Activate Office 2016 with your Microsoft account

Activation is how Office 2016 proves to Microsoft that it is licensed. If activation fails, Office shows "Unlicensed Product" in the title bar and turns off most of its features. For the Office 2016 editions in this guide, activation runs through your Microsoft account. This guide starts after installation; if Office is not on the PC yet, follow Install Office 2016 first.

What you received

Your order includes a 25-character product key, shown in this guide as XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. You find it in your order confirmation email and in My Library in your Lizensa account.

The key is a retail key for one of these editions:

• Office Home & Student 2016
• Office Professional Plus 2016

You redeem it once at office.com/setup. Redeeming adds the licence to your Microsoft account. From then on, Office activates through that account, and you do not type the key into Office.

Microsoft ended support for Office 2016 on 14 October 2025. The apps may continue to function, but Microsoft may no longer provide security fixes, bug fixes or technical support for them.

Get the software

Office 2016 comes from Microsoft, not as a file from us. After you redeem the key, sign in at account.microsoft.com and look under Office apps for the Install option. If it is missing, contact our support with your order number.

To activate, Office on the PC must match the edition in your account. A different Office edition, such as a trial, may not activate with your licence. If you are unsure what is installed, open Word and select File > Account.

Install

Activation needs a finished installation. In brief:

1. Redeem your key at office.com/setup with your Microsoft account.
2. Sign in at account.microsoft.com, open Office apps and select Install next to Office 2016.
3. Run the downloaded file and wait for "You're all set! Office is installed now".

The full steps, including removing old Office versions, are in the installation guide.

Activate

Online with your Microsoft account

1. Make sure the PC is connected to the internet.
2. Open Word from the Start menu.
3. Read the licence terms and select Accept.
4. If Word asks you to sign in, use the Microsoft account in which you redeemed the key.

In most cases Office now activates without further questions. Sometimes the Activation Wizard opens instead. Select "I want to activate the software over the Internet" and follow the prompts.

Activation applies to all Office 2016 apps of your edition at once. You do not need to repeat it in Excel or PowerPoint.

By telephone

If online activation fails and the Activation Wizard offers the telephone option, follow these steps:

1. Open Word. When the Activation Wizard appears, select "I want to activate the software by telephone" and then Next.
2. Choose your country or region. The wizard shows the number to call.
3. Call the number. When asked, read out the Installation ID shown in the wizard.
4. You receive a Confirmation ID. Type it into the fields in the wizard.
5. Select Next to finish.

If Microsoft refuses the key on the phone, contact our support with your order number rather than calling again.

Check it worked

1. Open Word.
2. Select File > Account.
3. Under Product Information, check that your edition is named and that no activation request appears.

Then open Excel and PowerPoint. Their title bars must not read "Unlicensed Product". If Product Information still asks you to activate, activation is not complete yet; follow the steps above again.

If something goes wrong

"We couldn't find any Office products". The Microsoft account you signed in with does not hold your Office 2016 licence. In Word, open File > Account, select Sign out, then sign in with the account you used at office.com/setup. To check an account, sign in at account.microsoft.com and look under Office apps.

The title bar keeps showing "Unlicensed Product". Work through these checks:

1. Set the date, time and time zone of the PC correctly. Activation can fail when they are wrong.
2. Check for a second Office installation: in Windows 11 under Settings > Apps > Installed apps, in Windows 10 under Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Remove the copy you do not use and restart the PC.
3. Right-click Word in the Start menu, select Run as administrator and try to activate again.

If Office shows code 0x4004F00C, it is not activated yet and runs in its grace period. See error 0x4004F00C.

Office says the product key is not valid. Office 2016 from us activates through your account, so you normally do not enter a key in Office. If a key prompt appears, check that the installed edition matches your order. If the edition matches, contact our support with your order number. See error 0xC004F050.

Microsoft's activation server rejects or blocks the key. Messages with code 0xC004C008 mean the server cannot use the key; 0xC004C003 means the key is blocked. Do not try the key on other PCs. Send our support your order number and the full message. See error 0xC004C008 and error 0xC004C003.

office.com/setup says "This product key has already been used". The key is already in a Microsoft account. Sign in with that account; you do not need the key again.

Office asks for activation on a new PC. A one-time purchase covers one installation. Microsoft allows you to move it to another computer of yours, for example after a hardware failure. Uninstall Office from the old PC if it still runs, install Office on the new one from your Microsoft account and sign in. If activation then fails, use the telephone route above or contact our support.

Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number, your edition and the exact message.