Install Office 2016 OEM without Live account

We're an IT company as well and have just done our first Office 2016 Retail install for a customer. We went to pre-load office as per normal and came up against the live-id login requirement, to download the setup.

Unfortunately one of our technicians used their own Live-ID, so they could get to the download. We are now being told by Microsoft that this license is tied to that account for life, it cannot be moved.

We had to purchase another license, make our customer create a MS Live Account, register, download, install and configure his email etc while the client sits their waiting for us, rather than doing this in the office and just handing them the new PC.

This is frustrating in the extreme! Microsoft, you have to change this silly idea. Forcing the license to be tied to a MS Live account is not practical for all the reasons posted previously, but more importantly it makes the jobs of the people who sell and promote your products harder and more costly.

I have told many customers not to buy Apple, because the devices need to be tied to an Itunes account and in a business scenario it is not ideal - Apple are personal products, not business ones. With MS going down the same path, my argument is dead, they might as well go to Apple.

Microsoft - Please think of your millions of small business customers and change this requirement.

Chervron7, you are fine.  The EMBARRASSMENT is on the part of Microsoft and not you.  When you explain it to your client, please be clear about the entire thing and make sure they know it is Microsoft that is enacting this embarrassing policy.

From what I understand, each Microsoft account can activate up to 10 Office licenses.  I have not verified this myself. The idea, as I understand, is that MS is attempting to force the clients with more than 10 copies of Office to purchase the volume licenses.  However, your client (or  you on their behalf) can create 2 MS accounts if necessary to activate more than 10 copies of Office.  It will become more confusing.  I have not checked into volume vs. retail license costs.  Nor have I checked into getting Office 365 licenses (5 for $100 per year) to see how that licensing plays out for businesses vs. residential clients.  It is another licensing quandary brought to you by Microsoft.

The licenses are by device, so again, you are fine.

And don't forget to consider installing the free Classicshell from Classicshell.net, to bring back the Windows 7 start menu.  99% of my clients with Windows 8 through 10 are very happy to use the new version of Windows once I return the old start menu.  Strange that MS has still not understood this.  But I take a rabbit trail....

This Office 2016 Home and Business activation thing is so silly.  Now I am stuck with activating a copy on a new Dell Latitude E5550.  After typing in product key, I am looking at the Live account login page, not sure what to do next.  I certainly do not want to use my own account.  And I am embarrassed to explain this to client or to ask if he has a MS account and can sign in, or to burden him (or myself) with a generic account that will be associated with this license.

I should know this in advance.  Now what do I tell him about his other new Windows 10 computers that are coming?

I know for sure that Office 2016 Pro Plus that comes with MSDN does not activate like this.  It activates just like 2010 and 2013.

Another question is, for this activation, is it per user or per device license?

This particular Dell laptop is set for loaner use among sales people for product demo purpose. So it has to be "Per Device" type license.  Because different users will login to this laptop.

Am I in trouble?

I just bought a Dell laptop for a residential client.  He wants it as a birthday present for his wife.  So, this is a surprise, which means she can't know what is going on - Microsoft, are you listening?  So, I need to install Office 2016, but it stupidly wants an MS account to install and activate.  OK, so now I need to get the wife's MS account, if she has one, as well as her personal password, which will be pretty hard to do and keep it a surprise - are you still listening Microsoft?

Or I could ask the husband if he has an MS account and use it.  Of course, that means he has to share his password with me, which is generally considered a security risk and inappropriate - are you still listening Microsoft?   If not, as the others have said, I need to ask for their Personally Identifiable Information so I can create the account, which should be considered inappropriate - are you still listening Microsoft?

And just to throw more fuel on the fire, what happens when they never use this account I create?  Does Microsoft eventually deactivate the account for non-use as is normal?  What happens to the product key at that point?  I think these are all questions that nobody has an answer to and Microsoft may not have actually thought through.  If they have, then let's have some answers.

I'm being told on the phone (i'm on now with MS) that there is no more OEM 2016.

2013/2010 were OEM

2016 is 'retail' even though it's OEM to us (comes with the dells).

bonus points = telling me that this product key was allocated sept2015 for a laptop (lat 5450) that i literally opened today.

they're going to give me a link to download, then they're going to make me try to force this through telephone activation

god help the person that bought 100 machines, i'm just dealing with two and i'm  apoplectic.