Office 2016 - Can't Activate on MBA M1

[emac82]

So I have Office 2016, and have the key for it. It's active on an older MBA I have, and was on my 2011 MBP as well.

I bought the new MBA last week, and did a TM restore on it with Office 2016. However, it won't activate - says it's active on too many machines.

I downloaded the licence removal tool and ran that on the Late 2011, but still have same issue on the MBA.

I live chatted with Microsoft, etc etc, and long story short they said that I can't activate it on the new computer because it's no longer supported.

Is there ANY way I can do this. I got Office 2016 through work, through the HUP program and it was only $13. I can get a deal of 30$ off Office 365 subscription - but on my Mac, I only use Word etc 5-10 times a year, so I can't justify the cost - but I don't like Pages/iWork etc mainly for comfort and compatibility reasons.

Am I totally out of options to get 2016 up and running?

 

[emac82]

Anybody? It just doesn't make sense (I know, I know) that MS would actually make a program that I paid for unusable..

 

[chscag]

Doesn't surprise me at all that MS would do that. Their goal is to get everyone to subscribe to Office 365. I too have licensed versions of Office 2011 and 2016 that I can no longer use.

What really gets to me is that my licensed Windows versions of Office 2010 and 2013 are still supported and can be activated if I wanted to use Windows.

I use Pages when I don't have to exchange documents with anyone else. Pages is a very nice program and works well albeit not as powerful as Word.

 

[vanillaspice]

I think the official line is that you'd need to either pay for Office 365 or get your work to pay for Office 2019.

 

[emac82]

Yeah, seems I was SOL...I just ended up paying $65 CAD to get Office 365 Personal for the year. Will see how it goes.

For the few files I'll have to edit etc, it'll be worth the $65 knowing I won't have to frig around with too much formatting.

 

[chscag]

If you paid $65 CAD for Office 365 personal, you got it at a good price. I paid $67 US from the Mac App Store for the same thing. However, I am not going to resubscribe and wait for the MS promised stand alone 2021 version. We'll see if they keep their promise.

 

[mj_]

Even though Office 2016 is no longer supported it doesn't mean it won't run. You can still use it for as long as you want to but you might not be able to update your operating system any longer. With that being said there is a very real possibility that Office 2016 will simply not work correctly on Big Sur anymore, and you will need a newer version of Office such as Office 2019 or Office 365.

 

[chscag]

Even though Office 2016 is no longer supported it doesn't mean it won't run.

The problem is that MS is no longer accepting activation for Office 2016. I'm not sure it will run in Big Sur, but the point is if you want to install it, even though you paid for it and have a license, MS will not activate it.

 

[posguy99]

The problem is that MS is no longer accepting activation for Office 2016. I'm not sure it will run in Big Sur, but the point is if you want to install it, even though you paid for it and have a license, MS will not activate it.

I'm not sure why people bother claiming this. MS is still processing activations all the way back to 2010.

"Telephone activation is no longer supported for your product" error when activating Office - Microsoft Support

When you select the option to activate Office by telephone, you may see the following error: Telephone activation is no longer supported for your product.

support.microsoft.com

Re the OP's problem, unless s/he bought more than once license, I imagine MS is just standing on the letter of the license and not supporting simultaneous use on more than one machine.

 

[emac82]

I'm not sure why people bother claiming this. MS is still processing activations all the way back to 2010.

"Telephone activation is no longer supported for your product" error when activating Office - Microsoft Support

When you select the option to activate Office by telephone, you may see the following error: Telephone activation is no longer supported for your product.

support.microsoft.com

Re the OP's problem, unless s/he bought more than once license, I imagine MS is just standing on the letter of the license and not supporting simultaneous use on more than one machine.

🤷‍♀️ I don't know - I spoke to Microsoft on the phone and the guy said I couldn't activate since it was unsupported. Legally, doesn't seem to make sense, that's like a music CD not working anymore because the band broke up.

 

[chscag]

I'm not sure why people bother claiming this. MS is still processing activations all the way back to 2010.

Have you tried activating via the phone with MS? Good luck with that method.

And sure, Office 2010 will activate and so will Office 2013 (I have both) as they are Windows versions and still supported by MS.

 

[loby]

Doesn't surprise me at all that MS would do that. Their goal is to get everyone to subscribe to Office 365. I too have licensed versions of Office 2011 and 2016 that I can no longer use.

