issues. Running Microsoft Office as an administrator can help resolve these problems. Follow these simple steps below based on your operating system to fix the issue.

How to Run Programs as Administrator in Windows 10

How to Run Office Programs as Administrator in Windows 10

• Close all Office apps to ensure they are not running in the background.
• Click on the Windows Start menu in the lower-left corner of your screen.

• In the search bar, type the name of an Office application, such as Word or Excel. The program icon will appear in the search results.
• Right-click the program icon and select the option “Run as administrator.”
• A dialog box will appear, and you will need to click “Yes” to grant Office administrator permissions.

By running Office as an administrator, you can fix potential permission-related issues that might be preventing activation.

How to Run Programs as Administrator in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8

1. Close all Office apps to ensure they are not running in the background.
2. Click on the Start menu located in the lower-left corner of your screen.
3. In the search bar, type the name of an Office application, like Word or Excel. The program icon will appear in the search results.
4. Right-click on the program icon and choose the option “Run as administrator.”
5. A dialog box will appear, click “Yes” to grant Office the necessary administrator permissions.

How to Run Programs as Administrator in Windows 7

1. Close all Office apps.
2. Click on the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen.
3. In the search bar, type the name of an Office program, such as Word or Excel. The program icon will appear in the search results.
4. Right-click the program icon and select “Run as administrator.”
5. A dialog box will pop up, and you’ll need to click “Yes” to allow Office to run with administrator permissions.

How to Update Office for Activation Issues

If your Office activation fails, it might be due to using an outdated version. To fix this, you will need to update Office to the latest version.

How to Repair Office 2013 Licensing

If you’re still experiencing issues activating Office 2013, you might need to uninstall your product key and sign into your account to reactivate it.

1. Access the “Easy Fix” tool from the Microsoft website to uninstall your product key.
2. After the fix is downloaded, open it.
3. Open any Office application, and when prompted, sign in with the email and password associated with your Office account.

Check Your Firewall Settings

If you’re using a third-party firewall, visit the manufacturer’s website for instructions on temporarily disabling the firewall. If you have Windows Firewall activated, you can follow these steps to turn it off:

• Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall > Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

Check Your Antivirus Software

If your antivirus software is interfering with Office activation, refer to the manufacturer’s website to learn how to temporarily disable it. You may need to uninstall your antivirus software entirely and reinstall it after Office is successfully activated.

Check Your Proxy Settings

If you use a proxy at both home and work, try turning off the proxy settings in Microsoft Edge before installing Office:

1. Click the Start button and go to Settings.
2. Select Network and Internet, then Proxy at the bottom left.
3. Toggle the “Automatic proxy setup” to On or Off, depending on the current setting.

This ensures that proxy settings are not interfering with the Office installation.

One more thing

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