Install a single Office app: Word, Excel, Access and more

A single Office app is one program on its own, such as Word 2024 or Access 2019, without the rest of the suite. Microsoft provides the app. Your Lizensa order gives you the product key that licenses it. This guide takes you from the key in your email to the app on your Windows PC. Activation has its own page: Activate a single Office app.

What you received

Your order contains one product key of 25 characters, shown here as XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. It is in your order confirmation email. It is also in your Lizensa account under My Library.

Each app is a one-time purchase for one Windows PC. There is no Mac version of these products. This guide covers:

• 2024: Word 2024, Excel 2024, PowerPoint 2024, Outlook 2024 and Access 2024.
• 2021: Publisher 2021, also sold as Publisher 2021 ESD.
• 2019: Word 2019, Excel 2019, PowerPoint 2019, Outlook 2019, Access 2019 and Publisher 2019.

For the 2024 apps and Publisher 2021, My Library shows your key together with a button that leads to Microsoft's setup page. For the 2019 apps, My Library shows the key only. The way to the software is the same for all of them: you register the key with Microsoft, and Microsoft provides the installer. We do not send a download file for these apps.

Support status. Microsoft ended support for Office 2019, including Publisher 2019, on 14 October 2025. Support for Publisher 2021 ended on 13 October 2026, and Microsoft is retiring Publisher altogether. These apps still install and work, but they no longer receive security fixes. Microsoft states that one-time purchase versions of Publisher can still be installed after the retirement.

Volume editions with a MAK

If your order is for a volume edition with a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), this guide does not apply. Volume editions are installed and activated differently. Use the delivery details in your order email and in your account. If anything is unclear, contact our support with your order number before you install.

Get the software

Register the key with Microsoft

1. Open office.com/setup in your browser.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft account, or create a new one. Write down which account you use. You reinstall the app later through this account, without entering the key again.
3. When the page asks for it, type the product key without the hyphens.
4. Follow the prompts until Microsoft confirms that the app is now linked to your account.

You need an internet connection for this step. Afterwards you no longer need the key on this PC.

Install

Check what is already on the PC

Before you install, look at the Office that is already on the computer. Microsoft sets four rules for Office products that share one PC:

1. They all use the same architecture, either 32-bit or 64-bit.
2. They all use the same update channel.
3. Two Click-to-Run products of different versions must not contain the same app.
4. The same Office version cannot be installed twice with different technologies (Click-to-Run and Windows Installer).

What this means in practice:

• Can work: the existing Office does not contain the app you add, and it meets the four rules above. Example: Access 2024 on a PC with Office Home 2024, which has no Access and was also installed from a Microsoft account.
• Not supported: the existing Office already contains the same app in another version. Example: Word 2024 on a PC with Office Home & Student 2019, which includes Word 2019. Microsoft says that in most cases such versions cannot run together.
• Microsoft 365 is installed: check whether your plan already includes the app as a desktop program. If it does, you already have it, and a second version of the same app is not supported.
• A volume edition is installed, such as Office LTSC Professional Plus from a company or school: volume Office is tied to its own update channel, for example PerpetualVL2019 for Office Professional Plus 2019. Microsoft requires one channel for every Office product on the PC, so ask your IT department before you add a retail app.

To see what you have, open any Office app and select File > Account (in Outlook: File > Office Account). Under Product Information you find the product name. An Update Options button there means a Click-to-Run installation. The button About Word (or About Excel, and so on) shows whether Office is 32-bit or 64-bit.

If two versions would overlap, uninstall the one you no longer need first. Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, select it, then Uninstall and follow the prompts. Your documents stay on the PC. If you keep two versions on purpose, install the older one first, as Microsoft recommends.

Before you start

• For the 2024 apps and Publisher 2021, Microsoft's current requirements list Windows 11, a 1.1 GHz processor with two cores, 4 GB of RAM, 4 GB of free disk space and a screen of at least 1280 x 768. The 2019 apps are older releases that Microsoft no longer supports.
• You need an administrator account on the PC.
• Keep the PC online during installation. The installer downloads the program from Microsoft.

Install the app

1. Go to account.microsoft.com/services and sign in with the Microsoft account from the previous step.
2. Find your app in the list, for example Excel 2024, and select Install.
3. To choose another language or the 32-bit version, open the drop-down for more options before you select Install again. Microsoft installs 64-bit by default, unless a 32-bit Office is already present.
4. Start the setup file. Depending on your browser, select Open file (Edge), Setup (Chrome) or Save File (Firefox). If you saved it, open it from your downloads.
5. Windows asks: "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" Select Yes.
6. Wait until you see "You're all set! Office is installed now". Select Close.

Office always installs on the system drive. Your app is now in the Start menu.

Activate

Open the new app from Start. When it asks you to sign in, use the Microsoft account where you registered the key. Accept the licence terms. Microsoft says that in most cases this activates the app.

If the Activation Wizard appears, follow its prompts. If activation fails or the title bar says "Unlicensed Product", continue with the activation guide. It also covers activation by telephone.

Check it worked

1. Select Start and type the name of the app, for example Access. The app appears in the results.
2. Open it and select File > Account. In Outlook, select File > Office Account.
3. Under Product Information, check that your app is shown, for example Access 2024, together with "Product Activated".

If the name does not match your order, check that you opened the right app and that you are signed in with the account you used at office.com/setup. Do not uninstall anything until that is clear. If it stays unclear, contact our support.

If something goes wrong

Setup shows "Stop, you should wait to install Office". Microsoft shows this when the PC has a standalone app and the Office you are installing contains a newer version of that app. If you continue, setup removes the older standalone app. If you still need it, cancel and check the rules in the section on what is already on the PC.

Setup says the 64-bit or 32-bit version could not be installed. Another Office program on the PC probably uses the other architecture. Check whether your existing Office is 32-bit or 64-bit under File > Account > About Word (or About Excel, and so on), and install your app with the same architecture. Only if you want to switch between 32-bit and 64-bit do you uninstall all Office programs first.

office.com/setup says "This product key has already been used". The key is already linked to a Microsoft account, perhaps from an earlier attempt. Sign in at account.microsoft.com with that account and install from there.

office.com/setup says "This product key isn't meant for your region". Do not try other keys. Contact our support with your order number.

office.com/setup refuses the key as invalid. Check each character against your order email. If the key is typed correctly and still refused, contact our support with your order number and the message.

The installed app reports error 0xC004F050. The key does not fit the installed app or version. A key belongs to exactly one app and one version: an Excel key does not activate Word, and a 2019 key does not activate a 2024 app. Background: error 0xC004F050.

No Install button in your Microsoft account. Check that you are signed in with the account you used at office.com/setup and that the redemption finished. If the app is still missing, contact our support.

Installation stops halfway. Check the internet connection, restart the PC and run the setup file again. If it stops again, note the exact message and send it to our support.

Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number and the exact message you see.