Publisher Deprovisioned causing file loss

Tashima Thomas 0 Reputation points
2026-09-06T17:15:05.89+00:00

Years ago, I purchased a licensed veriosn of Office that included Publisher. When I open Publisher, it says it is an unlicensed product, and all the save, export, and other editing features (ie copy, print, save as, etc) are now disabled. Even though I still have my original product key, the setup.office.com can no longer valdiate its license. As a result, I cannot save or save as, export, copy/paste, any of my orignal .pub files. Since Publisher is not included in 365, purchasing a new subsrciption is useless. How are we supposed to salvage files before October under thse circumstance?? Please assist

Microsoft 365 and Office | Publisher | Other
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  1. Ian-T 10,695 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-07T00:13:21.46+00:00

    Hi @Tashima Thomas

    This appears to be an Office activation issue, not Publisher’s October 2026 retirement. Publisher should still have full functionality until October 1, 2026, and perpetual Publisher versions can continue to be installed and used afterward, although support ends in October 2026.

    Please check File > Account in another Office app and sign in with the Microsoft account originally used to purchase or redeem Office. Then check Services & subscriptions, remove any conflicting Office installations, and run the Office activation troubleshooter.

    If the product is no longer recognized, contact Microsoft Support with the original key and proof of purchase. In the meantime, back up the .pub files themselves through File Explorer. Once activation is restored, export the important files to PDF or another format before October 2026.

    Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot access accounts or Microsoft’s back-end systems. We can only provide technical guidance on reported incidents, requests and ideas 

    Thank you for your understanding and time

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