How to fix product activation failed error in Microsoft Office 2019, 2016, etc.? This post provides some possible solutions. A professional free data recovery program from MiniTool is also provided to help you recover deleted or lost Office files like Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint files, etc.
In this article, we will show you how to solvethe product activation failed problem in Microsoft Office and how to recover your missing Office files using a free data recovery software.
Also read: Discover the essential steps for successful hard drive recovery in this informative article.
How to Fix Product Activation Failed in Microsoft Office
You may try the tips below to see if they can help you fix the product activation failed issue in Microsoft Office Word, Excel, etc.
Tip 1. Check Your Microsoft Office Subscription
If you purchased a Microsoft 365 subscription to get the Microsoft Office suite, you should go to Microsoft’s official website and log into your Microsoft account, find your order to check if your Microsoft Office subscription is expired. If the subscription has expired, you can choose to renew your Microsoft 365 subscription.
Tip 2. Run the OSPREARM.exe File
If your Microsoft Office app like Word or Excel encounters an Office activation error, you can run its activation verifier to see if it helps fix the issue.
- Double-click This PC to open File Explorer on your computer.
- Based on whether you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Microsoft Office, you can navigate to the following folder: C:\Programs Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeX or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OfficeX. “X” stands for the Office edition. Here I use Office 2016.
- Find the OSPPREARM application file in this folder. Right-click the OSPPREARM application and select Run as administrator.
- Repeatedly run the OSPPREARM file several times. After that, you can open Microsoft Office apps again to see if the product activation failed issue is fixed.
Tip 3. Try to Run the Office App as an Administrator
- Right-click the Office app and select the Properties option.
- Click the Compatibility tab.
- Check the “Run this program as an administrator” option.
- Click Apply and click OK to save the settings.
- Then you can try to open the Office application again to check if it fixes the product activation failed error in Microsoft Office.
Tip 4. Uninstall Unused Microsoft Office Programs
If you have installed multiple versions of Microsoft Office, you can remove other copies of Microsoft Office and only keep your needed one. You can easily uninstall a program from Control Panel.
- Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter to open Control Panel on your Windows computer.
- Click Uninstall a program under Programs.
- Check the list to find out if you have installed multiple versions of MS Office. Right-click the unneeded one and select Uninstall.
- Then you can restart your computer and try to run the Microsoft Office apps again to see if it has fixed the product activation failed issue.
Tip 5. Check the Time and Date on Your Computer
If the time and date on your computer are not correct, then you may encounter the Microsoft Office product activation failed issue. Follow the steps below to make sure the time and date of your computer are correct.
- Right-click the Date and Time icon at the lower-right corner of the taskbar. Select Adjust date/time.
- Turn off the “Set time automatically” option and turn on the option again. Check if the time and date are correct now. If it is still not correct, you can turn off this option and set the date and time manually.
- After this, you can check your Microsoft Office product is successfully activated.
Tip 6. Update the Office App to the Latest Version
You can try to update the Office application to the latest version to see if it helps fix the Microsoft Office activation error.
- Open the Microsoft Office program.
- Click the File tab.
- Click the Account option.
- Click Update Options and click Update Now to check for updates for the Office app and update it to the latest version.
- Check if the product activation failed error of the Microsoft Office app is solved, if not, try other tips.
Tip 7. Sign In with the Right Microsoft Account
You should sign in to your Office suite with the Microsoft account that you use to pay for the Microsoft Office subscription.
- You can open the Office app that you failed to activate.
- Click the Account Name option at the top-right corner and select Sign Out.
- Then you can sign in with the correct Microsoft account to see if the Office app can be successfully activated.
Tip 8. Reset Microsoft Office Settings to Default
You can also try to reset Microsoft Office settings to default to see if it can help fix the product activation failed error of Microsoft Office apps.
- Press Windows + S and type office in the search box.
- Right-click Office App and select the App settings option.
- In the pop-up window, you can click the Reset button under the Reset section to reset Microsoft Office to its default settings.
Tip 9. Update Windows OS
In case the Microsoft Office product activation failed issue is caused by system errors, you can run a Windows Update to update your OS to the latest version to see if the issue can be fixed.
To update Windows 10, click Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
To update Windows 11, click Start > Settings > System > Windows Update > Check for updates.
Tip 10. Uninstall and Reinstall MS Office
You can follow the guide in Tip 4 to uninstall the Microsoft Office suite. Then you can download the latest version of MS Office on your computer and activate it.
If you use a product key to activate Microsoft Office, you should make sure you have the product key at hand before you uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office.
How to Recover Deleted/Lost Office Files
If some of your Office files are unexpectedly lost or you mistakenly deleted some Office files, you can use a professional data recovery program to recover the deleted/lost files.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery isthe best data recovery softwarefor Windows. You can use it to easily recover any deleted/lost data including documents, photos, videos, emails, etc. from a Windows computer, USB flash drive, SD/memory card, external hard drive, or SSD.
This program can deal with various data loss situations including mistaken file deletion, hard drive corruption or mistake formatting, malware/virus infection, system crash, or any other computer problems.
It features an extremely intuitive interface and simple operation. Even novice users can use it to scan and recover data in a few steps.
Download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery on your Windows 11/10/8/7 computer and check how to use it to recover deleted or lost Office files below.
- Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
- On the main UI, if you want to scan and recover all data, you can choose the target drive or location and click Scan. You can also click the Devices tab and select the entire disk or device and click Scan.
- If you want to select a specific type of file to scan and recover, you can click the Scan Settings icon in the left panel before you choose the drive or device. After you click Scan Settings, you can select the file types. For instance, you can only tick Document and this will only scan and recover Office files.
- After the software finishes the scan, you can check the scan result to find the wanted files, tick them and click Save. Select a preferred new location to store the recovered files.
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Conclusion
This post offers some tips to help you fix product activation failed issue in Microsoft Office 2021/2019/2016/2013, etc.
An easy-to-use data recovery toolis also introduced to help you recover deleted or lost Office files or any other data.
A professional free PC backup software application is also provided to help you back up data and the system on your Windows computer.
For more computer tips and tricks, you can visit MiniTool News Center.
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