It's looking for the activation code for MicroSoft not the computer. Was this installation an educational version? Says Product Activation failed? I've been using it for years on my HP Pavilion DV6. About a year or so ago, when I open Microsoft Word or another office program, it comes up with a prompt screen telling me it's not activated. After you sign in, your product is added to your Microsoft account, so that you can reinstall it later, or manage your new subscription, without a product key. Activate Office HUP If you bought Office Professional Plus, Visio Professional, or Project Professional through your employer's Microsoft HUP benefit, select I don't want to sign in. How can fix Microsoft word product activation key failed? This is very painful for Word 2010 users that, when he start the Microsoft Word 2010, The simple window can disturb for the product key activation mater. So, How can fix Microsoft Word Product Activation Key Failed? Please read the topics carefully and you can solve the problem.
There could be many reasons for Microsoft Office Activation errors on your computer, ranging from user permission issues to various other problems. You can find below the steps to fix Microsoft Office Activation Error on Windows computer.
Microsoft Office Activation Errors
Microsoft Office 365 activation error usually appears with a message reading “We Couldn’t contact the server. Please try again in a few minutes”.
In certain cases, Microsoft Office gets deactivated after Windows update and opening a Microsoft Office file results in error messages reading “Unlicensed Product”, Product Deactivated or We are sorry something went wrong, please try again later.
This problem can also occur if you are trying to activate Office 365 on a computer on which an older version of Microsoft Office was previously installed.
So, let us go ahead and take a look at some of the methods that can fix Microsoft Office 365 activation error on a Windows computer.
1. Run Office as an Administrator
It is possible that Microsoft Office is not being activated on your computer due to permission issues. To fix this, simply try to run any Office program (Word, Excel, Power Point) as an administrator.
Type Microsoft Office Word in the Windows Search bar and press the enter key.
From the search results, right-click on Microsoft Word Icon and select Run as Administrator option in the contextual menu.
Select Yes on the pop-up to Run Microsoft Word as an Administrator.
2. Fix Date & Time On Your Computer
Microsoft Office activation can fail if the date and time settings on your computer are not correct.
Right-click on Time & Date icon located in the taskbar and click on Adjust date/time option in the menu that appears.
If Time & Date Icon is missing on your computer, click on Start > Settings > Time & Language.
On the next screen, make sure that your Time Zone is correct and the Date and time as displayed is correct.
If the time is not correct, you can refer to this article: How to Fix Slow or Incorrect Windows Computer Clock
3. Check Microsoft Office Subscription
Open any web browser on your computer and go to the Office 365 portal (https://portal.office.com). Login to your Microsoft account using your Email Address and Password linked with the subscription.
Make sure that a valid subscription of Microsoft Office is assigned or available in your user account.
4. Repair Microsoft Office
The problem of Microsoft Office not activating on your computer might be related to corrupted program files.
Open the Control Panel on your computer
On the Control Panel screen, make sure you are in “Large icons” view and click on Program and Features.
On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on the Repair option in the contextual menu.
After the repair process is completed, restart your computer and see if you are still getting Microsoft Office Activation error on your computer.
5. Disable Proxy Servers
In case you are using a Proxy Server (VPN), Microsoft Office activation error might be due to a misconfiguration in proxy connections or Microsoft’s website being unable to connect to your proxy server.
To confirm, disable the proxy server and see if you are able to activate Microsoft Office.
Click on the Start button > Settings Icon.
On the settings screen, click on Network and Internet option.
On the next screen, click on Proxy in the side menu and disable the option for Automatically detect settings under Automatic Proxy Setup.
On the same screen, scroll down and disable Use a Proxy server option under manual proxy section.
6. Temporarily Disable Antivirus Program
Sometimes, the antivirus program installed on your computer can end up blocking Microsoft’s websites, leading to Microsoft Office activation errors.
To confirm, temporarily disable Antivirus program on your computer and see if this helps in fixing the problem of Microsoft Office activation error on your computer.
Right-click on the Antivirus Program icon in the system tray and click on Disable Auto Protect.
Next, select the time period up to which you want to disable Antivirus program and click on OK.
7. Uninstall and Reinstall Microsoft Office
Uninstalling and Reinstalling Microsoft Office is another method that has helped some users fix Microsoft Office activation error.
Microsoft Word Product Activation Failed
Open Control Panel > click on Program and Features.
Microsoft Product Activation Failed Fix
Note: Make sure you are in “Large icons” view
Microsoft Word 2013 Product Activation Failed
On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on Uninstall.
Microsoft Word Product Activation Failed 2013
After Microsoft Office is uninstalled, Restart your computer and Re-install Microsoft Office program back on your computer.