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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:
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?
Processes in Microsoft 365 for setting up Office apps, redeeming product keys, and activating licenses.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Sorry Mr Microsoft support Engineer, you very definitely do not understand how anyone feels about this situation.
I posted over on the Office 365 forum as Sushma suggested but got only a list of which products require which type of account (personal or private). That again missed the point entirely (if not downright avoiding it).
It is nice to know I am not the only one beginning to suspect that the activation difficulties may be intentional. Of course, it affects the independent consultant far worse than anyone else. Larger companies can take their soma (with a nod to Huxley's Brave New World) and have no problem setting up corporate accounts; single-user companies that do their own software have little choice and must do the same or set up the MS account in the owner's (or user's) name.
But the outside consultant that provides service and computers to small businesses is peculiarly stuck. We cannot use our own accounts, or the licenses are stuck to us forever. We are not about to share our Live IDs & passwords with someone trying to reinstall Office on a computer we originally provided. But the owner's birthday is also none of our business--and not easily obtainable at midnight even if it were. And what if a computer (or the entire business, with its computers) is sold? How does the new owner reinstall Office if required? I guess that is one way for MS to generate more revenue--make the activation process quirky enough that it is actually easier to just buy a fresh copy than it is to reinstall.
After several hours of beating one's head against the wall on this at midnight, it definitely leads one to feel as though Microsoft has more sinister designs towards independent consulting--or perhaps toward independent thought entirely.
I totally agree, the OEM activation process is an absolute nightmare. And even if you're able to setup or access a client's MS Live account, good luck trying to identify which licenses are tied to which devices. There's also a limit on the number of license registrations per account (don't recall what it is, think it's maybe 10 or so?) which often requires creating an additional account(s) to handle all of the licenses. So now, you also have to maintain a spreadsheet or some kind of documentation of what licenses are tied to which device and which registration account... it's a huge PITA. After all this, then you pray you never have to reinstall office at some point in the future...
I know that Dell's (and I think HP's) OEM Office keys were able to activate without an account, but right now, computers that are shipping with Office 2016 license have the 2013 CTR installation and you're forced to go through the Live account registration process to get 2016 installed. Maybe this will change once the 2016 OPK is out and Dell gets that into their base image - not sure how long this will be though.
This isn't anything new, it's been this way beginning with Office 2013 and continues with 2016. Microsoft has pretty much ignored all complaints related to this and I suspect they really don't care as they continue to beat the O365 drum and march everyone towards a subscription model (and having a MS Live account gives them a great hook into these customers). Makes one wonder if this OEM activation mess isn't largely by design...
Sushma,
This isn't helpful at all. What Brian said is spot on. My company is an IT consulting company for many small businesses. We order computers from many vendors such as Dell which has OEM licensing. I cannot activate office with my Microsoft account, nor should I. And I cannot setup Microsoft accounts for all of my clients. This is time consuming and frankly a waste of time. We should not have to do this. We sell hundreds of computers a year, and can't possibly force my clients to create a Microsoft Account for their office license.
That link did not help at all. There needs to be a fix immediately. Otherwise the giant of Microsoft will suffer great losses in sales. I think that many IT companies like mine will start looking at alternate products at this point.
So please help us to help keep you in business.
Thank you
Alex
Hi Brain,
We understand how you feel about the situation. Let me guide you to resolve the issue.
Since the issue is related to Office Home and business, I suggest you to post this query in following Office 365 Community for better suggestions.
http://community.office365.com/en-us/forums/default.aspx
If you have any questions related to Office products, you can always reply and I’ll be happy to assist you.
Thank you.