Activating Office 2021 Home & Business

[Velvis]

I am trying to activate a copy of Office H&B 2021 but it says the product key is invalid. I have tried both the web activation and the telephone activation.
It was purchased in 2022 and was activated then on another computer that has been replaced.
Is there a reason why this might be happening?

 

[britechguy]

Yes, if the prior activation was not deactivated, the license is still considered active on that machine.

I thought even the web activation these days allowed you to do what you're trying to do by taking a couple of extra steps saying the software is no longer in use on any other machine. But apparently not.

 

[timeshifter]

I have tried both the web activation and the telephone activation.

Ever since Office 2013 the product key you get when you buy the software is not the actual activation key like it was in the past. You have to put that key into an online Microsoft account and then install from there. If you want to use that software again you'll need to figure out what Microsoft account it was linked to and sign in and get it.

 

[Velvis]

Ever since Office 2013 the product key you get when you buy the software is not the actual activation key like it was in the past. You have to put that key into an online Microsoft account and then install from there. If you want to use that software again you'll need to figure out what Microsoft account it was linked to and sign in and get it.

So, it isn't possible it was originally installed without being linked to a MS account?

 

[JoelM]

So, it isn't possible it was originally installed without being linked to a MS account?

No. Not possible.

 

[Multi-Visions]

No. Not possible.

Actually it is possible if you have a ISO. However logically the key should of been installed through setup.office.com
As soon as you try and install it again MS will block it as per comment before they believe it is still tagged to a PC.

 

[Multi-Visions]

I am trying to activate a copy of Office H&B 2021 but it says the product key is invalid. I have tried both the web activation and the telephone activation.
It was purchased in 2022 and was activated then on another computer that has been replaced.
Is there a reason why this might be happening?

Sent you a PV message.

 

[britechguy]

While transferring Office from one computer to another is often tedious, it can be done and Microsoft's own support page says you can do it no more often than once every 90 days. See: Transfer your Office license to another device or another person

Some pages I think are particularly helpful when doing this:
Deactivate an installation of Office (make sure you're on the tab for the standalone versions, and you get pointed to this page):
Activate Office using the Activation wizard (which has a specific link for Activate after reinstalling or installing on a different device)

How can I transfer my office license to a new computer as the old one ...

Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device

 

[sapphirescales]

The product key it came with is NOT the product key you need to use to activate it. The only purpose of the product key it came with is to tie that license to a Microsoft account. If you want the real product key you can get it by logging into the original Microsoft account in a browser, finding the product, and selecting "show key." That's the key you need. You can also download the .iso while you're at it but I don't think they offer the actual .iso file from the Microsoft account anymore, just a little online installer .exe or .msi file. I haven't done this in a long time but I did try to do it with Office 2024 a few weeks ago and I couldn't find the "show key" option. Either they no longer offer that option with Office 2024 or they're removed the option entirely, which would suck.