Subject: Microsoft 365 Family Activation Failure (Error 0x0) on macOS Big Sur
Dear Microsoft Support,
I am contacting you because I can no longer activate Microsoft Word on my Mac, despite having an active Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
My device
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)
- macOS Big Sur 11.7.11
- Intel Core i5
- 8 GB RAM
My Microsoft account
My Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active and paid annually. I have verified on my Microsoft account that the subscription is active, and I am signing in with the correct Microsoft account that owns the subscription.
The problem
Microsoft Word worked perfectly until 13 July 2026.
On 14 July 2026, Word informed me that it needed to be updated. Since my Mac cannot officially be upgraded beyond macOS Big Sur, I could not install the newest version of Microsoft 365.
I therefore downloaded and installed Office for Mac version 16.77 (23091003) – Office Suite (without Teams), which is the last version that officially supports macOS Big Sur.
The installation completes successfully, and Word opens normally.
However, every time I try to activate Microsoft 365 by signing in, Word immediately displays the following error:
Unknown Error
Error code: 0x0
The application cannot be activated.
Troubleshooting already completed
I have already completed all of the troubleshooting steps recommended by Microsoft:
- Confirmed that my Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active.
- Confirmed that I am using the correct Microsoft account.
- Completely removed Microsoft Office from my Mac.
- Reinstalled Office 16.77 (23091003).
- Removed Office licenses using the official Microsoft Office for Mac License Removal Tool 2.7.
- Deleted Microsoft Group Container folders:
- UBF8T346G9.Office
- UBF8T346G9.ms
- UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.oneauth
- Restarted my Mac multiple times.
- Confirmed that I can successfully sign in to office.com using the same Microsoft account.
- Word itself launches correctly, but activation always fails with Error 0x0.
The problem started suddenly after Word requested an update on 14 July 2026.
Since everything worked until the day before, I suspect there may have been a recent change in Microsoft's activation service that affects Office 16.77 running on macOS Big Sur.
Could you please investigate whether this is a known issue?
If necessary, could you also reset or refresh the Office activation associated with my Microsoft account?
I would greatly appreciate your assistance, as my Microsoft 365 Family subscription is fully active, yet I am unable to use Word on my Mac.
Thank you very much for your time and support.
Kind regards,Subject: Microsoft 365 Family Activation Failure (Error 0x0) on macOS Big Sur
Dear Microsoft Support,
I am contacting you because I can no longer activate Microsoft Word on my Mac, despite having an active Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
My device
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)
- macOS Big Sur 11.7.11
- Intel Core i5
- 8 GB RAM
My Microsoft account
My Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active and paid annually. I have verified on my Microsoft account that the subscription is active, and I am signing in with the correct Microsoft account that owns the subscription.
The problem
Microsoft Word worked perfectly until 13 July 2026.
On 14 July 2026, Word informed me that it needed to be updated. Since my Mac cannot officially be upgraded beyond macOS Big Sur, I could not install the newest version of Microsoft 365.
I therefore downloaded and installed Office for Mac version 16.77 (23091003) – Office Suite (without Teams), which is the last version that officially supports macOS Big Sur.
The installation completes successfully, and Word opens normally.
However, every time I try to activate Microsoft 365 by signing in, Word immediately displays the following error:
Unknown Error
Error code: 0x0
The application cannot be activated.
Troubleshooting already completed
I have already completed all of the troubleshooting steps recommended by Microsoft:
- Confirmed that my Microsoft 365 Family subscription is active.
- Confirmed that I am using the correct Microsoft account.
- Completely removed Microsoft Office from my Mac.
- Reinstalled Office 16.77 (23091003).
- Removed Office licenses using the official Microsoft Office for Mac License Removal Tool 2.7.
- Deleted Microsoft Group Container folders:
- UBF8T346G9.Office
- UBF8T346G9.ms
- UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.oneauth
- Restarted my Mac multiple times.
- Confirmed that I can successfully sign in to office.com using the same Microsoft account.
- Word itself launches correctly, but activation always fails with Error 0x0.
The problem started suddenly after Word requested an update on 14 July 2026.
Since everything worked until the day before, I suspect there may have been a recent change in Microsoft's activation service that affects Office 16.77 running on macOS Big Sur.
Could you please investigate whether this is a known issue?
If necessary, could you also reset or refresh the Office activation associated with my Microsoft account?
I would greatly appreciate your assistance, as my Microsoft 365 Family subscription is fully active, yet I am unable to use Word on my Mac.
Thank you very much for your time and support.
Kind regards,