M365 apps activation remedy for Windows

Microsoft 365

Scenario

User is not able activate Word, Excel, and Office apps in Windows OS Microsoft 365. What should I do?

Users may experience various problems when trying to activate the different Office applications installed on their Windows. In most cases, this problem can be traced back to improper activation of these applications. There are a few things that you can do in order to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.

In summary,

  • User is not able activate Word, Excel, etc.,
  • Read-Only when opening desktop apps

 

Steps

Tip: If you are having same issue with a Mac machine check this post

Soft reset Internet Explorer (IE)

Info: All MSFT application traverse its traffic to IE/Edge regardless of the browser used

  1. Please confirm if the TLS 1.0 or previous is unchecked and try to toggle on and off 1.2 (in the internet option > security settings).
  2. Reset IE settings
  3. Clear caches in General tab > Delete
  4. Repair IE services

 

Remove Office cached credential

  1. Credential Manager > Windows Credential > Delete cached credential named 
    MicrosoftOfficeXX.X 
MicrosoftOfficeAdal
  2. On keyboard, Windows + R
  3. Type & enter 
    rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr
  4. Delete Cache credential named 
    MicrosoftOfficeXX.X 
MicrosoftOfficeAdal

Disconnect organization account (Windows 10)

  1. Click on Windows icon and Open Settings
  2. Click on Accounts
  3. Click on Access work or school
  4. Choose only the account that has the Microsoft Logo
  5. Click the Disconnect button.

 

Refresh network

Perform all the steps below this section. Restart your machine and try to activate again.

Bypass local DNS

  1. Open Network and Sharing Center
  2. Click on Change Adapter Settings
  3. Double-click on the network the you are connected to
  4. Click on Properties
  5. Uncheck the IPv6
  6. Double-click on the IPv4
  7. On the DNs server address add the 8.8.8.8
  8. On the Alternate DNs server address add the 8.8.4.4
  9. Click Save

 

Flush DNS cache

  1. Open CMD
  2. Type ipconfig /flushdns
  3. Hit Enter
  4. Type ipconfig /register
  5. Hit Enter

 

Reset Network adapters

  1. Open CMD
  2. Type netsh winsock reset
  3. Hit Enter

 

Restart physical routers

This part is only applicable to home users and using a plug\play network devices.

Disable temporarily security softwares\peripherals

Antivirus software

Contact your software provider for further support on how to disable your software

Network Firewall

This part is only applicable to home users and using a plug\play network devices. Contact your device\ISP provider for further support on how to disable this feature

Sign out of the Office applications

Simple as it may sound but sometimes effected. Please see this for addtional instructions.

  1. Open Regedit
  2. Access path and delete the Identities folder 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities
  3. Delete both of the following entries as well 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Registration
  4. Delete your License Data by following this Windows path and deleting all of its contents 
    %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Licensing
  5. Go to the registry path below and delete configuration folder 
    local machine>software>microsoft>office>clicktorun>configuration

Run the cscript.exe

  1. Open CMD and run it as administrator
  2. Run below cmdelts for Office 2016 32x bit 
    cscript.exe "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /dstatus
cscript.exe "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /unpkey:XXXX
  3. Run below cmdelts for Office 2016 64x bit 
    cscript.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /dstatus
cscript.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /unpkey:XXXX
  4. XXXX in the /unpkey: represents the key found in /dstatus results

 

Run a OLicenseCleanup.vbs script

  1. Download the code from MSFT - OLicenseCleanup.vbs
  2. Double click on the .vbs file

 

Create a new Windows profile

Simple as it may sound but sometimes effected. Please see this for addtional instructions and activate Office apps from the new profile.

 

References