What really gets to me is that my licensed Windows versions of Office 2010 and 2013 are still supported and can be activated if I wanted to use Windows.

I use Pages when I don't have to exchange documents with anyone else. Pages is a very nice program and works well albeit not as powerful as Word.

Yes, I too have a licensed Office 2011 for mac and could not activate. This was on intel systems.

I talked to support and they told me that I have activated and reactivated well beyond the allowed activation. (?) I removed the software off my systems as instructed by the rules, but they said that there is a limit to how many times I can do this and How many times I can activate it....this was new to me. They changed the rules.

They told me even though I have a true license and have done what I am suppose to do when I move the licensed copy to another system, I have exceeded the activation limits on my license so it is no longer valid. They said I have to rebuy it again.

I said to the Microsoft Tech Support “So basically you are telling me that Microsoft is pushing me to sign up for a subscription. He said to my surprise...”It seems so...”

We don’t own the software. We rent. They can evict you whenever they choose Without compensation. Yes, i have had the license for about 10 years....but...i paid for it and did not find that there were limits for activation if you have a legal license in their long contractual statement, including following their instructions and their one (or 3 depending) computer activation limit. No one really reads it (some of course) when installing....they know that and it is designed on purpose so you don’t read the “fine lines” in the contract agreement. But i did not find this statement in their agreement.

This also is happening to older Microsoft software (some very expensive when purchased). Try reactivating and it will not work. Even if you call. The automatic response is “we do not recognize this license as a legal license...” Not because the license was hacked or used by someone and they removed my license, they are slowly making people who have old licenses that are not in their databases (due to their bad practices and data management in the early days) and so we get hit due to their inefficiency and keeping track of licenses. They got their system now fixed...but older licenses they just erase as non-existent If not in their current system.

 

[MacBird]

I was able to active Office 2016 on a 2008 MBP a few days ago. I also purchased it through HUP. If you use it only a few times per year, have you looked into Google Docs? It might suffice for basic tasks and you can save documents as docx if necessary.

 

[mj_]

The people you talk to in first level tech support are poor souls that don’t know anything that isn’t in the script provided by their employer, which FYI isn’t even Microsoft itself. If the script doesn’t say “call this number to activate“ they‘ll have no idea what to tell you. Telephone activation still works for Office versions back to Office 2011 for Mac. Online activation may not work any longer because Microsoft shut down the activation servers although I doubt they will have done so for Office 2016 already. They’ve only recently shut down the Office 2011 activation servers.

Microsoft cannot legally disable Office 2011 or 2016 licenses since those are perpetual licenses, not subscriptions. They have to provide a way for users to continue using them for a very long time.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Microsoft cannot legally disable Office 2011 or 2016 licenses since those are perpetual licenses, not subscriptions. They have to provide a way for users to continue using them for a very long time.

Yes, they’re perpetual licenses, but they don’t have to support them on new versions of macOS (like OP’s situation with Big Sur and M1 architecture).

 

[loby]

The people you talk to in first level tech support are poor souls that don’t know anything that isn’t in the script provided by their employer, which FYI isn’t even Microsoft itself. If the script doesn’t say “call this number to activate“ they‘ll have no idea what to tell you. Telephone activation still works for Office versions back to Office 2011 for Mac. Online activation may not work any longer because Microsoft shut down the activation servers although I doubt they will have done so for Office 2016 already. They’ve only recently shut down the Office 2011 activation servers.

Microsoft cannot legally disable Office 2011 or 2016 licenses since those are perpetual licenses, not subscriptions. They have to provide a way for users to continue using them for

The people you talk to in first level tech support are poor souls that don’t know anything that isn’t in the script provided by their employer, which FYI isn’t even Microsoft itself. If the script doesn’t say “call this number to activate“ they‘ll have no idea what to tell you. Telephone activation still works for Office versions back to Office 2011 for Mac. Online activation may not work any longer because Microsoft shut down the activation servers although I doubt they will have done so for Office 2016 already. They’ve only recently shut down the Office 2011 activation servers.

Microsoft cannot legally disable Office 2011 or 2016 licenses since those are perpetual licenses, not subscriptions. They have to provide a way for users to continue using them for a very long time.

Makes sense, but I tried beyond automatic activation and tried to activate through phone activation and it did not work and got the same thing.

What I did not do was to try to talk to someone beyond the first level tech support. Not sure if I ask to talk to someone beyond they would help me.

