Office repeatedly prompts you to activate on a new PC (2024)

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When you install a volume license version of Office Standard or Office Professional Plus on a new PC, you might be prompted with a Let's get started screen each time you start Office. This can happen if you don't uninstall the pre-installed version of Office on your new PC before installing a volume license version of Office.

Office repeatedly prompts you to activate on a new PC (1)

To stop the prompts for activation, make sure your Office uses volume licensing and then update the registry.

Verify that your Office version uses volume licensing

Volume license versions of Office are typically used by large organizations. Here's how to check if your version of Office uses volume licensing:

Open a document in Word.
Go to File > Account.
Compare your screen to this screen shot and look for the following.
- Volume license versions are named Office Standard or Office Professional Plus
- Volume license versions have a Change Product Key link.

Office repeatedly prompts you to activate on a new PC (2)

If you see buttons named Manage Account or Update Options, you're not using a volume license version of Office. For help with activating other versions of Office, see Activate Office.

Update the registry to remove the Microsoft 365 activation prompt

Important:This task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

Close the activation window and all Office apps.
Right-click the Start button on the lower-left corner of your screen, and select Run.
See Also
Activate Windows Server 2019 with KMS or the command line | TechTarget How to discover Office and Windows KMS hosts and remove unauthorized instances - Microsoft 365 Apps 100% Work | Activate Windows 10/11 Using CMD and Other Ways Activate clients running Windows 10 (Windows 10) - Windows Deployment
Type regedit, and then press Enter. Select Yes when prompted to open the Registry Editor.
On the left side of the Registry Editor, under Computer, navigate to the following key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\OEM
Right click the OEM value and click File>Export.
Save the key.
After the key is backed up, selectEdit>Delete.
Repeat steps 3-6 for the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\OEM
Close the Registry Editor and start Office again.

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FAQs

Why does my Office keep asking me to be activated? ›

This can happen if you don't uninstall the pre-installed version of Office on your new PC before installing a volume license version of Office. To stop the prompts for activation, make sure your Office uses volume licensing and then update the registry.

See Details ›

Why is Microsoft Office saying I need to activate? ›

You are having this problem prompting you to activate because you could have installed the latest version of Office, which is Microsoft 365. You could have opted for the Trial version and after the trial it requires subscription to activate.

Find Out More ›

How do I get Office activation to stop popping up? ›

For example, if you're using Word, you'll go to the upper left corner of your screen and click Word > Quit Word. Restart any Office app and the message should be gone. If this is a constant issue, reset your credentials: Open Spotlight by selecting the magnifying glass at the top right of your desktop.

Discover More Details ›

Why does my computer keep asking me to activate Windows? ›

You might see this error if the product key has already been used on another device, or it's being used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow. To fix the problem, buy a product key for each one of your devices to activate Windows on them.

Tell Me More ›

How to activate Microsoft Office for free without product key? ›

How to Activate Microsoft Office without a Product Key:

Go to Microsoft's website and sign in with your account.
Look for “My Account” or “Services & subscriptions”.
Click on the “Activate” button for Office.
On the activation page, choose “Activate without a product key”.

More items...

Find Out More ›

Why is my Microsoft Word suddenly unlicensed? ›

If Office activation fails, you'll see an "UNLICENSED PRODUCT" error message in the title bar of your Office apps, and most features of Office are disabled.

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How do I fix Office 365 activation? ›

Sign out of Office and sign back in

Open an Office app, such as Word.
Select your name and profile picture or icon at the top.
Select Sign out.
Select Sign in.
Make sure you are signed in with your Work or School account, not your personal Microsoft account.
Try activating Microsoft 365 again.

Jan 13, 2023

View Details ›

Why is my Office activated but not genuine? ›

Disable/Remove Office Not Genuine Notifications

Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe).
Press Ctrl-F to open search box, and search for OGAAddin. connect registry key.
In the right pane, right click on Load Behavior and select Modify.
Change the value data from 3 to 0.
Repeat for each and every OGAAddin. connect found.

Know More ›

What happens if I don't activate Windows on my computer? ›

Your computer may miss some latest downloads, services, apps, or driver updates from Microsoft. If you missed some security updates that help prevent viruses or malware, your computer may be easily attacked. You may also miss some bug fixes and patches. This post introduces the top 10 free product key finder software.

Show Me More ›

What happens if I don't activate Windows? ›

When it comes to functionality, you won't be able to personalize the desktop background, window title bar, taskbar, and Start color, change the theme, customize Start, taskbar, and lock screen etc.. when not activating Windows. Additionally, you might periodically get messages asking to activate your copy of Windows.

Learn More ›

How to activate Windows without product key? ›

If you are installing Windows on a new device or motherboard for the first time and you do not have a product key, select I don't have a product key during the installation setup screens. When prompted, enter the Microsoft account you want to use to purchase a digital license for this device.

Find Out More ›

How many times can Office be activated? ›

A Microsoft Office product key can typically be used on a single computer. However, depending on the license type, it may be possible to activate Office on multiple devices. For example, with a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can install and activate Office on up to five devices.

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How do I know if my Microsoft Office is permanently activated? ›

Click on File tab. Select Account. On the right-hand side of the screen, you will see the product activation information as displayed below.

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