Cannot activate Office Apps with High Sierra

Anonymous
2024-10-02T16:36:17+00:00

I have deleted everything and re-installed High Sierra on an old Macbook Pro. I have an Office 365 account and downloaded and installed Office (version 16.43). When first trying to use any of the Apps (Word, for example), I get a welcome page telling me all the great things I can get and then a window to enter in my Microsoft account email address. I then get a blank window where, when logging in to my account from a browser), I would need to enter my password. The blank screen never changes. Having done a clean install of the OS, there shouldn’t be any remaining bits of Microsoft licence.

Various web pages give conflicting advice about whether or not Office can still be used, albeit without support, or not with High Sierra. Can anyone give me the latest firm evidence about the situation and, if it is possible, suggestions as to how I can activate Office 365?

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-05-18T01:28:16+00:00

    thank you for what you said. it is completely true and speaks volumes to the anguish i am currently experiencing by trying to use word on a perfectly usable old macbook that i paid circa $1500 for. There is no reason it shouldn't work, its faulty lazy programming, messy web design and greedy corporate mules that want you to buy new devices before having old ones survive. always profit over function or creativity in this sick and twisted world we live in.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-12-18T13:04:07+00:00

    Success, Thank You so much Rafael you are a legend, it took me a few attempt to get it through, I will explain a few detail for any novice like me using terminal through the mitmproxy app. Tomorrow when I got a bit more time. Once again a big thank you. Jean-Luc

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-18T01:15:19+00:00

    I managed to reproduce the issue you faced. Try to do the Status Code change step after you change the header - that should allow it to retain both changes to the response.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-10-04T02:31:05+00:00

    Hello,FFS MS

    Thank you for your reply.

     Are you currently unable to enter your account password no matter what you do? What is your current Office version? Have you downloaded an older version?

    As your current Mac OS system is too old, it may cause some problems in the process of using it.

    Feel free to post back if you need further assistance. 

    Thank you for your understanding and patience and I look forward to hearing from you.

    Ryan - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-10-03T06:00:10+00:00

    Hello,FFS MS

    Welcome to the Microsoft community!

    I have realized that your issues.

    Before that, I would like to ask you for some information to better address your question.

     Your High Sierra seems to be a very low version, what is the exact version of your current macOS?

    The latest version of Office can only be activated on the three latest versions of MacOS, and cannot be activated if the version is too old.

    Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

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    If you don't want to change devices, I suggest you download an earlier version of Office from that site and try to see if you can activate it.

    Update history for Office for Mac - Office release notes | Microsoft Learn

    Also try it with the license removal tool, if it still doesn't activate, there's nothing you can do about it.

    1. Download the license removal tool.
    2. Open the pkg file in your Mac's Downloads folder.

     3. Select Continue and follow the prompts in the setup wizard.

    1. If you want to start removing the licenses, select Install. You may need to enter the password for your Mac's local administrator account.

    When the licensing tool is complete, select Close.

    1. Now open an Office app and sign in to activate with the email account associated with your Microsoft 365 for Mac license. If you're working on troubleshooting, you might need to reinstall Office before you sign in.

    Once you have activated the product, restart the computer and you can get back to work.

    For more information, please visit this website: How to remove Office license files on a Mac - Microsoft Support

    Feel free to post back if you need further assistance. 

    Thank you for your understanding and patience and I look forward to hearing from you.

    Ryan - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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