Help opening apps

Question

Help opening apps

Todd Hillstad 0

I installed Microsoft Office 365 on my computer and it will not let me open any of the apps. It asks me to sign in and when I do it says that the products we found in your account cannot be used to activate Office in shared computer scenarios.

Todd Hillstad 0 Reputation points

2026-09-14T22:07:47.8233333+00:00

How can I open an app when it refuses to let me open an app to fix the problem?
Jeronimo Fuerte 46,010 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-14T23:25:49.3766667+00:00

Sorry to hear that you’re having trouble with this situation. Could you please share a little more information?

Does the Microsoft account you are using to sign in to the Office apps currently have an active Microsoft 365 subscription? Please sign in with the same account at the following page and confirm which subscription is listed there:

https://account.microsoft.com/services

Also, is this a Microsoft 365 Personal/Family subscription? Did you install Office yourself from your Microsoft account?

If possible, please also share a screenshot of the exact activation error and the subscription shown on the Services & subscriptions page, making sure to hide any personal or sensitive information.

1 answer

Your answer

Todd Hillstad 0 Reputation points

2026-09-14T22:07:47.8233333+00:00

How can I open an app when it refuses to let me open an app to fix the problem?
Jeronimo Fuerte 46,010 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-14T23:25:49.3766667+00:00

Sorry to hear that you’re having trouble with this situation. Could you please share a little more information?

Does the Microsoft account you are using to sign in to the Office apps currently have an active Microsoft 365 subscription? Please sign in with the same account at the following page and confirm which subscription is listed there:

https://account.microsoft.com/services

Also, is this a Microsoft 365 Personal/Family subscription? Did you install Office yourself from your Microsoft account?

If possible, please also share a screenshot of the exact activation error and the subscription shown on the Services & subscriptions page, making sure to hide any personal or sensitive information.

Answer 1

Hi, Todd Hillstad

This message means Office is still using a shared-computer licensing state, but the signed-in account does not have a license that supports it. You can troubleshoot this without opening Word or Excel.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Open Start, search for Get Help, and open it. Search for Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter, then follow the prompts and restart the computer. This checks and repairs subscription activation outside the Office apps. Run the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter

If that does not help, use the activation-reset procedure in Reset activation state for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. It clears cached Office licenses and account information so Office can request a fresh license the next time it starts. View the activation-reset instructions

If this is a company-managed or genuinely shared computer, contact the Microsoft 365 administrator. The account must be assigned a plan that supports shared computer activation, such as Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you.

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