Install Office 2016 OEM without Live account

Anonymous
2015-10-07T18:12:57+00:00

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?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-31T11:58:23+00:00

    phx, Microsoft removed the email address example you used.  I'm guessing it was something like dellservicetag at outlook.com.  That, along with a standard password, should work.  Write it on the card with the Office 2016 key, and keep it with the other computer documentation.  If you need to reinstall, you have all the info in one place and haven't created an additional record keeping burden.  The only "burden" is on Microsoft, who will have a bogus, unused outlook.com email and an unused Live account for every Office sale.

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-01T02:32:01+00:00

    wburychka:

    Along these lines, one specific example I've seen suggested is using the unique computer hardware (ie DELL) serial number to create the hotmail/outlook.com email account and using a generic password (other than "password"!)

    Keeping the email and product key on the original purchase paperwork is one way to go. Personally, when supporting many computers I would prefer to have all of this information in an easier to find place, like a table in a Word document, or even a spreadsheet.  Of course, it would be best to keep access to this information severely restricted, ie on a USB drive so it is not online to be available to hackers.

    Sorry, but there is only the trivial "burden" on MS of just a few wasted bytes of storage to create these accounts. Over all of the Office 2016 licenses, this cost would be petty cash when compared to the annual bonus that any one of the senior corporate execs at MS get!

    There is a HUGE cumulative cost in wasted time ("TIME IS MONEY!") for the technician who is doing the initial setup of the computers (install corporate windows image and standard software like Office), and the administrators who have to subsequently support the computers and users! All of this cost offloaded on the users, just to "encourage" them to switch to 365 because subscriptions are more profitable for MS!

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-09T20:46:53+00:00

    I have painfully spent an entire afternoon and evening going through what Sushma has provided as guidance. I see her guidance to be frigging blank. All she can do is, point to some link and want us go through the contents.

    I don't ever see where she has given a solution, a real solution. Either run fix-it or browse the category under this section and then come back to us if you still have problems.

    Sushma - if you happen to read this and probably have those shiny stars pinned to your board, please seal them up, coz there was ever a proper solution from you.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-09-23T20:02:42+00:00

    As soon as I find a decent alternative to Outlook,  I will start migrating our folks off of Office.   This activation procedure is absolutely ridiculous.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-09-24T00:57:49+00:00

    OP here. Have you checked out Thunderbird? I understand it has the capability to function as an Exchange client. I have seriously been considering this with LibreOffice for spreadsheet/word processor. And then I can continue to use the free Access runtime for any custom apps--keep a copy of Office Pro on the development computer and use the free Access runtime for running those apps on users' stations.

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