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If you've tried the earlier troubleshooting steps and Office is still unlicensed, you can troubleshoot activation failures yourself. I do list a my troubleshooting steps in the original post, so check those out -I’m hoping someone can see the cause sticking out of disable faulty add-ins in Outlook all these symptoms. In a nutshell, our Office 365 products are not activating.
Check connectivity
All of my users are getting notices at the top of their office software saying (unlicensed product). By following these steps, you should be able to get your Office software activated and back to work without any issues. The tool can fix issues like invalid keys, expired subscriptions, or even corrupted installation files. If the key doesn’t match or you’re unsure, consult your purchase receipt or Microsoft account to find the correct product key.
Update Office
One of the most common causes of activation errors is entering an incorrect or troubleshoot Outlook synchronizing folders error invalid product key. Ensure that you’re entering the correct 25-character key that came with your Office purchase. If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps and still can’t resolve the activation issue, contact Microsoft Support for further assistance. They can help you resolve activation problems specific to your account or product.
Still need help? Contact Support
A vast community of Microsoft Office365 users that are working together to support the product and others. A stable internet connection is required for Office activation, especially for Office 365 and Office 2016. If you’re having trouble activating Office, make sure you’re connected to the internet. I’m guessing there is some protocol or cipher suite issue. I’ve gone that route though, and have (as best as I can tell) corrected the protocols and cipher suites to be correct.
Fortunately, many common Office activation problems can be fixed with a few simple troubleshooting steps. Activation errors in Microsoft Office can arise from various issues, such as incorrect product keys, network problems, or corrupted files. However, with the troubleshooting steps outlined above, you can often resolve the problem quickly.
If you want to send me login details of a test account on your domain/tenancy, I’ll try and activate office with it here on a test machine.Let's uninstall any versions of Office you aren't using before we continue to troubleshoot.The activations work when this is tried on a PC that is not on our domain.Activation ensures compliance with Microsoft’s licensing terms and unlocks all features of the Office suite.The latest Office updates might contain fixes to activation issues.I would also check Azure to make sure Federation is enabled.
How to Contact Support:
If Office still won't activate after you run the troubleshooter, you can Fix Unlicensed Product errors yourself. Activation can fail if you have multiple copies of Office installed. Let's uninstall any versions of Office you aren't using before we continue to troubleshoot. I’m guessing there’s an issue with a protocol or cipher suite setup that’s tanking this function for our PCs.
Common MS Office Activation Errors and How to Fix Them
You should immediately recieve a prompt to activate if this is your issue. Failure to activate Office can lead to limited functionality, with messages such as "Product Activation Failed" appearing on the screen. Was very odd the only thing broken was the licensing. It's possible that the reinstall added back the GVLK as suggested by seanpmassey. Environment has been stable for some time, I am now experiencing an Office Product Activation fail. After the repair process, try to activate Office again.
How to Fix Microsoft Office Activation Issues – 2025
I tested this with PCs that were never on our domain, and they worked just fine -as far as the accounts and licenses go. This is the only evidence I can see of a network issue. All PCs are working properly for all other functions that I can tell, and we are not getting notices from any other software indicating an issue with connectivity.
Office 365 Activations / License Verification Not working
Sometimes, activation issues can be caused by corrupted Office files or an incomplete installation. This usually happens when a product key has already been linked Outlook Not Sending or Receiving Email to a Microsoft account in the past. The key can only be attached to one account, and once that’s done, it must always be activated by signing in with that same account. If you don’t remember which email was originally used, the system keeps looping because it’s trying to verify the key against the correct account.