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
    2017-04-26T19:29:57+00:00

    This is ticking me off too. I'm never going to order Microsoft Office with a computer ever again!

    I did set up a Microsoft account for my client. It was 2 years ago, and now when I tried to sign into it (to activate the Office install that came on the PC), Microsoft shows a message stating "We've detected something unusual about this sign-in. For example, you might be signing in from a new location, device or app."

    No kidding! This is a new computer, and it's at my office. So yes, it's from a new device and a new location.

    Then, after trying to verify the account I got locked out totally! What are you doing Microsoft?

    It didn't say I had the wrong credentials (which I know I have the correct ones, because they've been stored in my LastPass vault for the last 2 years), it just locked me out because it was a new device. How the heck is anyone supposed to set up a new computer you IDIOTS!!!!!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T00:42:26+00:00

    And my laptop vendor sends me this little shiny link TODAY:

    link

    Activate Windows???? Is that the next step - have to have a MSA to do that as well is next?

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T15:27:04+00:00

    Hate to tell you this, but if you read the license agreement you'll find that you don't "own" the software, but only have a "license" to use it.  What Microsoft is trying to eliminate is the old paradigm where the license to use the software was for indefinitely, whereas Office365 is a license to use on a month-to-month basis.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T15:32:01+00:00

    I had this happen last week.  Signed into one of the live accounts I use to register for a client to activate another license for a new PC and got the "We've detected something unusual about this sign-in." message, along with the suggestion that this account was spewing forth spam.  Unlikely, since the only thing this account exists for is activating Office licenses.

    I think that in addition to their attempts to impose this absurd paradigm, they've also got a royally screwed up back end with this thing that is only going to get worse.  They know it, and that's probably why nobody is saying anything about it because it's now too big of a knot to untie.

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T15:38:45+00:00

    I had this happen last week.  Signed into one of the live accounts I use to register for a client to activate another license for a new PC and got the "We've detected something unusual about this sign-in." message, along with the suggestion that this account was spewing forth spam.  Unlikely, since the only thing this account exists for is activating Office licenses.

    I think that in addition to their attempts to impose this absurd paradigm, they've also got a royally screwed up back end with this thing that is only going to get worse.  They know it, and that's probably why nobody is saying anything about it because it's now too big of a knot to untie.

    The same thing happened to me. I purchased a domain explicitly to be used for Office registrations. Each Office license gets a new email address, which all route to a special mailbox I've setup.

    Like with John, I suddenly couldn't log in one day and there was a message about how this email address - this unique-used-only-one-time-on-the-planet email address was sending spam??!! Seriously?

    Something is brewing over there and I don't like the pattern that the data points are starting to reveal.

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