activate office on mac

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

If you haven't tried anything yet:

• Make sure you're signed in with the same Microsoft account that the subscription is linked to.
• Open any Microsoft 365 app such as Word. > At the top of the screen, select Word (or the app name) in the menu bar. > Select About Word. > Click More Info… > Select "Refresh License".
• After that, close any open documents and completely restart all Microsoft 365 apps so the license refresh can take effect.

If issue still persists:

If you haven't already, I’d suggest is to uninstall any existing Office apps on your Mac to avoid conflict:

• Here are the steps: https://support.microsoft.com/office/uninstall-office-for-mac-eefa1199-5b58-43af-8a3d-b73dc1a8cae3

Then, to reinstall Microsoft Office:

• Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services
• Sign in using the same Microsoft account linked to your license.
• Find your Microsoft 365 Subscription and click the "Install".
• That will download the installer for the Office apps, just run it and follow the steps.

If anything’s unclear or the "Install" option still doesn’t show, feel free to let me know. I’ll be happy to walk you through it!

I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.

Use the steps below to get the existing Microsoft 365 subscription activated on the new Mac.

1. Confirm the subscription is active
   • Go to https://account.live.com and open the Subscriptions section.
   • Verify that the Microsoft 365 subscription is shown as active.
2. Make sure the correct account is used on the Mac
   • Open any Office app (Word, Excel, Outlook).
   • Sign out of all accounts inside the app.
   • Sign back in using the same Microsoft account that shows the active subscription at https://account.live.com.
3. Refresh the license in the Office app
   • In Word or Excel on the Mac, go to File > Account.
   • Select Update license (or similar option), then sign in again with the correct Microsoft account.
   • Close and reopen the Office app and check if it is activated.

If activation still fails, verify again that the subscription renewed through Apple is linked to the same Microsoft account being used to sign in to the Office apps. If the wrong account is used, Office will continue to show as unlicensed or canceled.

References:

• When opening Word or Excel, getting a 'subscription canceled' message but I have renewed my Office subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac
• Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store