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
    2017-01-02T17:27:56+00:00

    Hi Ron:

    Yes I have seen you post this process for Office 2013 before.

    Yes, I agree that it is the best process for Office 2013 because it associates the License with the user email account.

    However, as you know there are other ways of installing Office 2013 that do NOT associate the product key with the email account.

    But, this question is about Office 2016, not 2013. And MS has fundamentally CHANGED the way the Office 2016 install process works:

    • originally the first step of the 2016 install was to require the user to make the choice to install 2016, removing all earlier installed versions or to cancel the install.  Reportedly that has been changed (I have not personally tested it myself so I can't confirm or refute that report)
    • next the install requires the email account
    • finally the install requires the product key
    • only then does it start installing the software

    As you know, in the past you could install a generic image of Office (in trial mode) and activate it at any point later simply by providing the product key.  So many shops actually used corporate image backups to install Windows and all of their standard corporate software, including Office.  But that simple process no longer works with 2016 or 365.   Now someone has asked (I'm not sure if it was in this question or another) how computer companies or stores are managing to give a "free" subscription to Office 365 Personal without providing the user with a product key.  I have heard that apparently there is an Icon in the start menu or desktop that some how has the product key embedded or "associated" with it so that after prompting the user for the email account the license is activated.  Tech support people people on this forum are hoping to learn that technique so they can do the same thing.  So that "we" can also take advantage of this embedding technique and CTR to have quick and painless installations of Office 2016.  But so far MS is keeping it a deep dark OEM secret to "encourage" everyone to switch to 365 for Business, which does have a very painless process for the admin to grant a user an Office license and it is auto-magically installed without user intervention.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-01-02T18:39:13+00:00

    Rohn

    Thanks for the information and yes if Microsoft could find a legal way of only providing subscription version of Office they would.  Microsoft appears to do everything in its power to encourage/compel people to upgrade to the Office 365.

    Kind regards

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-01-02T18:59:12+00:00

    I don't see any legal impediment to MS switching to an exclusive subscription license model.  Adobe already has. Other computing tools have always been strictly "rental"/subscription licenses (I'm thinking of mainframe software).

    Personally, I suspect that the only reason that MS has not switched exclusively to subscriptions is their estimation of customer resistance. But I also suspect that in the next major release or 2 (at most) they will also make the switch.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-01-02T19:33:06+00:00

    I don't think that you can compare Microsoft with Adobe.  I am sure that here in the UK Microsoft would not be allowed to run a subscription monopoly.

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-01-03T03:14:49+00:00

    Adobe (and Office 365) subscription make sense to attach to email account because it's licensing model is base on per user.

    However, why the **** do Office 2016, which is base on per device licensing model, insist to attach to an email account for? Does it mean that another users sharing the same computer is not allow to use Office 2016 installed in that computer? And what happen when the employee left the company?

    The email activation is obviously a flawed implementation if not to intentionally frustrate it's users to give up Office 2016.

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