In theory “Yes”, what you said is correct, but like all (including Apple) it depends on who you talk to and how much they decide to assist depending on their mood or how nice you are...

 

[loby]

Yes, they’re perpetual licenses, but they don’t have to support them on new versions of macOS (like OP’s situation with Big Sur and M1 architecture).

I tried to install it on the old OS’s that it was created for and still it would not install.

“Perpetual” is a false statement and maybe someone with the time or money can sue Microsoft for false representing the facts (deception or miss leading in order to buy (really you are renting).

The reality is that it is not perpetual, but the reality is that as long as they want to allow activation you can use their software and they determine when to stop you. If it was “Perpetual” then they would set the servers to just allow activation regardless, but they don’t.

They need to change the wording and call it “Renting” the software UNTIL we evict you when we decide or choose when to allow you to stop using their software since they own it including the license that you believe you bought “perpetually”.

This is why their “subscription” is more to reality, but....the word “subscription” is also deceiving and a good marketing ploy. Once you stop paying...the software stops. That is renting.

The word “Subscription” is like a magazine subscription...once you stop paying you keep what you already paid for and can continue reading your old magazines. But with Microsoft and the other “subscriptions” like Adobe, you are actually “renting” until you stop paying and then they evict you from using the software (meaning the previous version that you paid for no long works when you stop paying)

They suck you into their payment deception and the only “perpetual” concept in any way is that IF you want to use their software, then you are “Perpetually” obligated to continue to “rent” their software for as many years you want to “live” or use their property.

If you buy the “perpetual” license, the cost comes out more than the “subscription” version that comes out, making the “subscription” more economically a better option and you save money (in the short term). But in the long run...you are locked into “perpetually” paying as long as you want to use their software. And if it it more than three years (as most do) eventually costing a lot more.

Brilliant ploy to get people and businesses locked into a “perpetual” payment plan. Once you “have to use” their product, they got you for life..

 

[rhett7660]

I wonder if it has to do with not being compatible with the new M1 chip from Apple?

I am sure it will still work on the older Intel chipped based Mac's but they probably have no plans on updating it to the new chip set.

 

[posguy99]

I wonder if it has to do with not being compatible with the new M1 chip from Apple?

I am sure it will still work on the older Intel chipped based Mac's but they probably have no plans on updating it to the new chip set.

Office? Not updated for the M1? Are you living under a rock?

Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 support for Apple silicon - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

Now, if what you meant is updating Office 2016 for the M1, no, they have no reason to do that. The current release (2019) and 365 only.

 

[chscag]

Now, if what you meant is updating Office 2016 for the M1, no, they have no reason to do that. The current release (2019) and 365 only.

I took it to mean he was referring to Office 2016.

 

[rhett7660]

Office? Not updated for the M1? Are you living under a rock?

Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 support for Apple silicon - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

Now, if what you meant is updating Office 2016 for the M1, no, they have no reason to do that. The current release (2019) and 365 only.

I took it to mean he was referring to Office 2016.

So I have Office 2016, and have the key for it. It's active on an older MBA I have, and was on my 2011 MBP as well.

I bought the new MBA last week, and did a TM restore on it with Office 2016. However, it won't activate - says it's active on too many machines.

Correct, OP mentions Office 2016 not the current release.

Soooo, no not living under a rock..lol

 

[Martyimac]

The problem is that MS is no longer accepting activation for Office 2016. I'm not sure it will run in Big Sur, but the point is if you want to install it, even though you paid for it and have a license, MS will not activate it.

Not true, my MS Office version 16 is installed and activated and running fine in Big Sur. Now, the difference may be that it has been on my iMac since I got it 1.5 years ago and the activation came through the updates to the OS.

 

[ian87w]

Of you only use Word 5 to 10 times a year, just pay for Office 365 on the per month basis when you need it (and cancel when you're done). Or you can just use office.com and use the web version of Word for free.

 

[Avril2108]

It's so annoying when apps become obsolete! It's like, 'Sorry we can't recharge your battery, we don't make these anymore. Buy a new one or get a new car!".

 

[Governor22]

Just wanted to check in.

I just upgraded to a late-model Macbook Pro. I moved my files across using Time Machine (Restore from Time Machine) and my Office 2016 keeps asking for activation. I don't have a Microsoft login. I thought it would just work from T.M backup. Is there a way to manually activate it or disable this ?