Install Office 2016 OEM without Live account

Anonymous

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?

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Anonymous

2017-09-11T13:01:18+00:00

My apologies Brian.

I ended up having to create the MS account via a telephone conversation with the client that is on the other side of the country.

So the job is almost done the the greatest inconvenience... I'm still waiting for the client to accept the verification email and is not available when I call her. Fun fun in an I.T bun
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Anonymous

2017-09-11T12:53:47+00:00

Hi FO

You have not stated which version of Office you are having problems with? However, if it is Office Home & Student 2013/2016 or Office 365 Home/Personal, then as part of Microsoft's security system/policy you must associate Office with a Microsoft Account. If the Microsoft Account does not belong to the end user they will not have access to their Office Account from where they can reinstall Office when needed in the future. Also the will not be able to do an online repair.
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Anonymous

2017-09-11T12:51:43+00:00

HI Brian

You link goes nowhere and this problem is not resolved. I still cannot use any information to activate this with only the product key.

My client does not wish to create a MS account just for Office home and student. I just want to activate it using the product as I have been doing for the last 10 years.

Not acceptable.

The link was not mine; it was Sushma Reddy's. I am the OP and have the same problem you have.

Brian
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Anonymous

2017-09-11T12:23:19+00:00

HI Brian

You link goes nowhere and this problem is not resolved. I still cannot use any information to activate this with only the product key.

My client does not wish to create a MS account just for Office home and student. I just want to activate it using the product as I have been doing for the last 10 years.

Not acceptable.
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Anonymous

Russ:

Yes some machines have been coming from the factory with "preactiveated" 365 installed. for about a year now (right after 365 was released). The user clicks on an icon and provides their email and activation is complete. But it is consumer Office licenses, 365 Personal. I have not seen it for business licenes. Have you?

Volume licenses are not a solution, they are MUCH more expensive. Volume licenses are open to anyone. There is a neat trick you need to be aware of. The minimum Volume license purchase is 5 licenses. After you have those first 5, you can buy additional ones one at a time. The trick is simple. It does not matter what 5 licenses you buy. So you buy one Office license, then look through the product list and find the cheapest product. At one time that was a Map tool. If you are looking to do volume licenses at home, I would suggest also getting the upgrade to Win 10 Professional as one of the licenses. That way you will have built in support for Hyper-V, the virtual computer tech you can use to separate Office from Visio/Projetct.

Office has always been exclusive about which key it will allow to activate an installed copy of Office. They must both be the same bundle. So a 365 Business key will not activate a 365 Home/Personal installation. Yes it is a PITA, but nothing new.

Yes, you can download the full "offline installer" from the MyAccount site. I simply don't know if that is an option open to business users. I haven't had the option to try either consumer or business offline installers, but I expect they will require an email account and product key to install and activate.

Yes, the "improvements" MS made to the 2016/365 installer have made mixing Visio/Project with other Office installations "an adventure". In theory they have fixed that problem for business users. But I think Consumers are still having issues.

Supported scenarios for installing different versions of Office, Visio, and Project on the same computer– Different Years and MSI vs CTR.

https://technet.microsoft.com/library/mt712177%28v=office.16%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

This is an EXCELLENT resource.

Starting on October 11, 2016, Office 2013 software that uses Click-to-Run can be installed on the same computer with Office 2016 software that uses Click-to-Run.

We can also Use the Office Deployment Tool to install volume licensed editions of Visio 2016 and Project 2016 .

Note: The MAK keys currently available on the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) aren’t compatible with this specific installation scenario. We’re working on a solution, but we currently don’t have a date when we expect the solution to be available. KMS activation is available.