Install Office 2016 OEM without Live account

Anonymous

I manage IT services for several small businesses and periodically need to purchase new computers with Office. I just purchased a new Dell laptop with the OEM version of Office 2016 Home & Business. It will not let me activate it without adding it to a MS account.

I know this is a perennial question, beginning with Office 2013, that is a major headache for independent technical consultants that support small businesses, as I do. But I have never seen a solid answer as to how to get this installed on the computer without the MS account--just a lot of try this, try that. This is NOT Office 365, just Office H & B 2016!

I will not:

Add it to my MS account, or it will be forever stuck to me--which is inappropriate, since I will not own the computer or software once I am paid for the system by my client.
Make my client set up a MS account just for this.
Pry into my client's information to get his MS account information (if he even has one).

But I must have Office installed, activated, and updated before I give the system to my client. The activation dialog, in fact, gives me the option of using a product key instead of a login, but then proceeds to "Redeem Online"--which I believe will end up with the same result that requires a MS account.

At this point, I now have a bigger issue. I backed up the Program Data folder that contains the cached Office installation files, then uninstalled MS Office, hoping that a reinstall would give me some option to truly install without being forced to figure out a MS account for my client. The uninstallation removed the original setup folders. Good thing I backed it up, but then when I reinstall from any of those, it installs Office 2013, not Office 2016. And while it still validates the key when I click the option to use a key instead of a logon, it (as before) takes me to "Redeem Online".

Hello, Microsoft: this issue alone has just eliminated my entire profit from this project, given the time I have already spent trying to get this done, then uninstalling and attempting to reinstall.

I know there are versions that can be activated without a MS account, but I do not buy in bulk and can never seem to figure out which is which.

How do I get this installed for my client without being required to use a MS account?

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Anonymous

2017-11-16T16:47:23+00:00

Ok so I downloaded your version and installed it. And indeed after the product has downloaded and installed it asks you to either sign-in, create an account OR...yes drum-roll...wait for it...."I Don't want to sign in or create an account" and when you click on that it asks you to enter an Office 2016 product key...now of course that is technically only obtainable by creating an account anyway...so I am not sure this is the answer gents..I have a 2016 retail pack on a shelf - gonna go find it and see what happens

EDIT: Ok so I stuck the Product Key (on the card in the retail pack) into the dialogue box - but hit the next problem - "This product key has already been used. Please sign in with the active Office account that you used with this product key before, or enter a new product key here." - and this is a new sealed pack - the second of two. When I tried the first one some months back, I got this same message and shelved the whole stinking MS Office affair (and THAT issue is another whole mile-long thread on its own). What I have to try next of course is to call them on the activation line...joy and fun!
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Anonymous

2017-11-16T16:46:37+00:00

I resolved this issue by uninstalling the pre-installed version Office from my customer's laptop, and installing a slightly older version of Office 2016 Home & Business.

It took quite a bit of casual and at times heated chit-chat with a Microsoft support technician to convince him that the new activation requirements simply do not make sense for IT service providers that do software prep-work for their customers. Eventually he provided me with the following links to installers for slightly older versions of Office 2016 Home & Business that do not require Microsoft Live accounts for product activation:

****Installer for office home and business 2016****

For 32 bit:

https://c2rsetup.officeapps.live.com/c2r/download.aspx?productReleaseID=HomeBusinessRetail&platform=X86&language=en-US&TaxRegion=pr&correlationId=7b126833-942c-436e-8cdf-ad9d938e4923&token=faaf32f6-6d4e-437a-8829-62f924252076&version=O16GA&source=O15OLSOMEX

For 64 bit:

https://c2rsetup.officeapps.live.com/c2r/download.aspx?productReleaseID=HomeBusinessRetail&platform=X64&language=en-US&TaxRegion=pr&correlationId=6c9987bc-6b60-435e-bd02-55bbd2f99308&token=faaf32f6-6d4e-437a-8829-62f924252076&version=O16GA&source=O15OLSOMEX

Joy!

I'm really not convinced. How did you get your Activation key then? As DesertSweeper said, we don't have any activation key until we can get it from the live account after using the temporary key that is printed on the purchased document.
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Anonymous

2017-11-16T16:30:01+00:00

Patrick.za:

OP here.

For the first time since I started this thread over two years ago, after 45 pages of responses comprised of 445 responses, it sounds like someone finally got a reasonable response from Microsoft that involves an actual, workable solution. I can certainly live with a slightly older version of Office 2016 if it gets away from this Live-account activation nonsense and back to a product key-based activation, especially since a subsequent update should get the software patched to current level anyway.

I fully intend to try this the next time I purchase an Office 2016 license. I just wish I could download the full installer rather than the online installers at those links, because I always use offline installers when available, and then I would be unaffected if/when MS disables those links.
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Anonymous

2017-11-16T16:28:42+00:00

Patrick.za can you clarify before I pop the champagne...do these installers work with the key provided (which normally is only a temporary code to get you the real key via the email account issue of this thread?) - or how do you do the actual activation?
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Anonymous

2017-11-16T16:18:11+00:00

I resolved this issue by uninstalling the pre-installed version Office from my customer's laptop, and installing a slightly older version of Office 2016 Home & Business.

It took quite a bit of casual and at times heated chit-chat with a Microsoft support technician to convince him that the new activation requirements simply do not make sense for IT service providers that do software prep-work for their customers. Eventually he provided me with the following links to installers for slightly older versions of Office 2016 Home & Business that do not require Microsoft Live accounts for product activation:

****Installer for office home and business 2016****

For 32 bit:

https://c2rsetup.officeapps.live.com/c2r/download.aspx?productReleaseID=HomeBusinessRetail&platform=X86&language=en-US&TaxRegion=pr&correlationId=7b126833-942c-436e-8cdf-ad9d938e4923&token=faaf32f6-6d4e-437a-8829-62f924252076&version=O16GA&source=O15OLSOMEX

For 64 bit:

https://c2rsetup.officeapps.live.com/c2r/download.aspx?productReleaseID=HomeBusinessRetail&platform=X64&language=en-US&TaxRegion=pr&correlationId=6c9987bc-6b60-435e-bd02-55bbd2f99308&token=faaf32f6-6d4e-437a-8829-62f924252076&version=O16GA&source=O15OLSOMEX

Joy!
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